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NC: S-t Kite & Wood Stork flyovers!



Birders,

Today, 10 May 2003, Harry LeGrand and I poked around southern Columbus
Co., NC around the lower Waccamaw River and some other creeks for
butterflies and whatever else we could find.  While our primary targets
were butterflies, birds stole the show!

While walking roadsides looking down for leps, we occasionally looked up
and were well rewarded.  Mid-morning, I spotted a SWALLOW-TAILED KITE
flying over the road.  Later, Harry spotted a WOOD STORK flying over --
perhaps a first for Columbus Co.?   We also saw several Ardeids indicating
the likelihood of a nearby active rookery:  2 Great Egrets, 6 Cattle
Egrets, 3 Little Blues, and 2 White Ibis (Threskiornithids).  Anhinga are
always nice to see in NC, and we saw one drying its wings at one creek
crossing.  Also several breeding warblers were noted including
Worm-eating, Swainson's, and Kentucky along with the more widespread
Parula, Prothonotary, and Yellow-throated.  Cuckoos seemed to be flying
around quite visibly everywhere we went.  Along with hearing several, we
probably saw 12-15 or so.  And 2 Loggerhead Shrikes were nice to see as
well.

In addition to the birds we found 15 species of odes, 22 species of
butterflies, several cool herps including a pretty big "yellow" Rat Snake,
a Worm Snake, and incredibly tame Ground Skink, and we heard several
species of frogs including Little Grass Frog.

Good Birding,

Jeff

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jeffrey S. Pippen
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Rm 139 Biological Sciences Bldg, Biology Department Box 90338
Duke University, Durham, NC  27708
PH: (919) 660-7278			<jspippen@duke.edu>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^