Route: Carolina Beach State Park, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Fort Fisher-Southport ferry, Southport ferry terminal picnic area, Battery Island (viewed from Southport waterfront), Green Swamp (5 miles north of Supply)
Habitats: longleaf pine with turkey oak, saltmarsh, dunes, mudflats, Cape Fear River, longleaf pine with wire grass and cane
Weather: thunderstorm on late Friday afternoon, overcast afterwards, sunny with cumulus clouds on Saturday, light westerly wind
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| GAVIIFORMES |
| Common Loon | 3 | flying northward over Carolina Beach SP |
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| PELICANIFORMES |
| Northern Gannet | 12 | behind fishing boat |
| Brown Pelican | >600 | including >200 behind fishing boat and on each of two nesting islands in Cape Fear River |
| Double-crested Cormorant | >50 | scattered small groups |
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| CICONIIFORMES |
| Turkey Vulture | >50 | including some along the coast |
| Black Vulture | 4 | over Green Swamp |
| Great Egret | >20 | scattered |
| Snowy Egret | >20 | including several feeding on tidal flats |
| Little Blue Heron | 1 | adult in saltmarsh |
| Tricolored Heron | >10 | scattered in saltmarshes |
| Cattle Egret | 4 | flew past in agricultural area on the way to Green Swamp |
| Green Heron | 1 | beside pond at Carolina Beach SP |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | 2 | flying overhead at dusk, identified by calls |
| Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | 1 | flushed from trees beside saltmarsh |
| White Ibis | >400 | including large numbers in colony on Battery Island, elsewhere in scattered small flocks |
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| ANSERIFORMES |
| Wood Duck | 1 | |
| Mallard | 1 | |
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| FALCONIFORMES |
| Osprey | 10 | including one that caught a large fish in a saltmarsh channel |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | male at Carolina Beach SP |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 1 | north of Wilmington |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 1 | perched beside the highway past Green Swamp |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 5 | along I40 |
| Merlin | 1 | female (or possibly 2) flying northward flushing sandpipers and terns on flats behind the beach |
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| GRUIFORMES |
| Clapper Rail | >10 | calling from saltmarshes (keh-keh-keh...) |
| Black Rail | 1 | presumably this
species -- calling from saltmarsh
(ki-krrr ki-ki-krrr...) |
| Sora | 1 | flushed from saltmarsh |
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| CHARADRIIFORMES |
| Black-bellied Plover | 12 | scattered among other shorebirds, most in full breeding plumage |
| Semipalmated Plover | >50 | in small flocks feeding on mud or flying northward |
| Killdeer | 10 | in agricultural areas and on lawns |
| American Oystercatcher | 10 | including one or two pairs with nests behind the dunes |
| Greater Yellowlegs | 5 | scattered at edges of ponds and on mudflats |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | 4 | feeding in wet grass beside the pond in downtown Carolina Beach |
| Solitary Sandpiper | 15 | at edges of ponds and flying northward overhead |
| Willet | >20 | scattered on mudflats and calling from nesting territories in saltmarshes (will-willet will-willet ...) |
| Spotted Sandpiper | 2 | at edge of a pond and on mudflat |
| Whimbrel | 4 | on mudflats |
| Ruddy Turnstone | 2 | resting near terns, in nearly full breeding plumage |
| Red Knot | 20 | in small groups flying northward (no good looks!) |
| Sanderling | >20 | on beaches and sandy flats, all in winter plumage |
| Sempalmated Sandpiper | >20 | in small flocks flying northward or feeding on mudflats (no good looks!) |
| Western Sandpiper | 4 | feeding on mudflats (no good looks!) |
| Least Sandpiper | 15 | feeding in short grass beside the pond in downtown Carolina Beach, also small groups flying northward |
| Dunlin | >20 | feeding on mudflats, in full breeding plumage, with black bellies |
| Short-billed Dowitcher | 60 | feeding, sewing-machine fashion, on mudflats, almost all in breeding plumage typical of populations breeding in eastern Canada (with whitish belly and lower breast) |
| Laughing Gull | >1000 | everywhere -- including behind the ferry -- and an amorous pair at lunch (female begging regurgitations from her mate) |
| Bonaparte's Gull | 1 | with a group of Laughing Gulls roosting on the beach |
| Ring-billed Gull | >100 | scattered, often with Laughing Gulls, all in first-winter plumage |
| Herring Gull | >50 | scattered along the beach and river, all in faded first-winter plumage |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 10 | in the congregation of birds behind a fishing boat, all in first-winter plumage |
