February 4 (Friday evening)

Alligator River NWR (Milltail Road)

habitat -- agricultural fields surrounded by forest

weather -- chilly, calm, thick clouds

February 5 (Saturday)

Manteo to Hatteras along the Outer Banks including . . .

Whalebone Junction causeway (Roanoke Sound), Bodie Island pond, Coquina Beach, Oregon Inlet jetty, Pea Island NWR (North Pond and beach at Visitor's Center), Salvo campground (now picnic area), Cape Point pond

habitats -- shallow sounds, beach and ocean, rocky jetty, inlet between islands, shallow fresh-water or brackish ponds, marshes around ponds, dunes

weather -- chilly, sunny, wind N 10-15 knots

February 6 (Sunday)

Cape Point pond and beach 8:00-10:00

Hatteras Inlet ferry 11:00-11:30

Ocracoke-Swanquarter ferry (Pamlico Sound including Swanquarter NWR) 12:30-15:15

habitats -- similar to preceding day and in addition shallows and deep water of Pamlico Sound

weather --chilly, sunny, wind NW 10-15 knots

THIS TRIP visited three national wildlife refuges administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service and one national seashore administered by the National Park Service. Together they make the Pamilco Peninsula and the Outer Banks one of the great wild places in North America!

GAVIIFORMES
Red-throated Loon	>1000	migrating NE on Pamlico Sound, also scattered on ocean
Common Loon	15	singles on Pamlico Sound and ocean
PODICIPEDIFORMES
Horned Grebe	50	in small groups and singles on ocean and Pamlico Sound, several in Oregon Inlet fishing harbor
Eared Grebe	1	on ocean near Cape Point -- seen by the straggling beach walkers only! -- rarely seen in N. C.
Western/Clark's Grebe	1	possibly glimpsed briefly on ocean at Coquina Beach by H. C. Mueller -- few previous observations in NC
Pied-billed Grebe	>20	on ponds, ditches
PELICANIFORMES
Northern Gannet	>6000	migrating northward past Pea Island, smaller numbers elsewhere on ocean and Pamlico Sound, nearly all (>99%) adults
Brown Pelican	100	nearly all south of Cape Hatteras
Double-crested Cormorant	>10,000	on sandbars in Hatteras Inlet, others scattered on ocean and sounds elsewhere
CICONIIFORMES
American Bittern	2	including one high over North Pond (a most unusual place!) and one stalking prey at Cape Point pond
Great Blue Heron	12	including 9 standing in a row on the edge of North Pond for shelter from the northerly wind
Great Egret	2
Snowy Egret	2
Tricolored (Louisiana) Heron	9	mostly in Bodie Island pond
Black-crowned Night-Heron	1	after dark
White Ibis	50	mostly in Bodie Island pond
ANSERIFORMES
Tundra (Whistling) Swan	4000	including 3000 in green and black fields near Pungo Lake
Snow Goose	200	in North Pond plus about 20 on Cape Point
Brant	4	in the distance on the sound side of Ocracoke Island -- 4 more than last year!
Canada Goose	100	Roanoke Sound and elsewhere
Green-winged Teal	>1500	large flocks on ponds
American Black Duck	30	mostly in pairs
Mallard	50	mostly in pairs
Northern Pintail	30	in small groups
Northern Shoveler	100	including some pairs, males in full plumage now
Gadwall	400	in several large flocks
American Wigeon	20	only on Cape Point pond
Canvasback	2	on Cape Point Pond
Redhead	1	lone female near Cape Hatteras lighthouse
Ring-necked Duck	10	on Bodie Island, where we did NOT stop to look at them
Lesser Scaup	300	including good views of large flocks on Roanoke Sound and a small group at Ocracoke village
Oldsquaw	1	in the distance on Pamlico Sound
Black Scoter	200	in several long flocks flying south over the ocean
Surf Scoter	50	mostly on Pamlico Sound where a few permitted good views
White-winged Scoter	1	female on Cape Point pond -- scarce in N. C.
Common Goldeneye	1	female at Oregon Inlet fishing harbor -- with a golden eye!
Bufflehead	500	in small flocks and singles everywhere -- on ponds, ocean, and sounds
Hooded Merganser	40
Red-breasted Merganser	>1000	including several large flocks flying northward over Cape Point and Pamlico Sound
Ruddy Duck	100	on Cape Point pond
FALCONIFORMES
Black Vulture	2	on our way to Plymouth
Turkey Vulture	50	scattered Friday and Sunday
Bald Eagle	2	beside a new nest opposite Rose Bay Oyster Company -- but they did not stick around!
Northern Harrier	20	but only 1 adult male in gray plumage
Cooper's Hawk	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	3	including one soaring over Buxton Woods
Red-tailed Hawk	20	only on the mainland
American Kestrel	22	including some every day
Merlin	2	including one female that perched on a stake near Cape Point pond
GRUIFORMES
American Coot	50	on ponds, in ditches
CHARADRIIFORMES
