Fort Fisher/Kure Beach - Orange-crowned?

[Paula Jeannet Mangiafico <paula.mangiafico@duke.edu>]

What a great weekend, weather-wise! Spent a really great day in the 
Southport/Fort Fisher/Kure Beach areas, doing a teeny bit of amateur 
birding. Very nice to get a taste of something I used to do a lot more of, 
pre-mom days.

When I go "birding" the birds are almost always described in the guide book 
as "very common," "abundant," or "common as dirt." But they are still lots 
of fun!

Couldn't decide if the small flock I saw at Kure Beach were dozing dunlin 
or willet - looked mighty gray, so probably dunlin, but they seemed too 
long-legged. When we approached they all hopped away on one leg! Saw 
gillions of laughing gulls and ring-bills, one brown pelican, a few great 
white egrets, one oystercatcher at the Southport Ferry with that lipstick 
bill, the usual anhingas, and a few beautiful ruddy turnstones among the 
rocks at Southport's waterfront.

Walked briefly through a pond and scrub area near the NC Aquarium at Fort 
Fisher, and saw loads of yellow-rumps, a flock of waxwings, common 
grackles, a hairy woodpecker, and, the highlight, what I think was an 
orange-crowned warbler. Is that likely? Although it was small and had a 
thin bill, I'm almost positive it wasn't a kinglet of any kind (which I've 
seen a lot of in the past), being more warbler-ish in silhouette rather 
than tiny and rotund. No wing bars or strong facial patterns. The beak 
seemed a bit longer than a kinglet's. Definite orangey patch on head which 
is what caught my attention. I thought I saw a yellow rump but it might 
have been under the tail instead. It was in a dense thicket about 4 feet 
off the ground in dusky light, and flew off almost at once, so difficult to 
say anything more.

Great to get away to our wonderful coast. Happy spring!

Paula Mangiafico
Durham, NC