Date: April 26-27, 2002

Time: left Chapel Hill 1:00 PM, returned 8:30 PM the following day

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), Laurinburg First Presbyterian Church (briefly), Slate Road (Sandhills Gamelands)

Habitats: maritime forest (live oaks and understory), longleaf pine with turkey oak, beach, longleaf pine with wire grass and cane (Green Swamp), grassy areas with scattered trees (Sandhills Gamelands)

Weather: overcast, raining, and misting

PELICANIFORMES
Northern Gannet	2	immatures in northeaster off Fort Fisher
Brown Pelican	200	along beach and in Cape Fear River
Double-crested Cormorant	20	scattered small groups
CICONIIFORMES
Turkey Vulture	20	scattered inland
Great Egret	20	scattered (including Battery Island)
Snowy Egret	10	scattered
Tricolored Heron	10	scattered
Cattle Egret	3	in agricultural area on the way to Green Swamp
White Ibis	200	large numbers in colony on Battery Island, elsewhere in scattered small flocks
Glossy Ibis	1	flew over the Southport ferry terminal
ANSERIFORMES
Canada Goose	6	three pairs in the Sandhills
Mallard	1	Sandhills
FALCONIFORMES
Osprey	2	in Cape Fear River
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	Carolina Beach State Park
Red-tailed Hawk	3	along highways
CHARADRIIFORMES
Black-bellied Plover	1	almost in full breeding plumage
Semipalmated Plover	1
Killdeer	4
American Oystercatcher	1	on island in Cape Fear River
Greater Yellowlegs	3	at edges of ponds and on mudflats
Lesser Yellowlegs	6	in wet grass beside Fort Fisher ferry terminal and in Green Swamp
Solitary Sandpiper	1	in pond in Green Swamp
Willet	20	scattered on mudflats and beach
Spotted Sandpiper	4	rocky spots along river
Whimbrel	2	on beach
Ruddy Turnstone	3	in nearly full breeding plumage
Sanderling	1	on beach
Least Sandpiper	1	passed wet grass at Fort Fisher ferry terminal
Short-billed Dowitcher	4	in breeding plumage (also 10 unidentified dowitchers)
Laughing Gull	500	everywhere -- including behind the ferry -- two females at the ferry terminal (begging regurgitations from mates)
Ring-billed Gull	50	scattered, often with Laughing Gulls, all in first-winter plumage
Herring Gull	1	on Cape Fear River
Great Black-backed Gull	1	on Cape Fear River
Royal Tern	200	everywhere, in breeding plumage
Sandwich Tern	4	in a group of resting Royal Terns
Forster's Tern	10	feeding over Cape Fear River, still in winter plumage with black ear muffs
Least Tern	4	in pairs on beach
COLUMBIFORMES
Rock Dove	100	scattered in towns and near highway overpasses
Eurasian Collared-Dove	1	flew across the highway near Laurinburg
Mourning Dove	100	scattered
STRIGIFORMES
Great Horned Owl	2	a pair hooting near the Venus Flytrap Trail
APODIFORMES
Chimney Swift	20	small groups along coast and inland
CAPRIMULGIFORMES
Common Nighthawk	1	flying over Matthieu's house in Wilmington
Chuck-will's-widow	1	heard at close range at dusk in Carolina Beach SP (including the inconspicuous initial "chuck")
PICIFORMES
Red-headed Woodpecker	2	Carolina Beach and Sandhills
Red-bellied Woodpecker	2	including near campground
Downy Woodpecker	1	including near campground
Red-cockaded Woodpecker	2	foraging actively in longleaf pines about 300 meters west of cavity clusters in Green Swamp
Northern Flicker	6	Carolina Beach and inland
Pileated Woodpecker	1	calling near campground
PASSERIFORMES
FLYCATCHER FAMILY
Great Crested Flycatcher	2	Carolina Beach SP and Green Swamp
Eastern Kingbird	1	Slate Road
SHRIKE FAMILY
Loggerhead Shrike	2	near highway east of Maxton near Laurinburg
VIREO FAMILY
Red-eyed Vireo	1	singing in Coke Woods as we left Chapel Hill
JAY AND CROW FAMILY
Blue Jay	6	scattered
American Crow	20	inland but also Carolina Beach SP
Fish Crow	100	near coast including Carolina Beach SP
SWALLOW FAMILY
Purple Martin	8	at Carolina Beach SP marina and Southport waterfront
Barn Swallow	15	including pairs at many highway bridges
TITMOUSE FAMILY
Carolina Chickadee	4	singing near campground
Tufted Titmouse	4	singing near campground
NUTHATCH FAMILY
Brown-headed Nuthatch	6	small groups in Carolina Beach SP and Green Swamp
WREN FAMILY
Carolina Wren	6	singing songs that often sound very different from those in Chapel Hill!
OLD WORLD WARBLER FAMILY
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	4	Carolina Beach SP
THRUSH FAMILY
American Robin	4	Wilmington and Sandhills
Eastern Bluebird	20	scattered
MIMIC FAMILY
Gray Catbird	1	perched in plain view in Sandhills
Northern Mockingbird	50	scattered everywhere
Brown Thrasher	4	Carolina Beach SP and Sandhills
STARLING FAMILY
European Starling	50	scattered
NEW WORLD NINE-PRIMARIED FAMILIES (WARBLERS THROUGH BLACKBIRDS)
WOOD WARBLER FAMILY
Yellow-rumped Warbler	30	in small groups near campground
Yellow-throated Warbler	1	in plain sight singing near the marina in Carolina Beach SP
Pine Warbler	10	singing in pines everywhere
Prairie Warbler	2	singing from thickets in Green Swamp and Sandhills
Common Yellowthroat	2	singing in Green Swamp
TANAGER FAMILY
Summer Tanager	1	male allowed clear views near Venus Flytrap Trail
Scarlet Tanager	1	singing intermittently at campground
NEW WORLD SPARROW FAMILY
Eastern Towhee	10	Carolina Beach, Green Swamp, Sandhills
Bachman's Sparrow	6	including one singing in Green Swamp that permitted clear views in the scope and filled the long-leaf pines with haunting songs
Chipping Sparrow	1	in Sandhills
Lark Sparrow	2	copulating beside Slate Road in Sandhills (male also provided clear views and even some songs)
Savannah Sparrow	1	at edge of parking area south of Fort Fisher
White-throated Sparrow	1	singing briefly at Carolina Beach SP
CARDINAL FAMILY
Northern Cardinal	20	scattered
Blue Grosbeak	1	in the scope singing its rambling song in the Sandhills
Painted Bunting	5	including countersinging males at their mutual boundary near the Carolina Beach SP marina and a singing male in our faces at the Southport ferry terminal -- a tinkling song rising and falling twice
BLACKBIRD AND ORIOLE FAMILY
Eastern Meadowlark	2	in Sandhills
Boat-tailed Grackle	80	near the coast, including many singing males
Common Grackle	60	in pairs and singles scattered
Orchard Oriole	2	two singing in Sandhills included a first-year male
Brown-headed Cowbird	10	scattered
FINCH FAMILY
House Finch	4	in Wilmington and at the Southport ferry terminal -- incluidng a male that sang an imitation of a Carolina Wren followed by a House Finch flourish!
American Goldfinch	4	flying overhead in Carolina Beach SP and Sandhills
OLD WORLD SPARROW FAMILY
House Sparrow	10	in towns

