January 30 (Friday evening)

Tidewater Research Center (Roper, NC)

habitats -- agricultural fields, catfish ponds, cattle feedlot

weather -- chilly, cloudy, light N wind

January 31 (Saturday)

Pungo Lake 8:00-10:00 AM (roads in bad shape with mud)

Lake Mattamuskeet 11:00-3:30 PM

Swanquarter-Ocracoke ferry 4:00-6:30 PM

habitats -- low pocosin, lakes, forest edge, open sound

weather -- chilly, sunny, light NW wind

February 1 (Sunday)

Silver Lake (Ocracoke) 7:30-8:00 AM

Ocracoke village bird feeders 8:00-9:00 AM

Hatteras Inlet ferry 10:00-10:30 AM

Cape Point Pond and Hatteras Point 11:00-1:00 PM

Pea Island N. W. R. (headquarters, South and North Ponds) (briefly about 2:30 PM)

habitats -- beach, inlets, ponds

weather -- chilly, sunny, light NW wind

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	80	mostly flying northeast over Pamlico Sound
Common Loon	20	including some good views on Silver Lake and Cape Point Pond
PODICIPEDIFORMES
Horned Grebe	10	at Hatteras Point
Pied-billed Grebe	20	on ponds, ditches
PELICANIFORMES
Northern Gannet	1000	mostly in a dense feeding flock off Ocracoke beach (also one on Pamlico Sound)
Brown Pelican	300	nearly all south of Cape Hatteras
Double-crested Cormorant	>10000	mostly on sandbars in Hatteras Inlet and streaming out to sea to feed
CICONIIFORMES
Black Vulture	10	in several places -- a unusually large number
Turkey Vulture	60	including one north of Buxton
Great Blue Heron	20	scattered in ditches and edges of ponds, mostly adults acquiring breeding coloration, including one that dove from a perch to catch a bullhead
Great Egret	6	at Lake Mattamuskeet and Pea Island
Snowy Egret	1	at Pea Island
Tricolor Heron	2	in creeks on Ocracoke
White Ibis	8	at Mattamuskeet
ANSERIFORMES
Tundra Swan	> 5000	mostly on Pungo Lake
Snow Goose	20000	including one huge flock in the sky north of Pungo Lake which we could not approach because of muddy roads, also 6000 beside the highway SW of Mattamuskeet with many dark morphs and heterozygotes
Brant	0	-- the usual flock behind Hatteras or Ocracoke Islands was nowhere to be seen!
Canada Goose	1000	especially on Lake Mattamuskeet
Wood Duck	2	in a wooded canal at Mattamuskeet
Green-winged Teal	1000	mostly at Pea Island
American Black Duck	100	scattered in pairs
Mallard	50	mostly in pairs
Northern Pintail	5000	on all lakes and ponds
Northern Shoveler	50	mostly in pairs with males in full plumage
Blue-winged Teal	4	(two pairs) at Mattamuskeet
Gadwall	200	in small flocks everywhere but especially Cape Point Pond
American Wigeon	10	scattered
Canvasback	25	along the causeway at Mattamuskeet in clear view
Ring-necked Duck	60	in small flocks on lakes and ponds
Greater Scaup	200	in small flocks on Pamlico Sound
Lesser Scaup	150	mostly on catfish ponds near Roper but some on Pamlico Sound, Silver Lake, and Cape Point Pond
Long-tailed Duck (Oldsquaw)	60	in small groups on Pamlico Sound -- including 2 males with 3 females in spectacular display flight close beside the ferry
Black Scoter	80	on Pamlico Sound (one male on Cape Point Pond)
Surf Scoter	10	including one male pumped with carotenoids right beside the ferry
Bufflehead	200	mostly on Pamlico Sound and behind Hatteras Island
Common Golden-eye	3	including an immature male -- on Cape Point Pond (scarce visitor from farther north)
Hooded Merganser	8	on a borrow pit near Tarrboro
Red-breasted Merganser	300	mostly in long flocks flying NE over Pamlico Sound -- nearly all males
Ruddy Duck	3	on catfish ponds -- unusually low numbers
FALCONIFORMES
Bald Eagle	15	all immatures -- at catfish ponds, Pungo Lake, Lake Mattamuskeet -- including 7 in the air at once SW of Pungo Lake
Northern Harrier	30	including 2 adult males in gray plumage
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	darted across the road
Red-shouldered Hawk	2	including one immature perched in plain view at Mattamuskeet
Red-tailed Hawk	15	scattered
American Kestrel	20	on power lines and fences especially south of Lake Mattamuskeet
GRUIFORMES
American Coot	200	at Lake Mattamuskeet and Cape Point Pond
CHARADRIIFORMES
Black-bellied Plover	2	on beach and South Pond
Killdeer	1	near the catfish ponds
Greater Yellowlegs	1	flying over the catfish ponds
Ruddy Turnstone	1	very tame on the beach near Cape Point
Sanderling	12	on the beach
