Durham CBC

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

Hi Carolinabirders,

The weather was beautiful for the Durham count today. The birds, at least
on my portion, were a tad slow: 48 species. Since Doug Shadwick was kept
away from the count by repercussions of the ice storm, I visited his usual
turf, the railroad tracks that run from the end of Redwood Road to the
mouth of Ellerbe Creek where it feeds into Falls Lake. And since I just
joined the board of the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, I spent the
rest of my daylight visiting assorted locations along Ellerbe.

Highlights included three beaver, 3-4 Hooded Mergansers, a flock of 16
Cedar Waxwings, and a Red-headed Woodpecker in the marsh behind the
Roxboro Road Super K Mart; two American Kestrels and a Palm Warbler along
Hamlin Road just before noon; a Woodcock peenting and lekking along that
same road after sunset; and my first Fox Sparrow of the season, in a
clearing on some gamelands near the lower stretch of the creek. One
stretch of the railroad tracks was also very busy, with large patches of
Honey Locust and Trumpet Creeper pods attracting large numbers of birds;
my only House Wren and Pine Warbler of the day, as well as 2 out of my 3
of Winter Wren and Field Sparrow, were along this stretch.

Oh, and I found yet another great nature/food convergence: that beaver
swamp behind the K-Mart is right around the corner from La Fondita, a
little Mexican joint with a torta al pastor so good I almost stop feeling
guilty abouting eating pork...

Good birding,

Josh


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

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