Nesting birds
plentiful here
■There is likely no more pleasur
able, and certainly no more inno
cent, outdoor activity that bird
watching, whether it be at your
backyard feeder in the depth of win
ter or at a hummingbird station in
the bloom of summer, and those
who enjoy it most know that gener
ally you get what you work for.
Build cover on your suburban
land, install feeders or bathers in
your urban backyard. Stock up on
food; be generous in your offerings.
Usually this is the ticket.
But locally we are blessed with the
opportunity of
waders begin moving into the rook
ery ~ night herons, tricolor and little
blue herons and cattle egrets, and
suddenly the parade is on.
This is the show we don't have to
pay for - the morning and evening
processions of adult birds sweeping
across the river to feed in near-shore
marshes, at sea and even aS far
inland as the Green Swamp.
Likewise shorebirds, perhaps not
as showy but just as interesting —
the scurrybirds of the ocean beaches
and oystercatchers of inshore waters
— will be on hand and we can watch
them feeding and
seeing a Droau
variety of bird
life without tak
ing any more
pains than to rea
sonably leave
them alone.
Long before
white blooms
ever show up on
our magnolias,
white blooms
appear in the
oaks and yaupon
of Battery Island
across from
Southport.
Beginning by
mid-March every
year, the first of
er's case watch
them protecting
their marshside
nests.
Pelicans, gulls,
terns — all will be
using their
upriverrookeries
and later teaching
their young to fly
and to feed.
A word to
everyone who
likes birds, (
though: They
need their privacy
in their nesting
sites as well as
while feeding.
nesting
American egrets begin their home
making in the Battery Island trees,
and from then on it just gets better
and better.
Soon huge flights of ibises, as
white as the egrets and far more
numerous, start making their way to
the island's downriver end, sweep
ing the ground virtually bare of
twigs while they build their own
nests. And at the same time other
of his feeding habitat in the marsh
and he'll develop new feeding
habits that you can't watch. Disturb
a nestling or an incubating parent
on the nest, and you put the young
ster in jeopardy either from preda
tors or the elements. Leave the nests,
and even the whole colonies, alone.
That's all it takes, and here they'll
come again. Things are looking up.
BIRKENSTOCK
SPECIALTY STORE
>)
Biikenstoc
Specialists!
NOW OPEN IN WILMINGTON
Large Selection of Styles and Colors!
Birkenstock
Comfortable Soles
University Landing
415 S. College Road
. Wilmington, NC 28403
(910) 790-3878
j\crpss from Rock-Ola Cafe -
The Gizeh
A different concept in real estate
sales and property management
❖ All our agents are NC licensed real estate brokers
❖ All our brokers work in real estate full time
❖ We work for you ...listing, selling and managing real estate,
we are not contractors or appraisers
❖ Not only are we multi-million dollar producers, we are
peak performers
❖ WE ALL WORK TOGETHER FOR YOU!
When you’re serious about real estate, call on any of
our brokers. Our education, experience and
dedication can make a difference for you!
Art Skipper Realty Inc.
112 Country Club Drive. Yaupon Beach. NC 28465
910-278 6730 • 800-754-8839 ^
Large enough to serve you. small enough to know you.
Let's Go Diving
on the
SCUBA SOUTH I
•Wreck & Reef Diving
•Instruction • Sales •Service ‘Rentals
457-5201
B. Wayne Strickland, NAUI #3274
222 S. River Drive,.Southport, N.C. 28461
' ' '' : -