| Gull-billed Tern | 3 | swooping to catch fiddler crabs on mudflats |
| Royal Tern | >500 | everywhere, including on nesting islands in Cape Fear River, many males carrying fish to show or to feed their mates |
| Sandwich Tern | 20 | in groups of resting Royal Terns |
| Common Tern | 3 | with other terns |
| Forster's Tern | >20 | along beach and resting with other terns, some still in winter plumage with black ear muffs |
| Least Tern | 10 | usually alone, diving for fish in shallows |
| Black Skimmer | 30 | resting on mudflats, just returned in past week (according to warden's report) |
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| COLUMBIFORMES |
| Rock Dove | 100 | scattered in towns and near highway overpasses |
| Mourning Dove | 100 | scattered |
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| STRIGIFORMES |
| Barred Owl | 1 | hooting near the campground |
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| CAPRIMULGIFORMES |
| Common Nighthawk | 4 | heard at dusk above the forest in Carolina Beach SP (nasal peent) |
| Chuck-will's-widow | 10 | heard at close range at dusk in Carolina Beach SP (including the inconspicuous initial "chk") |
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| PICIFORMES |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 5 | including near campground |
| Downy Woodpecker | 3 | including near campground and in Green Swamp |
| Red-cockaded Woodpecker | - | two cavity trees in current use in Green Swamp but no signs of the birds nearby |
| Northern Flicker | 1 | on our way to Green Swamp |
| Pileated Woodpecker | 2 | calling near campground -- one flew past at treetop level |
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| PASSERIFORMES |
| FLYCATCHER FAMILY |
| Eastern Pewee | 1 | calling at Carolina Beach SP |
| Great Crested Flycatcher | 8 | including several pairs at Carolina Beach SP and one in Green Swamp -- persistent "dawn song" lasted from 5:30-6:15! |
| Eastern Kingbird | 2 | at rest stops on I40 and I95 |
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| SWALLOW FAMILY |
| Purple Martin | 8 | including a few at Carolina Beach SP marina |
| Barn Swallow | 20 | including pairs at many highway bridges, some flying northward along the beach |
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| JAY AND CROW FAMILY |
| American Crow | 20 | inland but also Carolina Beach SP |
| Fish Crow | >20 | near coast including Carolina Beach SP |
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| TITMOUSE FAMILY |
| Carolina Chickadee | 10 | including one pair with fledglings near campground |
| Tufted Titmouse | 4 | singing near campground |
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| NUTHATCH FAMILY |
| Brown-headed Nuthatch | 4 | including a pair in Carolina Beach SP and another feeding nestlings in a short snag in Green Swamp |
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| WREN FAMILY |
| Carolina Wren | 20 | singing songs that often sound very different from those in Chapel Hill! |
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| OLD WORLD WARBLER FAMILY |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 8 | near campground |
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| THRUSH FAMILY |
| American Robin | 4 | at rest stop on I95 |
| Eastern Bluebird | 12 | scattered |
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| MIMIC FAMILY |
| Gray Catbird | 1 | "mewing" beside the campground |
| Northern Mockingbird | 50 | scattered everywhere |
| Brown Thrasher | 4 | including a bird carrying nesting material in Carolina Beach SP |
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| STARLING FAMILY |
| European Starling | >50 | scattered |
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| VIREO FAMILY |
| Red-eyed Vireo | 1 | singing near campground |
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| FINCH FAMILY |
| House Finch | 10 | in towns |
| American Goldfinch | 4 | flying overhead in Carolina Beach SP |
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| NEW WORLD NINE-PRIMARIED FAMILIES |
| WOOD WARBLER FAMILY |
| Yellow Warbler | 1 | singing a few times after lunch at the Southport ferry terminal |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | 10 | in small groups near campground |
| Yellow-throated Warbler | 2 | including one repeatedly collecting nest material from the groud |
| Pine Warbler | 10 | singing in pines everywhere |
| Prairie Warbler | 3 | singing from impenetrable thickets in Green Swamp |
| Blackpoll Warbler | 1 | silent male near campground |
| Common Yellowthroat | 4 | singing near campground and in Green Swamp |
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| BLACKBIRD AND ORIOLE FAMILY |
