I started out at the Voice of America Site B and followed some coordinates John Fussell gave me for where he saw/heard Henslow's Sparrows in the Spring. I got there at first light and thoroughly birded the area for an hour with no luck. The habitat looked awesome (brushy field near creek with plenty of wet spots) but there was not Henslow's. My hearing sucks so maybe they were there but I just couldn't hear them and they certainly were not showing themselves. This was actually a road near the VOA but not technically part of it. The actual VOA site was recently mowed and was down to stubble so I doubt any Henslow's were in there anymore.
Next stop was American Turf in Roper. There were birds everywhere!!! I had never birded the turf farm early in the day and boy what a difference. Immediately I started seeing Upland Sandpipers all over and they were in the turf which to me was strange because usually they are found in the higher grass in the back of the farms. I scanned from right to left and saw at least 23 right off the bat. I ended up seeing many more, probably close to 40-50 by the time I left.
But the icing on the cake and the real reason I came was this beauty pictured below.
Black-bellied Plover on left and American Golden Plover on right. Note the BB Plover has a white vent and under tail coverts. The AG Plover had black feathers all the way back through the under tail coverts although it was patchy. The bird was starting to lose its breeding plumage.
AG Plover - keep in mind these pictures are heavily cropped, this bird was a good 75 yards away. However with binoculars the difference was striking. A much more golden color to his back and his cap was much darker and well defined than the nearby BB Plovers.
Here is an uncropped photo so you can see how far he was.
Horrible photo but posted so you can see black feathers extending all the way up.
Upland Sandpiper - most were far out but I had a few close enough to take pictures.
Upland SP - I liked this photo because I have not gotten to see many in flight.
Horned Lark.
Horned Lark and a peep.
There were a ton of swallows perched on the weeds at the edges of the sod fields. Lots of Barn and Tree Swallows.
I little closer look revealed one (second from left in below pic) that had a dark line across the chest.
Horrible Photo but trust me this was a Bank Swallow. I was happy to see this bird because the last one I photographed was kind of borderline.
Bank Swallow - dark line across upper chest with a bit of a T formation where the "necklace" meets in front.
This Uppie came right up to my truck and I managed to snap this picture before I had to jam on the accelerator, a large sod truck was coming up behind me and was not slowing down so I could look at birds, understandably.
Next stop was the old Coast Guard Station at Pea Island to get the previously reported Lark Sparrows. Right when I pulled into the parking lot I found them really quickly. However they did not let me get to close, they flew off their snag before I could get a decent photo. The below pictures are diagnostic but lighting was bad. Largish sparrow with chestnut markings on face and "stickpin" on clear breast.
There were tons of other birds in this one dead tree - Baltimore Orioles, Cowbirds, House Finches, a Towhee and a Prairie Warbler.
Common Yellowthroat.
The Lark Sparrows disappeared before I could get a better shot and I figured I would try some other spots on Pea Island and come back when the sun was behind me.
Marbled Godwit with half a left leg. Birds with missing legs is actually very common. Its a big dangerous world out there for a bird and they don't have doctors helping them when they get an infection.
As usual Pea Island had plenty of Avocets, Snowy Egrets, Dowitchers and Black Necked Stilts.
Although at the time I was not thinking it, now looking at my pics one of the Black Terns looked suspiciously like a White Winged Tern, a rarity from Europe. See little bird on right had side of frame. Bad pic but his wings were definitely very light colored for a Black Tern.
Here is a cropped picture showing normal dark winged bird on left and lighter on right.
However, in the end I am just calling it a Juvenile Black Tern.
Juvenile Least Tern.
The Black-necked Stilt was the noisiest bird in the area.
There were upwards of 20 Black Terns here.
And the peeps were everywhere. I was having a real challenge identifying all of them, and was really looking for a White-rumped Sandpiper.
Just look at the above picture, they are all different sizes and plumages.
Cropping the photos a bit more you can see a Sanderling in upper right of frame and I think most of the other birds are Semi-palmated Sandpipers. The one a little right of center was larger than the rest of the peeps and I was hoping for a WR SP but I think in the end it was a Western SP.
Semi-palmated SP I think.
Western SP on left and Semi-palmated on right.
As planned I went back to the old CG station and the lighting was better but the Lark Sparrows were still skittish. I got great looks of them while they foraged in the grass but never could get a focused shot.
Here is a bad shot but I wanted to show the white tail feathers which is very apparent when they fly.
A better head shot showing nice pattern on face. He was facing away from me so the picture looks a little weird.
On the way home I stopped at Mattamuskeet and drove around Wildlife Drive as well as the big impoundments further in the park but it was totally dead. The water was really low and it was hot.
Overall I was really pleased with the trip. Great times!
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