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Falls Lake Goldeneye and black-back; Niche Gardens



On Sun, 20 Jan 2002, Tim Lewis wrote:
>
> Thanks for all the info Josh.  I also try to avoid plant sources that
> sell this kind of biological junk.  Perhaps a copy of this message could
> be taken to the above to the nursury so show them how much damage they
> do when they sell dangerous plants like this.

Hi Carolinabirders,

Niche Gardens is actually one of the best places in the Triangle for 
buying native plants and avoiding invasive exotics. My guess is that 
there was no evidence for exotic tendencies in Winter Honeysuckle/ Sweet 
Breath of Spring (Lonicera fragrantissima) until fairly recently, and so 
they are probably unaware of this. My wife and I need to go there soon 
for some clumps of Muhly grass, and perhaps a few Trilliums and other 
spring wildflowers; I'll have a talk with them about this when I do, if 
somebody else doesn't beat me to it...

On Sun, 20 Jan 2002 ALurie6171@aol.com wrote:
>
>  Are the plants you mention "bad"  
> for the birds you mention, or is it because the invasive plants crowd   
> out desirable plants that support the birds you mention?

Most of the plants I mentioned are not bad in and of themselves. In fact, 
they are good for a few birds; unfortunately, those few birds are already 
quite common and in need of no help (American Robin, Carolina Wren, Cedar 
Waxwing, etc). In fact, those birds are the main reason many of the 
plants are so invasive, dispersing the seeds all over the landscape. As 
Anne has guessed, the main threat of the invasives is crowding out native 
plants; they only threaten birds indirectly, through habitat destruction. 
There are exceptions though; I have read that birds nesting in Buckthorn, 
a major invasive threat in the Great Lakes region, have extremely low 
fledging rates, making the plants more or less of a death trap. And I've 
even heard anecdotal reports of hummingbirds dying speared on Burdock 
fruits, but I don't think it's happened more than once or twice...

Meanwhile, I hadn't been birding since the Lake Wateree CBC two weeks 
ago, and was going slightly stir crazy. The Yellow-rump that was 
inspecting my feeder this morning (I'm experimenting with a commercial 
seed mix containing dried fruit) reinforced this feeling. So after brunch 
with my wife, she went off to meet with the design committee of the local 
Friends meeting, and I hearded for Falls Lake.

First stop: Rolling View SRA. Great viewing conditions, with the lake 
smooth and glassy, and most of the many boats floating silently and 
peacefully in little coves with their fishing lines out. Only problem was 
the sun's glare. Well, and the lack of birds. Many Ring-billed Gulls, 
with a few flocks of Bonaparte's and a liberal scattering of Herring. One 
Pied-billed Grebe, a few cormorants, and a heard-only Belted Kingfisher 
were the only non-gull waterbirds. Mostly kinglets (both kinds) on land.

Next I visited the Hickory Hill boat ramp off Redwood Road. I had never 
been there before, and it took me four tries to find it using the 
Triangle Birder's Guide directions due to (a) confusing Redwood and Red 
Mill Roads, and (b) a little dyslexia. But I finally got there. Several 
Great Blue Herons, and thousands of Ring-billed Gulls loafing on 
sandbars. Lots of exposed mud; if only the lake had been like that in 
September! Lots of landbirds along the shoreline too; I probably should 
have looked for that Orange-crowned Warbler that Jeff Pippen found there 
a few weeks ago, but didn't remember that until later.

Then spotted a distinctive white duck with a dark head and little white 
spot near the bill: American Goldeneye! Hadn't seen one in two years, at 
least. It was barely visible near the far shore, behind one of the masses 
of loafing gulls.

I looped around the lake hoping for a better view. Stopped first at Cheek 
Road, since it was on the way. Not much there at first look, but as I 
scoped under the sun's glare, I spotted another sandbar full of gulls. At 
least one Black-backed was among them; too far away to tell whether it 
was Greater or Lesser. (there was also a really cute kitten at the end of 
the bridge remnant here, apparently being fed by the local fishermen; if 
anyone's looking to adopt a cat, this one looks healthy and catchable)

With daylight running out, I skipped the Will Suitt Railroad and finished 
the day at the frontage road off 15 just east of I-85. Finally, here were 
the ducks! About two dozen Aythyas, most of them Ring-necked but at least 
6 scaup. A few of the scaup accomodatingly stretched their wings and 
proved to be Lesser. 2-3 Bufflehead joined them, then 7 Hooded 
Mergansers. Quite a show after the mostly duckless afternoon! Finally, as 
I was about to quit, the goldeneye showed up, tooling across the mouth 
separating the inlet from the rest of Falls Lake; it was significantly 
closer here than at Hickory Hill, although still required a scope for ID.

Good birding,

Josh


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

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