OTHER THAN BIRDS . . .

VERTEBRATES: Gray Squirrel, Bottlenose Dolphin, Southern Toad (calling from ditches in the rain at Fort Fisher, including a pair in amplexus)

CARNIVOROUS PLANTS IN LONGLEAF-PINE SAVANNAS: Purple Pitcherplant (Sarracenia purpurea), Violet Butterwort (Pinguicula caerulea or pumila), Yellow Butterwort (P. lutea), Sundew species (Drosera species), Venus' Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)

OTHER FLOWERS IN LONGLEAF-PINE SAVANNAS OF GREEN SWAMP: Grass-pink (Calopogon pulchellus or barbatus[did each stalk have one or several flowers on it?]) (Orichid Family).

HIGHLIGHTS

Almost the first thing we saw was a show by two territorial Painted Buntings near the marina at Carolina Beach State Park.   After dark on the Venus' Fly-trap Trail we heard the distant hooting of a pair of Great Horned Owls and then the persistent calls of a nearby Chuck-will's-widow.

The next day, before the rain started, we had great looks at a Summer Tanager and managed to find a few Venus' Fly-traps.

The rain had no effect on the amorous Laughing Gulls in the parking lot at the Fort Fisher ferry terminal.   The persistent females begged for regurgitated fish from their reluctant mates by flicking their beaks and mewing.

In comparison to February, the gulls had almost completely changed guard.   Laughing Gulls now replaced the Ring-billed Gulls.   The few 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.

During a gap in the rain, while picnicking at the Southport ferry terminal, we found more Painted Buntings, including one very acommodating bird that perched in plain view to deliver his tinkling song.   Here is also the place that a male House Finch sang a very good imitation of a Carolina Wren!

The Green Swamp was glorious in the mist.   Bachman's Sparrows made the long-leaf pines sing.   Pitcher plants and orchids pushed through the carpet of wire-grass.   Inconspicuous nasal peeps led us to two Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, presumably the owners of the nearby cavities.

We passed two Loggerhead Shrikes beside the highway east of Maxton, near Laurinburg, a bird decreasing in North Carolina.   A Eurasian Collared-Dove zipped across the highway nearby, a species steadily spreading through eastern North America from populations of escaped birds in Florida.   But the Mississippi Kites did not show up for the wedding at the Presbyterian Church in Laurinburg!

Along Slate Road in the Sandhills Gamelands, we looked for the elusive Lark Sparrow, whose small population in the Sandhills is the only one east of the Appalachians.   On our first try we found a beautiful male Orchard Oriole and a singing Blue Grosbeak, but no Lark Sparrow.   On our second try, we found a first-year male Orchard Oriole and then gave up in favor of some dinner.   A few distant trills sounded suspicious, and one more played-back song brought a very snazzy-looking Lark Sparrow to perch in plain view.   He subsequently was difficult to distract from his mate in the grass.   They had other things on their minds -- like copulating twice in 10 minutes!

A hungry-looking Eastern Kingbird was our last addition to a nice list of North Carolina birds -- 94 in all.