Friday I made it to Mattamuskeet before dark and birded the impoundments but unfortunately couldn't turn up anything rare.
This Possum agreed with me that the weather was a total downer.
Great Horned Owl - seen off highway on East side of Alligator NWR.
I got to Hatteras at about 9:30 pm and although I was tempted to find a hotel, I knew they would all be pretty expensive this time of year so I sucked it up and spent a rough night sleeping in my truck. Between the lightning, thunder, rain and garbage trucks I barely got a couple hours sleep. Who knew that Garbage Trucks in Hatteras collect garbage at 2am. Weird.
When Brian P showed up he confirmed what I already feared, the trip was off due to lightning risk. Oh well, I was determined to make this drive worth it and headed to Pea Island to try for Stilt SP.
Forster's Tern I think - this time of year Forster's are difficult to tell from Common Terns. This particular bird had just molted tail feathers so that did not help.
Caspian Tern - I am pretty sure I will get a better photo at some point as they are just starting to move through, however, I did not want to risk it so I am calling this one. Bird had complete cap, bill was broader and more red than your average Royal and although its hard to tell from this photo the underwings had extensive dark feathers.
Black-necked Stilt - I love this bird, his head looks like a Ying Yang symbol.
There was plenty of shorebirds including loads of Yellowlegs but I couldn't find a definitive Stilt SP. Although the birding was pretty good I was starting to get really dejected. A 6.5 hour drive to Hatteras in the Rain and overnight stay in my truck only to find out the trip is canceled will do that to you.
American Avocet - eBird flagged the high number I put (60) but there definitely was alot. There is about 30 in this photo alone and this was just a fraction of them.
Gorgeous with or without breeding plumage.
This one is probably an immature male.
Then I saw a duck that looked really out of place for this time of year. It was buffy color with a dark bill and black feathers in the wing. It had my heart racing that maybe I had a Fulvous Whistling Duck which would be a very big deal in North Carolina. However, pardon the pun but cooler minds prevailed and I used my winter birding brain to apply a process of elimination and determined it was an immature American Wigeon. It caught me off guard because it was really too early for a wigeon.
Here is the view that clinched the ID. White above dark in the wing is pretty much a lock for a Wigeon.
I love ducks in flight. I can see why duck hunters are so cuckoo over ducks. You have the variety and different behaviors (puddle versus diving) that is really a smaller world of what all bird watchers like in birding. However, duck hunters are unfortunately mixing their love of shooting guns with their love of ducks. Would be nice if they did them separately. I don't mind hunters so much as long as they are responsible and only shoot what they eat but I feel like their is a ton of hunters out there that ruin it for the real hunters by shooting indiscriminately and not eating their catch.
After Pea Island I thought to myself should I bother with Bodie Island? Usually this time of year there is not much to see except a bunch of tourists. However, I swung by on a whim.
In the flooded field in the middle of the turn around there was a nice collection of shore birds despite the motorcycles and traffic only 20-30 feet away.
Stilt Sandpiper!!!!!!!! Just like that my foul mood lifted and I spent 45 minutes watching these beautiful shorebirds working away. The bird in the foreground was a Pectoral SP.
Stilt SPs have a slightly downward curve to the bill and this time of year still have extensive barring on belly compared to a Yellowlegs which has a slightly upturned bill and mostly clear belly. After watching them for a while, I could see why the behavior can also be a good clue. The Stilt SPs were probing more erratically much like a Dunlin.
Pectoral and Stilt SP.
Yellowlegs in back, Stilt SP in middle and Pectorals in foreground.
This Stilt SP could get a job in a sweatshop sewing clothes.
Stilt SP - nice shot showing extensive barring on belly. Also buffy supercillium and cheek patch.
Nice Pectoral shot showing "bib" with good demarcation. Gosh I am such a bird nerd.
This is a bird that you question when you see Yellowlegs and Dowitchers sometimes but then when you see the Stilt SP you immediately think how could I have been confused before. The "jizz" of the bird is distinct and when you see it you immediately know it.
