I made a quick run around the Warren Wilson College field below the red WWC barn yesterday before sunset and had: Lincoln's Sparrow - at least 4 Grasshopper Sparrow - 1 Swamp Sparrow - 11 (scattered elsewhere locally, but this seemed like a good number for early October) Bobolink - 2 Today, I had a Marsh Wren on private property near the Asheville Airport, and re-found one of Simon T's Marsh Ws at Hooper Lane. Wayne F. had two Lincoln's Sparrows and a Peregrine Falcon at Hooper. A few Bobolink remain. The winds kicked up, and I headed to Jackson Park. Jackson Park was absolutely dead. I ended up with eight warblers today overall. Neotropical migrant activity has really died out fast in the past few days. I kicked up a Wilson's Snipe off Hwy. 25 in Mountain Home. Some of you know that botany was my first natural passion way before I got into birds. Some of you may know that I have been passionate about growing rare, native woodland medicinal plants for years in Madison County. I have always been aware of the risks involved with doing this, but I finally got hit hard last week. I suppose I'm in shock. I haven't let it set in yet, but I lost 1/2 an acre of the most beautiful, healthy, simply amazing seven-year-old American Ginseng ever. It was poached clean by my neighbors days before I got back in town. I'm absolutely heartbroken. The holes in the ground hurt like holes in my heart. The monumental monetary loss is one thing, but the years of love, labor, and hope that I have lost from this are absolutely crushing. I will never see that land the same way again. It was the prime motivation for my buying the land, and it was my deepest dream to cultivate this land into a productive sanctuary. Perhaps some of you have experienced this loss, and perhaps some of you are considering growing. Take warning. The risks are real. They're getting higher. The future of our native medicinal plants is dismal. A few recent pics are attached. Steve Ritt Asheville, NC
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