CRASH!

Last night, there was a huge crash and a loud scream from a neighbor that sent us running out onto Randall Lane, the dirt road behind us. A tall spindly hickory on the edge of our property had split in two and the larger branch came crashing down into a neighbor's yard taking a large oak limb with it. In spite of the scream, no one was hurt (just scared). The remaining hickory trunk, 20' high (maybe higher) and with a  rotted middle, looked very fragile and it was imperative to deal with it as soon as possible. The tree guys turned up at 7 am this morning with a very efficient six-man team, a cherry picker that reached for the sky (or the tree tops at least) and a wood chipper; they were able to clear the whole mess in an hour or so. I don't think anyone on Randall Lane got to sleep in this morning and, needless to add, there was not much bird watching until later in the morning.

Young Baltimore Orioles are out. I saw a small group of two or three with an adult female. Also a male N Cardinal feeding a young bird -- probably the second brood for these prolific finches. A noisy row of Carolina Wrens down by the water included 5 or 6 birds with at least two singing males. Don't know what that was about but Carolina Wrens are very active these days and the males are singing loudly at a time when most birds are silent. It may be that available, suitable wren territories are oversubscribed.

The huge thistle plant on the old right-of-way is now flowering and the flowers are pinkish purple not yellow; I was confused by the yellowish tips to the flower bracts which made me think that a yellow flower was about to appear. But that reopens the question of what species this is. More on this shortly.

Eric Salzman