| Boat-tailed Grackle | >100 | near the coast, including many singing males but no nesting colony (nevertheless, a copulation at the Southport ferry terminal away from a colony) |
| Common Grackle | >200 | in pairs and singles scattered |
| Orchard Oriole | 1 | male flew past on our way to Green Swamp |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | 10 | scattered |
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| TANAGER FAMILY |
| Summer Tanager | 1 | male allowed close looks near campground |
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| CARDINAL SUBFAMILY |
| Northern Cardinal | >50 | including birds singing songs that do not resembel those in Chapel Hill |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak | 1 | male allowed clear views and even sang its robin-like song a little |
| Painted Bunting | 3 | including a male and female that allowed clear views in the scope at the Carolina Beach SP marina and a singing male that could not be seen at the Southport ferry terminal |
| Indigo Bunting | 2 | singing at the Southport ferry terminal |
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| SPARROW SUBFAMILY |
| Eastern Towhee | 20 | including several uttering drawled calls (chiuweenk) at dusk and a female that showed her yellowish-white eyes in the Green Swamp |
| Bachman's Sparrow | 4 | including one singing in Green Swamp that permitted clear views in the scope while serenading us with its wistful bell-like songs |
| Chipping Sparrow | 2 | at the rest stop on I95 |
| Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow | 2 | flushed from saltmarsh (orange stripes on face, streaked breast) -- labeled "typical" on page 289 of Peterson |
| Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow | 4 | flushed from saltmarsh (lots of orange on breast and no streaks) -- at least two sang ridiculous grating songs (zhzhii-kkk) -- labeled "inland" on page 289 of Peterson |
| Seaside Sparrow | 1 | flushed from saltmarsh (gray-brown, dusky stripes, yellowish patch on lores) |
| Song Sparrow | 1 | singing briefly at Carolina Beach SP |
| White-throated Sparrow | 1 | singing briefly at Carolina Beach SP |
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| SPARROW SUBFAMILY |
| House Sparrow | 10 | in towns -- several in a Purple Martin house |
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Sharp-tailed Sparrows have recently been split into two species, because of evidence that two distinct populations meet but apparently do not interbreed on the coast of Maine. . . .
The closely related Seaside Sparrow nests in saltmarshes all along the Atlantic coast -- including the entire NC coast.
Despite getting caught by a thunderstorm as we finished putting up our tents at Carolina Beach State Park, we otherwise had spectacular weather. No sooner was the rain over than we saw a male Summer Tanager and then Painted Buntings. At dusk we heard Chuck-will's-widows and the next morning had great looks at a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. For me, the dawn songs of the Great Crested Flycatcher were also a show.
We cleaned up on terns -- including lots of Royal Terns carrying fish (probably males courting mates) and Gull-billed Terns swooping to catch fiddler crabs (talk about an angel of death for the crabs!). Sandpipers and their relatives allowed lots of comparisons of leg and beak lengths.
The intrepid people who thrashed around in the saltmarshes managed to see (actually see!) a rail. Those who persisted eventually got great looks at both Nelson's and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows.
There were lots of migrant shorebirds -- all the sandpipers and plovers and relatives (except the Oystercatchers and Willets) were headed north, most of them to the Canadian taiga or Arctic tundra. The Merlin was accompanying them!
In comparison to February, the gulls had almost completely changed guard. Thousands of Laughing Gulls replaced the thousands of Ring-billed Gulls. All the remaining Ring-billed, Herring, and Greater Black-backed Gulls (those that had not yet returned to the Great Lakes and New England) were young birds finishing their first winter.
In contrast, we found few migrant landbirds -- the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, the Blackpoll, Yellow-rumped, and Yellow Warblers -- and most of the sparrows.
The Green Swamp was the big surprise. We found Bachman's Sparrow and heard its haunting songs, and we found the cavity trees of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (although we could not find the birds), but the flowers were the surprise. Before we were through we had found five species of carnivorous plants (not counting the Venus' Flytraps at Carolina Beach State Park).
The longleaf-pine/wiregrass savanna was a sight to behold -- sunny tan
waves of grass with freckles of violet and yellow butterworts and
eruptions of dark chestnut pitcherplants!