Blue Glory

I picked up an opportunity this morning to visit a site I've neglected far too long: the Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial Forest owned by North Carolina State University.  It's a working forestry "lab" but affords fine observation for meadow, woodland, and edge species and is renowned for its variety of woodland warblers.  I scored at least a Northern Parula for my warbler count, but the real fund of the day was watching a pair of Blue Grosbeaks.  They were probably nesting in a tree on a fencerow and were not terribly happy with me, as they chipped continually and moved rapidly from branch to branch.  BG's are summer regulars for us and others in the sunbelt, but they tend to stick to edges near open areas, ruling out my entire neighborhood!  A delight to watch...