Black-bellied Plover	4	including one at Hatteras ferry terminal
Killdeer	20	in ones and twos lots of places
Greater Yellowlegs	50	at Bodie Island pond and at Cape Point
Lesser Yellowlegs	1	at Bodie Island pond -- unusual in winter!
Willet	30	on beaches especially at Cape Point
Ruddy Turnstone	2	feeding on insects in seaweed at Cape Point
Sanderling	30	on beaches, scurrying around as usual
Least Sandpiper	1	seen on Saturday, missing on Sunday, right where the Merlin perched!
Common Snipe	2	in flight over South Pond
American Woodcock	10	displaying above fields along Milltail Road at dark
Common Black-headed Gull	1	at our feet with a Bonaparte's Gull near Cape Point -- a European gull way off course!
Bonaparte's Gull	>4000	in flocks everywhere along the ocean, especially in Oregon Inlet
Ring-billed Gull	>2000	everywhere -- in fields on the mainland, along the surf on beaches, following the ferries
Herring Gull	>1000	mostly at Cape Point, scattered elsewhere on Outer Banks
Lesser Black-backed Gull	1	adult over the ocean near the old lighthouse site -- should have been in Europe or North Africa!
Great Black-backed Gull	>500	mostly at Cape Point, scattered elsewhere on Outer Banks
Forster's Tern	20	Coquina Beach and Pamlico Sound -- no good looks
Black Skimmer	1	looking very unhappy at Oregon Inlet -- not usually around during the winter!
COLUMBIFORMES
Rock Dove	30	"pigeons", although often kept in captivity and flown for exercise, also live wild and nest, for instance, under highway bridges and on ledges of buildings
Mourning Dove	100	scattered everywhere
STRIGIFORMES
Great Horned Owl	2	including one along Milltail Road in the distance and one that flew across the highway on the trip home
Short-eared Owl	none	for the second year in a row!
APODIFORMES
hummingbird	1	unidentified species -- maybe Black-chinned Hummingbird from out west -- probably not Ruby-throated Hummingbird which nests in North Carolina during the summer and spends the winter in Central America
CORACIIFORMES
Belted Kingfisher	2
PICIFORMES
Downy Woodpecker	1
Northern Flicker	20	including 9 foraging on the short grass at Bodie Island lighthouse
PASSERIFORMES
NEW WORLD FLYCATCHER FAMILY
Eastern Phoebe	1	beside the road near Pungo Lake
SWALLOW FAMILY
Tree Swallow	1	at Oregon Inlet -- unusual in mid-winter!
JAY AND CROW FAMILY
Blue Jay	2	in towns
American Crow	50	in family groups on mainland, also in Manteo and Buxton
Fish Crow	100	in flocks at Whalebone Junction and Ocracoke
NUTHATCH FAMILY
Brown-headed Nuthatch	3	in pines at the motel in Manteo
WREN FAMILY
Carolina Wren	1	singing briefly in the morning at Buxton
THRUSH FAMILY
Eastern Bluebird	20	on wires and fences in agricultural areas, none on Outer Banks
American Robin	200	scattered
MIMIC FAMILY
Gray Catbird	2	in thickets behind the Exxon in Plymouth -- only a few stay this far north in winter
Northern Mockingbird	10	scattered in towns, along roadsides
PIPIT AND WAGTAIL FAMILY
American Pipit	3	including one on seaweed near Cape Point and two on a grassy shoulder
WAXWING FAMILY
Cedar Waxwing	40	including a flock at the Salvo campground
STARLING FAMILY
European Starling	500	including some with flocks of Common Grackles
WARBLER FAMILY
Yellow-rumped Warbler	100	scattered in bushes
Palm Warbler	3	near Cape Point pond -- wagging their tails
Common Yellowthroat	1	near the motel in Buxton
CARDINAL FAMILY
Northern Cardinal	20	scattered in thickets
SPARROW (OLD WORLD BUNTING) FAMILY
Rufous-sided Towhee	10	in thickets
Savannah Sparrow	8	in grass beside Cape Point pond -- one larger, paler Ipswich Sparrow seen by Mueller -- usually treated as a subspecies of Savannah Sparrow but sometimes as a separate species -- very scarce because the entire population nests on one small island in the Atlantic Ocean east of Nova Scotia!
Seaside Sparrow	1	also near Cape Point pond
Song Sparrow	50	near thickets everywhere
Swamp Sparrow	10	skulking in wet fields
White-throated Sparrow	10	thickets behind the Exxon in Plymouth -- we almost missed this very common species!
BLACKBIRD SUBFAMILY
Red-winged Blackbird	200	including males showing their wing patches at the Pea Island Visitor's Center
Eastern Meadowlark	20	including 10 on the grass at Bodie Island lighthouse -- some finally showed us their yellow fronts!
Boat-tailed Grackle	100	on Outer Banks, males and females rarely together
Common Grackle	5000	in big flocks in agricultural areas west of Plymouth
Brown-headed Cowbird	50	in one flock west of Plymouth
FINCH FAMILY
American Goldfinch	2	in Manteo
OLD WORLD SPARROW FAMILY
House Sparrow	10	in Creswell and Buxton

