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Trip results May 24-27, 2002



Dear Carolina Birders,

The following are the highlights of our North Carolina
birding trip. Joe Bens, David Whiteley, Bob Foppe and
myself began our trip at 1:30 pm on Thursday May 23
from Cincinnati, OH. We worked our way at a leisurely
pace toward North Carolina, stopping first at two
birding sites in eastern Kentucky. After seeing the
nesting BEWICK'S WRENS near Georgetown, KY we headed
to Red River Gorge to try for Swainson's Warbler.
Missing those, we drove thru the night thru West
Virginia and Virginia, and arrived in Monroe, NC
around 5 am on Friday May 24. We ate breakfast and
then went to the nesting site of the SCISSOR-TAILED
FLYCATCHERS and saw both birds copulating on top of
the tower. Another highlight there were BLUE GROSBEAKS
and a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE nearby. Satisfied with the
flycatchers, we drove east thru Fayetteville, NC
toward Croatan NF. However, a wrong turn bagged us at
least 4 MISSISSIPPI KITES along Rt. 53 just southwest
of Jacksonville, NC. Along Rt. 24 near Bogue Sound, we
found a CLAPPER RAIL swimming in the water from one
spit of land to the next. Other highlights here
included AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS, BLACK-BELLIED
PLOVERS and RUDDY TURNSTONES. Another stop along rt.
24 yielded two FORSTER'S TERNS. In the Croatan NF
along Forest Service Roads we were able to find
several BACHMAN'S SPARROWS and BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES
as well as many PINE WARBLERS. We were unable to
locate any Red-cockaded Woodpeckers nor did we see or
hear a Swainson's Warbler. However a COMMON NIGHTHAWK
was another nice surprise, and a singing YELLOW-BILLED
CUCKOO.
After visiting the Croatan, we decided to check
Harker's Island ferry dock to see if we could get to
Cape Lookout. The price was a little steep for our
budget at $10/person, so we decided to look around
near the edges of the parking lot. Two SANDWICH TERNS
flew by for close views and the biggest surprise here
was a GREAT CORMORANT flying by low over the water
within a about 50 yards. Several WHITE IBISES, ROYAL
TERNS and COMMON TERNS were also present here. As
light began to fade, we decided to drive north toward
U.S. 64 to find a place to stay. We stayed in
Plymouth, NC and were rewarded with a
CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW hawking for insects near the hotel.
On Saturday May 25th, we woke early and headed toward
the Outer Banks. A stop at the Alligator NWR yielded a
fly-over calling YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON. Other
highlights here were NORTHERN PARULAS, YELLOW-THROATED
WARBLER, PINE WARBLERS, OVENBIRD, PRAIRIE WARBLER and
PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS. Warning: deer flies are
relentless on the trail at the end of the road, and
insect repellent was not helping one bit!!!
Next stop was the well site along rt. 345 on Roanoke
Island as described by Fussell in his book. This is
where we found at least 3 SEASIDE SPARROWS and a few
MARSH WRENS, but little of anything else. On to the
Bodie Island Lighthouse ponds. This place was really
hopping with shorebirds, many of them at a distance.
Nevertheless, we were rewarded with nice looks at
DUNLIN, RUDDY TURNSTONES, SEMIPALMATED SANPIPERS and
GREATER YELLOWLEGS. A NORTHERN HARRIER flew overhead,
scattering the birds further out where we saw
dowitchers at a distance, presumably Short-billed.
Many of the heron species were seen here including
TRICOLORED HERON, GREAT EGRET, SNOWY EGRET, LITTLE
BLUE HERON.
WHITE IBISES were also abundant here. A walk along the
trail produced a BLACKPOLL WARBLER. We left the
lighthouse area, and decided to cross the street and
see what Coquina Beach was like. We were surprised to
find at least 21 WHIMBRELS and about a dozen RED
KNOTS. SANDERLINGS and a few WILLETS were also present
here. There were quite a few birds along the beach,
completely oblivious to the many people that were
sunbathing there. On the way back to the car we saw
some GULL-BILLED TERNS flying overhead. Leaving here,
we continued on to Pea Island NWR where we picked up
few species to add to our trip list. However, we hit
