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| A Northern or yellow-shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus) in late afternoon on November 24, 2025; not a mature male. © |
[For more photos from late November 2025 see: durhamspark.blogspot.com/2026/02/some-astronomical-events-fall-2025.html ]
I thought I heard upland chorus frogs or spring peepers very faintly calling in the distance southeast early on about February 18th and 20th (?), but it was hard to tell. The weather was relatively mild but not very wet. I heard angry-sounding raccoons or opossums (?) in a wooded area similarly early in the morning or in the evening two or three times recently and one or two ducks were flying over in the dark one night in February. I might have heard gunshots nearby at night a few times recently (not a first if so), but there have been few or none of the pandemic-era unsanctioned car meetups at night (I think a youth was shot by an officer at one at Woodcroft Shopping Center in 2025). On sunny or warmer days woodpecker 'drumming' rattles from nearby woods (as far as I know, the drumming is not produced by flickers, which seem to be uncommon here) and I have probably been hearing smaller Picoides woodpeckers calling nearby. Large pileated woodpeckers were here in summer 2025, which was unusual, but they live in larger bottomland forests nearby and might not be uncommon there. Cardinals have been singing a lot (if I did hear frogs recently, they would have been drowned out by the singing cardinals and other birds and traffic noise around dawn), along with mourning doves, chickadees, towhees, etc. Barred owls have been calling more often, day and night, but not very nearby. I've heard red-shouldered hawks a few times so far this spring. Many of the migratory birds might have left. Myrtle warblers are still here and I haven't seen many of the rarer migratory sparrows so far this season. The small red maple was briefly bleeding sap, which often happens around now, maybe due to a yellow-bellied sapsucker migrating though. Sapsuckers are here for months, but they often seem to leave the red maple alone until now, or maybe a lot of sap rises now. The flowing sap attracted a Baeolophus bicolor. Earlier in the season sapsuckers sometimes peck at fruit remaining on the persimmon below. Despite the unusually cold weather in January daffodils sheltered by trees have been coming up fast and one already has a yellow flower bud this week. Usually winged elms would probably be flowering by now or maybe even about done. Other elm species might flower more in March. Some Christmas lights are still on. There can still be significant snow accumulation here even in March.
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| Dry fruit remaining at the very top of the relatively large American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana; in the ebony family) nearby (surrounded by the hickory, left, and oaks) around mid-morning on November 22, 2025. © |
From the New Hope Bird Alliance – A petition near Sandy Creek Park in western Durham (Sandy Creek is a tributary of New Hope Creek/River): www.change.org/p/petition-to-city-council-to-revoke-rezoning-adjacent-to-sandy-creek-park
Durham Creek Week 2026 will be March 14th-March 22nd, and there will probably be creek weeks around then in Orange, Chatham, and Wake counties, etc.; others are usually held in the summer or fall.
Along Bolin Creek in Carrboro (Booker Creek is a tributary; part of Little Creek in Durham): indyweek.com/news/carrboro-town-council-approves-creekside-greenway-alignment-for-bolin-forest/
On CHALT (not very recent): indyweek.com/news/is-chalt-dead/
In Wake County: indyweek.com/news/one-mans-trash-is-another-gulls-treasure/
indyweek.com/news/culture/art/dave-cook/
Both notices were sent out the afternoon of February 20th:
PUBLIC NOTICE: CANCELLATION OF FEBRUARY 24 PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING
The special meeting and public hearing of the Durham Planning Commission scheduled for Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. to consider the rewrite of Durham’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), also called the Land Development Code (LDC), has been canceled by the Durham City Council and the Durham County Board of Commissioners.
Why is this happening?
Durham has been working since late-2023 to rewrite its development rules so they align with the community’s vision in the Comprehensive Plan adopted in October 2023. State law actually requires local governments to have a comprehensive plan and to align zoning with that plan. That’s what Durham has been trying to do.
In December 2024, the General Assembly added a significant zoning provision to a 132-page disaster relief bill originally intended to assist communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. This provision prohibits local governments from making certain zoning changes—known as “down-zoning”—without obtaining written consent from every affected property owner. These restrictions make it extremely difficult for communities across North Carolina to update their development regulations. At the same time, other state laws require zoning regulations to be consistent with an adopted comprehensive plan. This creates a direct conflict in state policy: local governments are required to update zoning but are effectively prevented from doing so, resulting in uncertainty and challenges for sound governance statewide.
To avoid this conflict, the draft LDC included a carve-out: any property that would be “down-zoned” would be excluded and would continue to follow the existing UDO. Unfortunately, property owners have challenged this carve-out approach and threatened litigation within the past week. Given the legal challenges raised just days before the hearing, the adoption process for the LDC has been paused to allow time to evaluate these issues and determine the best path forward.
What’s next?
While the formal public hearing will not proceed, staff from the Durham Planning & Development Department will be present and available at the originally scheduled time—Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 5:30 p.m.—to answer questions and provide information to any members of the public who choose to attend. This will be an informal opportunity for residents to learn more about the current draft of the LDC, to ask questions, and to share feedback about their specific properties.
Durham remains committed to transparency and to ensuring that the new LDC reflects the goals and values of our community. We will continue to keep the public informed as we navigate this challenge.
From the New Hope Bird Alliance –
ACTION ALERT: Durham UDO Public Hearing Canceled
The public hearing previously scheduled for 2/24 to discuss the draft of the new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO)--now also known as Land Use Policy--has been canceled. Durham Planning Commission staff will still be available at the same time and location (5:30 PM at 101 City Hall Plaza) for an informal Q&A and to hear feedback about the draft code. Please review the map and UDO and prepare to share your questions and thoughts with the Planning Commission. Almost every part of Durham will be affected, as this map shows. The full draft is here. The adoption process is described in more detail here. While the goals of increasing affordable housing, containing sprawl, and creating walkable neighborhoods are admirable, the UDO will result in more intense development within the Urban Growth Boundary. Long-term public and economic health and conservation of birds and other wildlife, require including preserving urban open space and wildlife corridors; retaining and using native plants; moderating lights; using bird-friendly design principles; increasing the urban tree canopy in heat islands; and widening riparian boundaries for flood control in the face of climate change. Stay tuned for more details on this ongoing issue! |
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