Another nice comparison shot. The Yellowlegs on top has much more brightly colored legs and a white rump. The Stilt SP below has a speckled rump and much more muted legs.
This Killdeer was upset that I was focusing on the waders so much and insisted I take his photo.
Now that I was in a better mood I thought to myself why hurry home. No sense in coming up all the way to North Eastern NC and not taking advantage of the day despite the bad weather. So I did something I have been meaning to do for a long time. I took the trip to Mackay Island NWR in Currituck County. Robert Van Gundy (I think that's his name) had posted in previous years that this NWR was way under visited and was one of the best places in NC to see King Rails. So it has always been on my short list of places in NC to visit.
Well it ended up taking a while to get there due to traffic issues. There was a head on collision which had me at a standstill and in fact offered me an opportunity to read a couple chapters of The Emperor of Maladies which by the way is a very good book if you like that sort of thing (history of cancer).
However once I finally got there the weather cleared up or at least it stopped raining and I went out for a nice long hike. What a beautiful park and Robert was correct that it was way underutilized. I was there for 3 hours and only saw one other human. This is despite the fairly busy road which is right off the park. Everyone was heading to the OBX via the Currituck Ferry and spending hours in traffic to get there. Little did they know they could have spent all that time closer to home in this beautiful park.
Red-wing Blackbird - I just can't say no when they pose for me.
The loop trail I took offered fantastic although far views of hundreds of shorebirds. If I had brought a scope I might have turned up something good.
Glossy Ibis and some other waders - probably Yellowlegs.
Mr. Mushrat, have you seen any King Rails? Nope, just minding my own business.
On an overcast day, there is nothing more pretty than the silhouette of a Glossy Ibis. Its not really black if you look closely but the silhouette makes it look like it is. Black as night.
Here is a shot that shows if you had the patience and a scope you could spend all day here. Dowitchers, Stilt SPs, Yellowlegs, Peeps, Pectoral SPs etc.....
Tricolor Heron - showing his colors.
Then I was driving out of the park and I saw this out of the corner of my eye!!!!!!
I know that rail chicks are black and most of the birds in this park are Kings so I slammed on the brakes and started to work the grass lines on the causeway.
Then this beauty popped out for only a second and I managed a surprisingly focused shot.
King Rail in all his (or her) royal splendor. I was on top of the world at this point. This bird was so obviously a King compared to the birds I have been seeing at the Battleship in Wilmington. The breast is very rufous.
Then as if that was not enough, while I was looking at the rails I heard what I knew immediately was a Least Bittern. I swiveled around and got my bins on him and confirmed it was a Least Bittern. I was staring at it for a couple second as it flew by before I realized I needed a picture. Sometimes when I am looking at a cool bird my brain takes a second to start thinking. I managed a couple of distant shots before the bird landed in the dense marsh grass.
I am really trying to avoid claiming birds for my Photographic Big Year effort that are not easily diagnostic by looking at the picture. However this is the first Least Bittern I have seen this year and could easily be the only.
In this horrible shot which is heavily cropped, you can see the warm buffy coverts and dark remiges (wing tips). Also the legs are shorter than you would expect on the only on the bird of comparable size that would be in this area/habitat (Green Heron).
After that appearance I had some more curious King Rails make an appearance.
Momma (or Pappa?) with two chicks.
Finally I packed it in and started my long drive home with a ride on the Currituck Free Ferry.
On the pier right next to the ferry there were two Osprey which I assume are juveniles that have not decided to completely leave the nest yet despite fully formed flight feathers.
My biggest mistake of the trip? Not leaving a bit of time to get to American Turf Farms in Creswell. Steve Shultz just posted a Wilson's Phalarope and Buff-breasted SP, both birds I need for my big year. Oh well, I need to leave something for later.
By the way, my spell check is busted for some reason so pardon the poor spelling.
Great times.
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