it at low tide and found several hundred shorebirds on
the flats at some of the roadside stops. LEAST TERNS
were nice finds here and a few ROYAL TERNS and a
LITTLE BLUE HERON were also present. We had some nice
looks at SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS here. We also visited
Cape Hatteras but it was loaded with people in their
four-wheel drives. The tern colony described in
Fussell's book is not active this year, so we were
told by a local birder. At one of the ponds, a distant
WILLET caused a bit of excitement as we were unable to
make a certain ID intially thru the heat waves as it
stuck its head above the grass. We thought it may have
been a Marbled Godwit until we moved into a better
position and confirmed the bird to be a Willet. A
Nutria at this pond was a nice mammal find.
After checking into our hotel in Hatteras, NC in late
afternoon, we decided to take the ferry over to
Ocracoke Island. From the ferry we could see
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, BLACK SKIMMERS, GREAT
BLACK-BACKED, HERRING and LAUGHING GULLS, and a few
ROYAL and COMMON TERNS. No sooner did we arrive on
Ocracoke Island we hit the jackpot along rt. 12 at a
mudflat surrounded by tall grass and marsh. We found
our only GREAT BLUE HERON for the trip here, a bird
standing on the flats with a mangled wing, unable to
fly. An immature and a couple of adult BLACK-CROWNED
NIGHT-HERONS were also here, as well as our only
GLOSSY IBIS of the trip feeding with several WHITE
IBISES. Our first scan of the shorebirds yielded what
we thought were two dowitchers, but upon close
inspection, the bird on the left was actually a STILT
SANDPIPER in breeding plumage! The bird on the right
was truly a SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER. It was nice to see
these birds side-by-side to compare size and
structure. Other shorebirds here included GREATER
YELLOWLEGS, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER,
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER and DUNLIN. Our only GADWALL
and BLACK DUCKS were seen here.
As daylight began to fade, the FISH CROWS gathered on
the wires along rt. 12. After dark we rode the ferry
back to Hatteras and looked for a place to eat before
turning in for our big pelagic day on Sunday.
We were pleased with the weather on Sunday morning,
May 26th. We boarded the Miss Hatteras for an eventful
offshore excursion. On the way out in Hatteras Inlet,
we recorded our only COMMON LOON flying over the bow
of the boat as well as about 3-4 NORTHERN GANNETS. It
didn't take long before we began seeing pelagic birds
such as WILSON'S STORM-PETREL and CORY'S AND SOOTY
SHEARWATERS. We managed to find all three species of
storm-petrels,  several BAND-RUMPED and a few LEACH'S.
Our best pelagic birds were 3 HERALD PETRELS that we
chased down in deep water. We also saw BLACK-CAPPED
PETRELS scattered throughout the ocean. Some noteable
misses for me, personally, were AUDUBON'S SHEARWATERS
and BRIDLED TERNS. Some of the people on the boat got
good looks at these, but I didn't. Gives me a reason
to go on another pelagic! Many POMARINE JAEGERS were
in attendance and several flew right over the boat, 
but the bird that brought me to my milestone # 400 ABA
area species was a PARASITIC JAEGER!!! The trip total
for Parasitics was 7.  As we were going in, I still
had a chance at more lifers. Although we didn't find
any Greater Shearwaters, an ARCTIC TERN flying over
the bow of the boat brought me to 401 ABA area
species. A few SOOTY and CORY'S SHEARWATERS were seen
within site of land. I remember I was able to see a
black and white striped lighthouse on our way in, so
keep a watchful eye from shore. Also, a few jaegers
could also be seen here.
I finished the trip with 14 lifebirds (5 on land, 9 on
the boat), all of which were seen in North Carolina.
Our final trip total (which includes a few that were
found at our two Kentucky stops) was 157 species,
finishing with a Savannah Sparrow along U.S. 64 while
sitting  in traffic on Monday May 27th on our way out
of the Outer Banks. I almost forgot, the RED-HEADED
WOODPECKER at Croatan NF was a nice find.

David A. Brinkman
Cincinnati, OH



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