Cooperative Cooper's (01Feb2015)

Once again I made the mistake of going to the pier too late.  It was 8am by the time I got there and I was really excited to see tons of birds just off the end of the pier.  However, they were moving out quickly.  I tried scanning through the hundreds if not thousands of loons, grebes, gulls and gannets and was not able to find anything interesting.  Within 10 minutes all the birds moved too far for good looks with binoculars.  I need to heed the advice of the more seasoned birders and get there at first light to get really close looks.

Red-throated Loon - I would love to see these birds on their breeding ground, but this time of year they are fairly drab.

Belinda the Long-tailed Duck was happy to see me again.  She flew in as soon as I got to the end of the pier.

Bonaparte Gull

At south end (Masonboro Inlet) I happened upon the most obliging Cooper's Hawk I have ever seen.

Cooper's Hawk - The pale nape is the best field mark for separating this species from Sharp-shinned Hawk.  Plus he/she is simply bigger.

Bonaparte's Gull

This was a Scottish Loon, still reeling from a particular drunken Robbie Burns night.  No actually it is a Common Loon preening.  He was getting oil from a gland near his tail and rubbing it all over for some extra water-proofing.

Common Loon

On my way out, I saw the Cooper's had switched perches, allowing me a nice view of his/her long accipiter tail.

So jealous of all the people in the OBX and even more so of the folks getting views of the Rough-legged Hawk on Cheek Mountain.  Maybe I will get up there soon.