Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Storm Birds (11May2015)

Yesterday there was still quite a few reports of shorebirds and pelagic birds in weird places due to Tropical Storm Ana.  I went to Wrightsville Beach early hoping to tap into it.


This Red-throated Loon threw me for a bit of a loop.  The white feathers on flanks was so high up it had me thinking Acrtic loon.  However nothing else about the bird recalls this vagrant species.  So Red-throated it is.


Piping Plovers complete with jewelry were present in numbers.


My obligatory stop at Oleander Gardens Cemetery on the way home yielded this Northern Rough-winged Swallow.

Later I was minding my own business working in my home office and Sherry called with news of Bobolinks at Ft. Fisher.  So naturally I jammed down there and picked up this elusive bird.


Bobolink


Black-necked Stilt


Another Bobolink



Red-necked Phalaropes!!  Don't ask me where these birds were as the access is tricky and they are probably gone now.


If you can believe it that was all a quick lunch break then it was back to work only to get a call from Sherry later in the afternoon that two Hudsonian Godwits were hanging on the spit.  Well I was finished with my conference calls for the day so I jammed back down.


Royal Terns doing their bit to keep the species alive.


Lesser Yellowlegs


Semi-palmated Sandpiper


Common Tern - bill more dainty than Forster's and more deeply red.  You can almost see a carpal bar too.


Red Knot

There was thousands of shorebirds but the Hudsonian Godwits were not to be seen.  Would have been a lifer for me.  At least I still have something to live for.

Cheers.

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