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White-tailed Tropicbird



Carolinabirders,
Today Ken Wilkins and I and a party of beginning birders went to Cape Lookout and surrounding area. We saw four Razorbills: one on the beach on the east end of Shackleford Banks. This bird was either thoroughly exhausted or sick because he did not move when approached. Good close-up view. We saw two others swimming and fishing, one in the Cape Lookout bight and the other near the jetty on the seaward side of the hook. The fourth bird flew past us as we traveled back toward Beaufort Inlet on the outside of Shackleford. Good, close-up looks at all four.
The prize for the day was a White-tailed Tropicbird which flew over us while we were in the bight. The bird flew directly over our heads and crossed the hook and flew out to sea. The dead give-away, of course, was the tail streamer. The bird did not have black on the top of its head and I noticed a touch of black around the eye. The bill was yellow. We did not observe the black on the upper wing coverts. Tropicbirds are a bit front heavy as they fly and this bird was definitely that. What with the fierce storms we had over the last couple of days, it may not be so unusual for this bird to appear here at this time. On Shackleford we did see one Whimbrel and one Wilson's Plover. There were literally hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls up and down the coast. Did not see any Little Gulls. Rich Boyd
Beaufort, NC