More Local Birding (20-21Jan2014)

Monday after work I took an evening trip to Wrightsville Beach to see if I could scare up a Red-necked Grebe.  The South end jetty did not produce anything interesting mostly because there were a bunch of SUPers out and a couple fisherman on the jetty.  So I headed to Johnny Mercer's pier to do some ocean watching.  Things were pretty slow, lots of common loons as usual but not much of anything else.  I was about to split when I saw a jaeger come out of nowhere like they usually do.  It banked and flew directly at the end of the pier.  I fumbled with my camera but unfortunately I had it on manual focus and  the bird was so quick and flying right at me that by the time I focused a second later it was already out of focus.  However, who knows if I will get better pics of this bird so here they are.

Jaegers are the wall street hedge fund managers or maybe personal injury lawyers of the bird world.  Another bird's misfortune is a jaeger's fortune.  They hassle other birds into giving up their meals.  However where I think this is ugly in humans, I think its a beautiful thing when it comes to birds.  Jaeger's can out maneuver almost any gull which is no small thing considering that gulls and terns are also expert fliers.  This particular jaeger banked gracefully in front of me and then went into hyperdrive and chased a bunch of gulls near shore for quite some time before disappearing.  Based on the proximity to shore, the extended chase, the rapid wing beats and the intermediate size (slightly smaller than Ring-Billed gulls it was chasing) I am calling it a Parasitic Jaeger.  However, I am no Jaeger expert, so I welcome any dissenters.

Maybe I should take my appreciation for jaegers and translate it to admiration for hedge fund managers and personal injury lawyers.  They are just trying to make a living and improve the chances that their offspring will prosper like any critter.  Right?

On Tuesday I made an early morning trip to Fort Fisher to again try for my nemesis the American Bittern.  No luck in that department. However I bagged some random common birds.

                                              Eastern Bluebird.

Yellow-rumped Warbler aka Butterbutt - These guys are under appreciated this time of year because there are so many of them.  In the summer I always think to myself it would be nice to see a Yellow-rump and then in the winter I wish they would just go away or at least stop distracting me from other birds.  As I have poor hearing, I have to rely on my peripheral vision for detecting small movements which help me find birds.  However 9 times out of ten the movement tends to be a Yellow-rump.

Bufflehead - a gorgeous bird when it appears as black and white, but when the sun shines on them just right, they become even more beautiful with iridescent colors.

Not including this one on my list because I am not sure if it's a Greater Scaup or Lesser Scaup.  If I did not see the green sheen I would have said Lesser due to overall head shape and lack of a prominent nail on bill.  However the green was really prominent in multiple angles. Some field guides confirm that even Lesser Scaup which normally would have a purple sheen can have a green sheen in certain light.

Here is another shot showing the green, however its head has the little peak or crested look which tells me Lesser.

                                           Yet another.  What do you think reader?

Cedar Waxwing - has to be one of the most beautiful common birds we have.  This particular flock at the aquarium was 200-300 strong.

Great times.