Outer Coastal Plain and Outer Banks
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| GAVIIFORMES | ||
| Red-throated Loon | 100 | scattered far from shore in Pamlico Sound (Swanquarter NWR) |
| Common Loon | 20 | singles on Pamlico Sound |
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| PODICIPEDIFORMES | ||
| Horned Grebe | 1 | on Pamlico Sound -- unusually scarce |
| Pied-billed Grebe | >20 | on ponds, ditches |
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| PELICANIFORMES | ||
| Northern Gannet | >3000 | scattered on Pamlico Sound, several feeding congregations along the beaches, but most were in an astonishing concentration of at least 2000 feeding in a frenzy in the tide rips at Cape Point |
| White Pelican | 4 | feeding in their distinctive way in shallows of Lake Mattamuskeet |
| Brown Pelican | 200 | nearly all south of Cape Hatteras |
| Double-crested Cormorant | >20,000 | at least that many flew southward over Silver Lake (Ocracoke) between 7:15 and 7:30 |
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| CICONIIFORMES | ||
| Great Blue Heron | 25 | scattered in ditches and edges of ponds, adults and immatures |
| Great Egret | 10 | at Lake Mattamuskeet and Pea Island |
| Snowy Egret | 4 | same places |
| White Ibis | 30 | feeding in marshes under Oregon Inlet bridge |
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| ANSERIFORMES | ||
| Tundra (Whistling) Swan | 4000 | including 2000 in green winter wheat fields near Pungo Lake |
| Snow Goose | 8000 | one huge flock in Pungo Lake, also 40 at Cape Point, and about 200 at Pea Island -- only a few blue morphs at Pea Island |
| Brant | 225 | in the distance at the northern end of Ocracoke Island |
| Canada Goose | 500 | especially on Lake Mattamuskeet |
| Green-winged Teal | >6000 | large flocks on Pungo Lake and behind Ocracoke Island |
| American Black Duck | 30 | mostly in pairs |
| Mallard | 20 | mostly in pairs |
| Northern Pintail | 300 | mostly at Pea Island |
| Northern Shoveler | 100 | including males in full plumage at Pea Island |
| Gadwall | 400 | in small flocks |
| American Wigeon | 10 | only at Pungo Lake |
| Ring-necked Duck | 50 | in small groups, including the borrow pits near Princeville |
| Long-tailed Duck (Oldsquaw) | 3 | in the distance on Pamlico Sound |
| Black Scoter | 200 | including about 80 on Pamlico Sound and several long flocks flying south over the ocean |
| Surf Scoter | 80 | on Pamlico Sound where a few permitted good views |
| White-winged Scoter | 1 | lone male on Pamlico Sound not far from shore |
| Bufflehead | 50 | on Pamlico Sound -- unbelievably low numbers! |
| Hooded Merganser | 2 | on small pond near Cape Point |
| Red-breasted Merganser | >100 | scattered on Pamlico Sound and over the ocean |
| Ruddy Duck | 1 | Lake Mattamuskeet -- lowest total ever! |
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| FALCONIFORMES | ||
| Black Vulture | 6 | on our way to Plymouth and north of Creswell |
| Turkey Vulture | 50 | scattered Friday and Sunday |
| Bald Eagle | 5 | including 4 at Pungo Lake (one adult), one over Long Curve Road |
| Northern Harrier | 40 | including about 4 adult males in gray plumage |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | plus one unidentified Accipiter probably a male coop |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 2 | including one soaring with a red-tail north of Creswell |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 20 | only on the mainland |
| American Kestrel | 35 | including some every day |
| Merlin | 1 | sailed right overhead so fast almost no one saw it -- ponds along the entrance road to Cape Hatteras |
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| GALLIFORMES | ||
| Northern Bobwhite | 1 | at edge of woods and fields beside US64 |
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| GRUIFORMES | ||
| American Coot | 40 | on ponds, in ditches |
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| CHARADRIIFORMES | ||
| Black-bellied Plover | 40 | on sand flats near the inlets |
| Killdeer | 6 | in ones and twos in agricultural fields |
| Willet | 30 | on beaches of Ocracoke Island |
| Ruddy Turnstone | 1 | at Cape Point |
| Sanderling | 8 | on beaches, scurrying around as usual |
| Dunlin | 20 | in small flock flew past the northern end of Ocracoke Island |
| Common Snipe | 1 | flushed at Lake Mattamuskeet |
| American Woodcock | ? | possibly heard displaying in the distance above fields along Long Curve Road at dark |
| Bonaparte's Gull | >200 | Lake Mattamuskeet and Cape Point |
| Laughing Gull | 1 | followed the ferry with other gulls from Swanquarter to Ocracoke -- should have been in the Caribbean at this time of year! |
| 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 | with Herring Gulls and Greater Black-backed Gulls on Cape Point Pond -- promptly flew over the dunes never to return |
| Great Black-backed Gull | >500 | mostly at Cape Point, scattered elsewhere on Outer Banks, including one immature that choked down an entire 18-inch dogfish! |
| Forster's Tern | 20 | Lake Mattamuskeet and beaches |
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| COLUMBIFORMES | ||
| Rock Dove | 50 | "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 | 200 | scattered everywhere |
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| STRIGIFORMES | ||
| Great Horned Owl | one very ripe roadkill provided a close (but not too close!) look at the soft edges of its outer primaries | |
| Barred Owl | 1 | flew across Long Curve Road at dusk |
| Short-eared Owl | 4 | heard and dimly seen at Longtail Road |
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| CORACIIFORMES | ||
