Slow Doings at Wrightsville Beach

During the last couple of days we made an excursion to a favored strip of sand in the charming town of Wrightsville Beach.  And each year I don't see much there.  Oh, there are the occasional Brown Pelicans.  And a Willet or two.  And terns a good bit out, fishing.  I've even seen Rock Doves (a.k.a Pigeons).   As always, the ubiquitous birds are Laughing Gulls.  They are well adapted to beach visitors, patrolling regularly (for handouts or an unguarded lunch) and even stationing themselves as sentries every few dozen yards or so.  I had the fortune of a sentry that is a second year bird.  At this age the plumage is nearly complete except for the grey cap instead of the all-black adult head.  But this bird was assertive and even charged an adult in my seeing.  Still, it was all slow doings.  Better luck next year!

Coast Calls, But May Go Unheeded

It has long been held by the birder community that the NC Outer Banks are at their very best in the winter, especially after Thanksgiving.  And I have made an effort each year to get out and see the display of waterfowl.  And this year, I hear the call.  I remember those crisp outings and incredible vistas.  But the schedule is rough this fall and I am so disappointed by my terrible results in January for five years running that this may be a winter the call is unanswered.  Can I find a way in that is schedule-friendly and which isn't wrecked by crummy weather?  I am poring over the calendar now.  It's hard to miss the spectacle. 

Life in the Salt Marsh

Home again!  the annual church music conference is behind me and it is back to ordinary life in the North Carolina Piedmont.  But the coast had its splendors, even if abbreviated by the machinations of a stalled front (meaning: lots of rain).  No matter: I did get some time in the conference center's salt marsh overlook of Bogue Sound.  The center lies on a barrier island affording precious Oceanside and soundside habitats.  The ocean is fine in August, albeit limited in its selection (mostly Sanderlings and Willets) but the marsh is better still.  I always find birds of interest there.  They are successful at hiding and I am inept and coaxing them out, but one or two emerge as a compromise.  This year's happy moment was a very close encounter with a Great Egret.  And the bird stayed put, perhaps sensing I was a non-threat.  Other fairly common denizens include Clapper Rails, Greater Snowy Egrets, and Seaside Sparrows.  Not that I found any this time.  But I had fun looking.  Now, it's back to the songbirds at home.

Gull Habits

As is our habit every July, we take a little time to visit Wrightsville Beach where my beloved enjoys the beach (and I do my best to avoid the sun).  One of my strategies for coexisting with these sunbaked strips of silicates is to watch birds.  Brown Pelicans are always interesting -- and plentiful.  Whimbrels are visible from time to time.  But the Big Daddy is always the Laughing Gull.  These characters are endlessly fascinating.  One behavior is that certain large areas have an alpha male who "laughs" hardest and pushes out the lesser boys when good eats are found.  That isn't happenstance.  It seems sentries are posted every fifty to one hundred feet as far as the eye can see and when one gull gets a nibble from the pink slobs (i.e., people) it calls the alarm and gulls are soon everywhere!  It is hilarious how sad-eyed the sentries seem to be.  One almost wonders if this is a behavior that's been refined for the dozens of decades people have spent on the beach.  I think it's just guilt tripping by the people.  I watch. Never feed.  Let others start the fun!

Winter Jinx

I had hopes of sharing some amazing stories from this year's edition of "Winter Coastal Birding", but my plans were foiled.  I seem to be vexed by a winter trip jinx.  In recent years this has involved damaged car, the flu, high wind, and more.  This year I managed to get myself in the path of "Nemo (South)" which featured high winds and a LOT of rain.  My first and only day was deep-sixed by that combination.  However I did get a look at Lake Phelps, the state's second largest lake, and a marsh trail at the head of the Scuppernong River, part of the great Pocosin Lakes Refuge system.  It was at Lake Phelps that I met this solitary Forster's Tern.  This bird was almost the only bird I really got a good look at.  Then there was a death in the family, calling me home.  So two more days out east remain only an alternate history scenario.  Better luck next time, whenever that may be...

Once More into the Breach

The big ice storm derailed me two weeks ago, but I am not dissuaded.  So it's wheels-up tomorrow for another try at my favorite coastal refuges.  There could be some rain, but otherwise things seem to be fine to reconnect with ducks, egrets, swans, and more.  I'm hoping to visit a new site for me on Day One, the huge but shallow Lake Phelps.  And perhaps investigate the Scuppernong Trail.  If weather permits, it may be a great time also to find the waterbirds on Bodie Island, or maybe Pea Island.  There should be lots to report and great photo opportunities await me.  I'll be touching base again this weekend.

Wildlife Intercept Looking Good

Despite the ravages of nasty Miss Sandy (the ill-starred hurricane/superstorm of early November), I may hit the road again this month.  I admit to expecting a cancellation: one of my favorite refuges for the annual trek to the winter coast had been smashed by the storm and the approaching highway wrecked.  But the January blues are getting to me and word is most if not all my spots are likely accessible.  So I am starting to make my preparations.  It's always a treat to get out to these places off the beaten path.  Lake Mattamuskeet and Alligator River and Pea Island are all stars, and there are odd places in between that are always worth a look.  And darn it, I am way behind on my waterfowl quota!  So who knows? two weeks from now, if the weather holds out, it may be a great time to intercept some wildlife!

Already Missing the Coastal Birds

During the time the computer was disabled, I did get away and experience birds elsewhere.  The highlight for August was the annual music conference on Bogue Banks Island on the North Carolina Coast.  I'm already missing it!  I think early morning shore birding was the best, and I enjoyed the antics of Willets (shown), Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, Brown Pelicans, and more.  The shorebird mix isn't extremely diverse in August, but it does allow concentrated study of the ones that are present.  While I got nowhere near the 223 species I reckoned could be encountered at that location at that time of year, the more important consideration was enjoyment of the species that aren't here.  Great time...can't wait until next year.