Scott's Oriole in Georgia and other internet notes

["Joshua S. Rose" <jsr6@duke.edu>]

Hi C-birders,

A Scott's Oriole has turned up at a feeder in Thomaston, Georgia! See
http://www.gos.org/sightings/scor.html
Thomaston is about 4-5 hours from Columbia, SC. The bird hasn't been seen
since Friday, but was around for about a week before that. Normally, you'd
have to go to Texas to see this species. (speaking of Texas, the next-
closest major rarity to the Carolinas is a Golden-Crowned Warbler in the
LRGV)

For folks in northern NC who don't have enough CBCs to choose from, the
Virginia CBC dates are out. Well, mostly; a couple of border counts like
the Great Dismal Swamp and Newport News CBCs are not yet set, apparently.
But lots of others are set and posted on the Virginia bird list at
http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/VABD.html

One more thing about suet: we use the raw beef fat up north, but only in
the winter. In the warmer months, it tends to get quite smelly and full
of maggots and grubs before the birds are done with it. Not that it's
necessarily a bad thing from the birds' point of view, the bugs will
increase the variety of species that come to visit, but it might get to be
a problem with spouses, kids, neighbors, etc. if your feeder is in a
visible and prominent location in your yard. I've had no problem with bugs
infesting the prepared/cooked suet cakes, except lately in conjunction
with my recent suet mold problem.

Good birding,

Josh


Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/