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BIRDS @ THE PLANT
Purple Martin
We have purple martins at the Plant thanks to Alissa from Sparkroot. She waltzed into town as an expert wildlife biologist who had done considerable purple martin conservation work in Columbia, NC. She had the gear, the know-how and the jam to lure in a colony of our own.
It's always a treat when the martins arrive in late spring. They are talkative. And they fill the sky when the second hatch of the day comes around.
Purple martins can tell the difference between one person and another. The birds familiarize themselves with those working about the Plant.
It is amazing how they can disappear when a stranger is afoot. Sightings not guaranteed.
Wood Duck
Bird List
Mary Parker Sonis Photos
I saw a wood duck with a dozen babies emerge from the wetland one day at Pandemic Park. I went back to photograph them many times, but I could not get a great photo.
All that remains is to start getting photographs of every bird I see at the Plant and to post them here. That should only take a few years.
If anyone out there gets a good photo of a bird at the Plant, send it to me. lyle.estill@gmail.com. I would love to build out this page.
I think of the birds at the Plant as a sign of health. For me they make the landscape more interesting.
Whoa! It turns out there are two kinds of people in the world: those who successfully photograph birds, and those like me.
Mary Sonis is based in Chapel Hill. She sent me these shots after reading Birding With Andy. On the left is an Eastern Wood Peewee. On the right is a Yellow Breasted Chat. Andy and I saw both of these birds one morning at the Plant, but, um, I was unable to get photographs like these. Not sure where these pictures were taken (not at the Plant), but hey--these birds are present here.