A Blustery Day at Pea Island

In yesterday's post I spoke a little of my visit late last week to Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. My other major objective in the birding adventure was Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on NC's Outer Banks. Let me tell you, it was a cold, windy day! Just a hundred or so miles north there was a snowstorm raging, and we reaped the Canadian winds. Despite these raw conditions, the birding was acceptable. I counted 24 species, all it seemed, huddling to get out of the wind. Good scores were both Brown and American White Pelicans, Northern Harrier, Bufflehead Ducks, Black Ducks, and Eastern Meadowlark. I also located Tundra Swans, Pintails, Shovelers, and Great Egrets. Another treat: a pod of Porpoises swimming in a line only 20-30 feet from shore. Pea Island always shows treasures in the colder months, and had the wind been lessened, I am sure I would have located many others. But I got my time at bat and it is now time to return and enjoy home's jewels.