a lunchtime walk at RNC yielded 12 warbler species and a bit more. I have listed them below in no particular order.
Warblers:
Hooded (male)
Yellow-rumped
Palm
Pine
Yellow
Co. Yellowthroat
Prairie
Black-throated Green
Blue-winged
No. Parula
Black-and-White
Chestnut-sided
Other notables:
Rusty Blackbird (pair)
Blue-headed Vireo
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Hermit Thrush
Brown Creeper
finally, the most startling find for me was perhaps the largest snapping turtle I have ever seen. i observed the beast from the stone entry bridge over the blind brook. it was sunning itself on a rock on the south or west side of the bridge, down stream and roughly 30 feet away. without exaggeration, after close and lengthy study, i would estimate a head-to-tail measurement would be close to 3 feet. the head i estimated was about 5 inches in diameter, legs at the sockets slightly smaller, long claws and quite a sizable tail. the shell was very large and very worn. the upper mandible of the mouth was so overgrown that it resembled an old man with dentures out !
JPA
