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Hummers, owls and waxwings
- To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
- Subject: Hummers, owls and waxwings
- From: steven.shultz@unifi.com
- Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 08:41:42 -0500
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
Tracy and I spent an afternoon of birding after church yesterday. We started at
Jordan Lake hoping for some bay ducks. We scoped from Ebenezer, Seaforth and
Crosswinds with little success. We did, however, see three adult Bald Eagles,
one of which caught a nice sized fish while I watched through the scope.
Next on the agenda was the Bishop's Rufous Hummingbird. Upon arrival we could
tell that this yard would be great for a wintering hummer. Lots of shrubbery to
glean, many trees in which to perch, even a small circulating fountain to lull a
young hummer to sleep. While we could hear the bird vocalizing from time to
time, it was quite a while before we caught a glimpse of her. In the mean time
a pair of courting (?) Red-shouldered Hawks and a spunky Pine Warbler kept us
occupied. Finally we saw the hummer checking for bugs in nearby foliage. She
eventually padded over to the feeder for a sip before returning to her
flycatching tasks. Although it was cold, many small bugs were about no doubt
providing a feast for the visitor from the west. The more we observe wintering
hummers the more impressed I am that they do not seem particularly dependent on
feeders. I imagine the feeders provide an important source of energy during
particularly cold periods, but the rufous in particular seems to have little
trouble with southeastern winters.
After leaving the hummer we stopped at UNC's quad to tick Barred Owl on the year
list. They were just as Rob Gluck described. Thanks Rob!
Back home I was thrilled to find that the Bradford Pear problem had evaporated,
er, rather been eaten. We had resorted to parking the cars nose to tail instead
of side by side to avoid the deluge of ripe fruit falling from the pear tree. I
was wondering how long this would continue when I noted the waxwings had done a
respectable job at clearing the tree of fruit. Sunday's birds finished the job,
not a pear left on the tree as of last evening! Having stripped the tree, the
waxwings (ever polite) proceeded to clean up after themselves by eating any of
the pears that had fallen on the ground. Let me say that the sight of a flock
of waxwings running around on the ground like a pack of sparrows is quite
strange! Wonder if I'll receive a bill in the mail for the clean-up??
Have a great week!
Steve Shultz
Cary, NC
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