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Re: Hurricane Birding?



A bad joke, correct?

1. If this storm stays as powerful as it is, or even close, you do not want to be anywhere near it. You will not be able to see any birds, or anything else for that matter, because the wind and rain will be way too strong. This storm is strong enough that you will be thinking about whether you will survive, not about birding, if you are anywhere near the eye.

2. The areas where the storm is going to hit -- if present predictions stay correct, Hatteras Island, where I live -- will be under an evacuation order; people will be required to leave the barrier islands, and law enforcement officers will not allow tourists in.

3. Cape Hatteras National Seashore -- most of Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands -- will be closed. Padlocked wire across the access roads leading to the beach areas, camp ground, etc.

4. We will loose power; extensive areas of Highway 12 -- the one road on and off the island -- will be overwashed, under up to 15 feet (yes, feet) of water, impassible, and inlet formation is a distinct possibility. In other words, even if you could get here, you likely would be stuck here. For a while. Without power. air conditioning. water. It gets really hot and buggy after a hurricane.

A category 1 storm is one thing; yes, you could get some interesting birds blown in, as I have seen in the past storms, which were much, much less intense than Isabel. 155 mph winds should be taken very seriously. I'm packing up, getting ready to leave, and hoping the storm does not hit here or anywhere else.

Sidney Maddock
Buxton, NC




At 08:55 AM 9/14/03 -0400, Ritch Lilly wrote:
Hey Carolina Birders,

I'm wondering if someone might be able to give me some idea of what to
expect birding-wise should Isabel decide to head our direction.  I hadn't
begun birding seriously when previous storms passed close by and therefore
have no idea what I might hope to find or where to look.  (I do remember
seeing gulls embedded in the sides of stucco hotels in the Garden City area
the day after Hugo hit in '89, but they would have been real tough to ID.)
Should birding be best prior to landfall or afterwards?  I'm just guessing
that any such system would be more likely to push birds in around that
infamous right-front quadrant and pull them out further south.  Would that
be the case or am I completely off?  (I realize I'm obviously at least a
little "off" or I wouldn't be looking forward to birding around a hurricane.
My wife has suggested I check for birds in the eye-wall.  She sounded real
excited about the possibilities too.  Hmmmm?!)  Robin Carter mentioned that
the sod farms may pick up once the storm comes through.  Will that depend at
all upon where the storm hits?  I assume migrant passerines could be
expected to show up in numbers in some areas and I'd also love the chance to
find a pelagic or two.  If anyone has any thoughts on the best birding
locations to watch before and after a passing or land-falling hurricane, I'd
sure appreciate the information.

Thanks so much,
Ritch Lilly
Myrtle Beach (Horry County), SC
scbeachbums@hotmail.com

Sidney Maddock Environmental Analyst Center for Biological Diversity P.O. Box 1359 Buxton, NC 27920 252.995.3312 www.biologicaldiversity.org smaddock@biologicaldiversity.org