Friday morning I arrived at Mattamuskeet bright and early to a beautiful sunrise. I know what you are thinking, why don't I have a picture? I need to remember to start taking pics of things other than birds. Target birds were Bitterns (American or Least) but I dipped on both.
Black-Crowned Night Heron
Turkey Vulture - vultures are usually regarded as ugly things, but really in flight they are gorgeous.
American Black Duck - white under wing, much darker than Mottled. The male on the right really lives up to his name and has an almost black body.
Oh no! A killer bee swarm? Actually these are birds. I counted all the dots in this picture, there is over 1000 and this was just a fraction of the sky. Ok so I didn't actually count the dots but believe me when I tell you there was thousands if not tens of thousands of ducks in the sky and even more on the lake.
I sent this picture to the FBI, they are running an analysis for me to see if there is a Eurasian Wigeon mixed in the flock.
Blue-winged Teal
Wood Duck - I have better pictures but for some reason I liked this one. It almost looks like a watercolor. In fact, I think I like it because male Wood Duck just look to darn perfect. So a speed blur kind of tones down the perfection if that makes sense. Male on the right, and female on the left. I actually like the females more. Luke (my oldest son) hates wood ducks, maybe for the same reason I am not a huge fan but of course hate is a strong word.
House Wren - this guy was really upset when I used playback to get a closer shot. He rattled at me and pumped his tail back and forth. So I let him be after snapping a couple photos.
Snapping Turtle - Why did the turtle cross the road?
Sorry nothing witty to say. I picked up a stick to see if they really are as aggressive as I have heard and he obliged by snapping the stick. "Your finger is next if you don't leave me alone!" So I left him alone.
Northern Harrier - I am sure I will get a better pic later, but I need to make progress on my big year, so here it is. Long tailed and long winged hawk, flip him over and you will see his white rump. These birds patrol the marshes at Mattamuskeet taking their pick from the smorgasbord.
Eastern Phoebe - When I get nostalgic for summer and the abundance of flycatchers, all I need is a Phoebe to break the doldrums. Pretty much the only flycatcher around in the winter here, probably because there is much less flies, especially this winter with all the cold. For you novice birders out there, the Phoebe is easily told by the constantly pumping tail.
Next stop was Jockey's Ridge State Park in Kitty Hawk for the Snow Bunting I dipped on a couple weeks ago. This time I was resolved to finding them even if it meant me scouring every inch of that beautiful desert landscape. And that is what I ended up doing, walking the dunes for over an hour before I finally found them.
Snow Bunting - You would think this plumage would not work well to camouflage a bird in the sand dunes, but you would be surprised. Although this bird is somewhat rare in NC, Jockey's Ridge is apparently fairly reliable. Usually these birds frolic in the snow up North. Perhaps these were on vacation.
Ok, not so camouflaged in the open sand.
But in the grass they blend right in. Can you count how many there is in this picture?
This one was trying to distract me from his hidden family unit.
Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy and Dopey. And you thought the 7 dwarfs were cute.
Ok last bunting pic I promise. Its not every day you see these birds.
After Jockey's Ridge, I headed to Bodie Island (no pics worth posting) and then the old Coast Guard station at Pea Island. The Harlequins were there again but I am focusing on new birds.
I have seen all these birds many times this year, but this pic was what I was waiting for to show the size differences. Herring Gull on left, Great Black-backed Gull in back, Lesser Black-backed Gull in front of the big guy and Ring-billed Gulls in foreground. For the novice birder its good to get such size comparisons.
Another size shot - Lesser Black-backed are smaller than Herring Gulls. Great Black-backed are much bigger, in fact the largest gull.
The other diagnostic mark - Yellow feet. The Great Black-backed has pink feet.
Brown Pelican - No less beautiful then his bigger White cousin. Some may say even more attractive.
Love the feathering detail on these gorgeous birds. They look clumsy when walking on land, but so graceful in the sky.
Bonaparte Gulls - I was trying to make one of these into an exotic like a Black-headed Gull, see the feet of the one bird has much darker red legs. But after studying these birds, I quickly learned that they were all Bonapartes. The size would have given it away if it was a Black-headed also the bill would have been bigger. Once I see a new species it always makes me wonder how I ever second guessed my diagnosis on other birds earlier. The differences become obvious after some study.
Bonaparte's Gull - Love this transitional plumaged head.
Laughing Gull in back, Ring-billed in front - soon all the Laughing Gulls will be as beautiful as this one, but in February this one really stood out.
Ever wonder why birds almost always face into the wind? "All this wind is giving me a bad hair day"
Great Times!
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