| Belted Kingfisher | 15 | singles scattered |
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| PICIFORMES | ||
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 2 | flying across the highway |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | 1 | heard on Long Curve Road |
| Downy Woodpecker | 1 | |
| Northern Flicker | 15 | |
| Pileated Woodpecker | 2 | a pair north of Creswell provided some nice looks |
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| PASSERIFORMES | ||
| NEW WORLD FLYCATCHER FAMILY | ||
| Eastern Phoebe | 3 | beside the road near Pungo Lake and Lake Mattamuskeet |
| Western Kingbird | 1 | beside Long Curve Road making long (30-foot) sallies to show off its gray and yellow pattern, white-edge tail, and short bill |
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| SWALLOW FAMILY | ||
| Tree Swallow | 20 | along the entrance road at Lake Mattamuskeet |
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| JAY AND CROW FAMILY | ||
| Blue Jay | 1 | in Swanquarter |
| American Crow | 200 | in family groups on mainland |
| Fish Crow | 100 | including many at Ocracoke |
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| TITMOUSE FAMILY | ||
| Carolina Chickadee | 4 | in woods at Creswell and Lake Mattamuskeet |
| Tufted Titmouse | 2 | singing at 4H Center |
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| NUTHATCH FAMILY | ||
| Brown-headed Nuthatch | 2 | darted across the highway |
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| CREEPER FAMILY | ||
| Brown Creeper | 1 | one calling in the woods at the 4H Center near Creswell |
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| WREN FAMILY | ||
| Carolina Wren | 4 | singing briefly in the morning at Creswell and Ocracoke |
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| KINGLET FAMILY | ||
| Ruby-corwned Kinglet | 1 | with a flock at the 4H Center |
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| THRUSH FAMILY | ||
| Eastern Bluebird | 30 | on wires and fences in agricultural areas, none on Outer Banks |
| American Robin | 500 | scattered, especially in pocosins |
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| MIMIC FAMILY | ||
| Northern Mockingbird | 4 | scattered in towns, along roadsides |
| Brown Thrasher | 1 | beside road |
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| STARLING FAMILY | ||
| European Starling | 500 | including some with flocks of Common Grackles |
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| WARBLER FAMILY | ||
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | 100 | scattered, especially in pocosins |
| Pine Warbler | 2 | including one singing at Creswell in the morning |
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| CARDINAL FAMILY | ||
| Northern Cardinal | 10 | scattered in thickets |
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| SPARROW (OLD WORLD BUNTING) FAMILY | ||
| Chipping Sparrow | 20 | kept us company beside the road when 297 broke down |
| Field Sparrow | 10 | in a flock of sparrows at the 4H Center |
| Savannah Sparrow | 15 | in grass beside Cape Point Pond and near Pungo Lake |
| Song Sparrow | 10 | near thickets everywhere |
| Swamp Sparrow | 10 | skulking in wet fields |
| White-throated Sparrow | 30 | shrubby thickets at the 4H Center near Creswell |
| White-crowned Sparrow | 1 | immature in the sparrow flock at the 4H Center |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 10 | at 4H Center and elsewhere |
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| BLACKBIRD SUBFAMILY | ||
| Red-winged Blackbird | 2000 | including large flocks in fields near Pungo Lake -- swirling in flight like giant black amebas |
| Eastern Meadowlark | 10 | including one singing in plain sight north of Pungo Lake |
| Rusty Blackbird | 1 | at least with Common Grackles near Creswell |
| Boat-tailed Grackle | 40 | on Outer Banks, especially Ocracoke |
| Common Grackle | 5000 | in big flocks near Pungo Lake and Creswell |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | 50 | in small flocks including one that allowed close looks in Swanquarter |
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| FINCH FAMILY | ||
| House Finch | 10 | including a pair that allowed clear views at Swanquarter, others in Creswell |
| American Goldfinch | 2 | flew over 4H Center near Creswell |
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| OLD WORLD SPARROW FAMILY | ||
| House Sparrow | none! | |
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OTHER VERTEBRATES
NOTES
Ducks, geese, and swans are what northeastern North Carolina is famous for. We found some huge flocks of Snow Geese and Green-winged Teal, but numbers were lower than usual possibly because of the dry autumn and warm winter. We did get nice looks at the Surf Scoters and one lone White-winged Scoter from the Swanquarter-Ocracoke ferry.
No doubt the most amazing sight was the huge concentration of Northern Gannets fishing in the tide rips at Cape Point. The immature Great Black-backed Gull that swallowed a dogfish whole was a clear runner-up. The four White Pelicans at Lake Mattamuskeet showed us their distinctive feeding style -- swimming abreast and lunging forward with their beaks.
There were plenty of harriers this year to keep the enthusiasts happy! We even saw at least 4 adult males, in their gray, white and black plumage, scarce birds in winter this far south. The big flocks of blackbirds and grackles rolling over the fields at Pungo Lake also put on a show.
What with problems with transmissions, scopes, tripods, and wallets, we deserve some sort of medal for seeing as many birds as we did!