OTHER VERTEBRATES: White-tailed Deer (several places but especially tame in Buxton Woods),   Muskrat (near Cape Hatteras lighthouse),   Bottlenose Dolphin (at least 40 in the surf at Cape Point),   Spring Peeper (one beside Milltail Road),   and a long-dead Great Hammerhead (on the beach at Cape Point)

NOTES

Ducks, geese, and swans are what northeastern North Carolina is famous for.   We identified 24 species of Anseriformes. We had splendid close looks at many species in the sunshine -- so we could see the purple and green iridescence on their wing patches and on the males' heads.   Everybody's favorite duck, the Bufflehead, was just as colorful in the sunshine as any other.

On the other hand, for the second straight year, we found no Short-eared Owls at dusk, and the Brant were absent from Hatteras Inlet.   Also, even more so than last year, diving ducks (Greater Scaup, Canvasback, scoters, Oldsquaw) were scarce on Pamlico Sound.

As a treat, though, we had up-close views of a Black-headed Gull (or Common Black-headed Gull) swimming beside a Bonaparte's Gull near Cape Point -- its red beak made identification easy -- and it seemed quite content to hang out with Bonaparte's Gulls in North Carolina rather than others of its own species in Europe.

Some other highlights were the Common Goldeneye at close range (not too often you get to see the golden eye!), the hundreds of migrating Red-throated Loons on Pamlico Sound, and the thousands of Gannets migrating past Pea Island.   Then there were the American Bittern that demonstrated its camouflage at Cape Point pond, the unidentified female hummingbird at the motel in Buxton, the Eared Grebe that rewarded those who kept looking, and last -- but not least -- the two Gray Catbirds behind the Exxon station in Plymouth!