Beaufort Cranes (14March2014)

I didn't think I would get this serious about my so called big year that I would drive 4 hours to see two birds that I have seen many times before in other states.  Sometimes when I wake in the night and start thinking about work my mind races and cant stop.  So instead of waking up the rest of the family, I hopped into the truck and hit the road, it was 4am.
John Fussel had confirmed that the Sandhill Cranes were still at Rachel Carson in Beaufort as of earlier that week.  I had tried earlier in the year at the Beaufort airport but the cranes were not there.  John confirmed that the best way to see them was to watch them fly from their roost on Rachel Carson at sunrise.  In case the reader does not know the name, John literally wrote the book on the birds of Coastal North Carolina. http://www.amazon.com/Birders-Guide-Coastal-North-Carolina/dp/0807844535
So when he posted his sighting I knew it would be a pretty sure bet, unless the birds decided to fly North before I could get there.  John said last year they were gone by this time.
I got to Beaufort at 6:30 and positioned myself at Front and Gordon Streets on John's advice.  Beaufort is pretty much the most picturesque town in all of NC.  We have considered moving there several times.  Surprisingly enough there were tons of people walking and running before first light and one group of ladies asked me if I was waiting for the cranes.  They told me they had not seen them in the past several days but that usually they flew straight over like clockwork at sunrise.  This made me worried that I drove all the way for nothing.  Then just as advertised at 7:15am exactly sunrise per weather.com, I heard the distinctive call or honking of the Sandhill Cranes!  It was still fairly bad light so I only got pics of silhouettes but they are certainly diagnostic.  Necks extended, hunched back and legs extended. Beautiful!

                                Sandhill Cranes.

I had time to kill before my first telecon of the day so I went to Fort Macon State Park to see if I could relocate the Swallow-tail Kite seen that week.  No dice on the Kite, but picked up a couple birds for my photographic big year.

Red-Throated Loon - bill almost always pointing up.  A somewhat "blank" look on the face and more slim than the other loons.

Mourning Dove - starting to build nests!  Spring has sprung.

House Sparrow - really a finch but House Finch was taken.

Fish Crow - smaller than American and this one and his colleagues were giving the characteristic two note calls which is diagnostic.

Great Times!