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Is Toast Toast?
- To: <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
- Subject: Is Toast Toast?
- From: "William McDavit" <osprey1@mindspring.com>
- Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 23:00:07 -0500
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
C'Birders:
Yesterday, Tuesday, Dec.19, Carolyn Bush and I went to Magnolia Gardens
cause it's a neat place to bird, but chiefly to add Fulvous Duck to our
South Carolina lists. We saw 5 birds cooperating by lining up on the
vegetation on the right-hand pond past the Indian Mound. The lady at the
gate was very helpful directing us to the area.
We walked some impoundments, but saw nothing unusual.
So-o-o today I was back at my duties overseeing the Medcalf Lake very nice
birds. The Black-chinned young male Hummer was there with its tail pumping
away and semi-dull green back. Incidentally Sibley is the only guide that
portrays the partial purple necklace of the early winter (young) male in
somewhat the same manner as the bird at McCormick's house. The female or
immature possibly Ruby-throated HB was there with its pretty medium shiny
green back also.
The Cinnamon Teal never showed up anywhere on the lake, not even here in the
afternoon when it had been reliable feeding near our dock. My husband did
not see yesterday but didn't spend extra time looking.
BUT, what showed up was the beautiful adult Cooper's Hawk scarfing down his
new kill: a female Wood duck, right on the edge of our lot next to the
lake. And I thought it was only interested in our seed eating birds. After
dark I went down and checked out the pile of white feathers where I had seen
him eating. He must have eaten til he was stuffed because he sat for about
an hour without moving with one fluffy white feather dangling out of his
mouth. I found the carcass, somewhat beheaded about a yard away. It looked
like the hawk might have tried to fly away with it and couldn't manage the
weight. It felt like it was still fairly weighty. We left it there to see
if it disappears in the night.
So now we're wondering if Toast, the Cinn. Teal met the same fate the day
before. I will paddle in my boat around on the lake tomorrow if it isn't
too cold, and check out East Lake of the Twin Lakes, the other ducky lake.
The 3 Redheads visited again.
A neat thing I didn't mention on Monday, the Great Horned Owl was calling at
3 in the afternoon.
Good Birding All,
Mary McDavit, Sunset Lakes, Sunset Beach, NC, USA, Earth
osprey1@mindspring.com