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Ocracoke: Razorbills, Gannets & Cedar Waxwings



I just spent a week on Ocracoke, though not a birding trip, I did
manage to get out every day.
Highlights: Tuesday, Feb 18, 2003: Five Razorbills were seen just off the breakers
from the beach at the Airport access road. These were seen after days of looking for
Dovekies with no success.
Two other species of note: Northern Gannets were in great numbers over
the weekend. On Sunday, Feb 16, I estimated two groups a couple of miles apart to be a
Total of 5000. On Monday afternoon when I arrived at the beach, there
was a constant stream of Gannets all of which were flying directly south
(no feeding activity). After being amazed at the numbers passing by, I
tried counting them by the minute and came up with numbers of 102, 72, 63, 59, 84, 42, 63.
Eventually, the numbers tapered off to 20_40 per minute. I am not sure
how long the flight was going on, but it seemed to me that there were
thousands heading south. Were these refugees from the "beast of the east"?
Ocracoke has been invaded in the last few weeks by Cedar Waxwings. On
Friday, Feb 14, I estimated that there were several thousand in the
village. Several People I talked to said there were a lot more the previous week
and that they had never seen so many before. The Ocracoke Christmas Bird Count this year
produced only 10 individuals and the record high is 465 in 1997.
Unfortunately with the numbers came casualties. Four were dead around my house; three immatures and one adult. Other neighbors reported dead birds as well. I have to figure how to put screens on the outside that will
discourage them from smashing into the window (Yellowrumps also suffer from windows).
As the days passed, the numbers seemed to decrease. I'm curious to know where they may be
moving. On the way home (Feb 19) just above Avon, I estimated 3000
waxwings on telephone wires. Since I came down the Outer Banks last Thursday in the
night, I don't know if they were present earlier or these were some of
the Ocracoke birds moving around. Are other areas of the Carolinas experiencing
a waxwing invasion?
Peter Vankevich
Washington, DC