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Wake Audubon Mattamuskeet Adventure!



This past weekend thirteen members of the Wake County Audubon Society
visited Lake Mattamuskeet and Goose Creek State Park.
Most of us stayed at bed and breakfasts in Belhaven.  We occupied all of the
available rooms in Belhaven.

We hired a guide (Kelly Davis) to show us around Lake Mattameskette.  She
was very knowledgeable and new all the good spots to look for birds.

We observed approximately 68 species of birds including the following:

Waterfowl:
Snow Geese (1000ish) (both blue and white phase) and Tundra Swan (1000ish).
Very large rafts of ruddy ducks, green winged teal and coot.
Small to medium groups of pin tail, lesser scaup, buffle head, widgeon,
hooded mergansers, black duck, & shovelers.
Individual redhead, pied billed grebe, wood duck, and fulvous whistling-duck
(stuffed in visitors center)

Shore birds:
We also got some excellent looks at shorebirds including western sandpiper,
black bellied plover, greater and lesser yellowlegs, dowitcher and (my
favorite) a small flock of American Avocet!

Gulls:
Bonaparte's, black-backed, Caspian tern?, forster's tern, etc.

Raptors etc:
Bald eagles, osprey, marsh hawk, merlin, kestrel, red shouldered hawk, red
tail hawk, turkey vulture, and black vulture

Waders:
Lots of Great blue heron, great egret, glossy and white ibis, and 3-4
American bittern!
We spotted the bitterns near the park entrance.  They flew over us and
landed nearby at dusk.

Other:
Wild Turkey, tree swallow, red wings, excellent look at marsh wren, several
billion mosquitos.

We didn't see too much at Goose Creek.  It was kind of breezy and the birds,
except for some woodpeckers and robin, seemed to be laying low.

Mammals, reptiles, amphibians etc: lots of sliders, nutria, green tree frog,
garter snake, anole, 20+ sharks teeth found in gravel piles.

It was a great trip!

John Argentati
Greenview Pond
Raleigh, North Carolina