Western Sandpiper	1	near Hatteras Point (based on its very white face and its occurrence in winter, this bird was presumably not the very similar Semipalmated Sandpiper)
Dunlin	0	(usually the commonest sandpiper in winter)
Least Sandpiper	1	at our feet along the edge of a catfish pond
Willet	12	on the beach
Wilson's Snipe	3	flushed from marshy edges at Mattamuskeet
American Woodcock	1	heard near the catfish ponds at dusk
American Avocet	18	feeding in shallow water at Pea Island -- showing us why their bills turn upward!
Bonaparte's Gull	0	(usually numerous in winter)
Ring-billed Gull	>10000	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	2	adults with Herring Gulls and Greater Black-backed Gulls near Cape Point
Great Black-backed Gull	>500	mostly at Cape Point, scattered elsewhere on Outer Banks
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	80	scattered everywhere
STRIGIFORMES
Great Horned Owl	1	incubating eggs on an Osprey platform at Pea Island
CORACIIFORMES
Belted Kingfisher	8	singles scattered, including one that hovered and then dove to catch a fish
PICIFORMES
Red-bellied Woodpecker	6
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	1	at Mattamuskeet
Downy Woodpecker	2
Northern Flicker	20
Pileated Woodpecker	1	at Mattamuskeet
PASSERIFORMES
NEW WORLD FLYCATCHER FAMILY
Eastern Phoebe	2
SWALLOW FAMILY
Tree Swallow	20	crossing Lake Mattamuskeet
JAY AND CROW FAMILY
Blue Jay	8	at Lake Mattamuskeet
American Crow	50	in family groups on mainland
Fish Crow	150	mostly at Ocracoke uttering their nasal calls (especially the distinctive, ca-ha!)
TITMOUSE FAMILY
Carolina Chickadee	4	in trees at Mattamuskeet
Tufted Titmouse	1	flew across the highway east of Raleigh
WREN FAMILY
Carolina Wren	2	singing briefly
House Wren	2	skulking in weeds near flocks at Mattamuskeet (scarce in winter)
THRUSH FAMILY
Eastern Bluebird	10	on wires and fences in agricultural areas
American Robin	50	especially in pocosins
MIMIC FAMILY
Gray Catbird	3	at Lake Mattamuskeet and Ocracoke (scarce in winter)
Northern Mockingbird	20	scattered in towns and along Outer Banks
Brown Thrasher	1	at Mattamuskeet
STARLING FAMILY
European Starling	1000	including some with flocks of Common Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds
WAXWING FAMILY
Cedar Waxwing	10	on Ocracoke
WARBLER FAMILY
Yellow-rumped Warbler	200	scattered, especially in pocosins and myrtles
Palm Warbler	2	in thickets near Pungo Lake
Common Yellowthroat	1	in dense reeds at Mattamuskeet
CARDINAL FAMILY
Northern Cardinal	20	scattered in thickets
SPARROW (OLD WORLD BUNTING) FAMILY
Eastern Towhee	15	scattered
Savannah Sparrow	2	in open fields near Lake Pungo, also in beach grass
Song Sparrow	10	near thickets everywhere
Swamp Sparrow	100	skulking in wet fields and bushes
White-throated Sparrow	50	in shrubby thickets
BLACKBIRD SUBFAMILY
Red-winged Blackbird	500	including flocks in fields on the mainland
Brewer's Blackbird	8	flew overhead near Pungo Lake while we focused on Bald Eagles -- a scarce visitor from western North America
Eastern Meadowlark	30	in short grass near catfish ponds, on Pea Island, elsewhere
Boat-tailed Grackle	10	mostly around Silver Lake on Ocracoke
Common Grackle	10000	in big flocks in fields and also flying from roosts on Saturday morning
Brown-headed Cowbird	500	in cattle feedlots
FINCH FAMILY
Common Redpoll	2	(probably different birds) at a feeder on Ocracoke with House Finches
House Finch	40	at a feeder on Ocracoke -- including at least one yellowish male -- a carotenoid weakling!
OLD WORLD SPARROW FAMILY
House Sparrow	2	near the cattle feedlots

OTHER VERTEBRATES

White-tailed Deer -- one yearling in Buxton Woods looked smaller and stockier than those on the mainland -- also two on dunes behind Cape Point Pond -- and others elsewhere

Bottlenose Dolphin -- at least 10 near surf on Ocracoke

turtles -- a couple of noses in canals at Mattamuskeet

NOTES

Ducks, geese, and swans are what northeastern North Carolina is famous for.   We found 24 species, almost all of the regulars.   The American Golden-eyes, a scarce species in NC, allowed inspection close enough to see the color of their eyes!

Most of the dabbling ducks were in pairs already (Green-winged Teal less than the others).   Long-tailed Ducks, although in Basic Plumage, showed us at least one of their high-speed acrobatic courtship "chases".

We also found Lesser Black-backed Gulls (off course from Europe) and Common Redpolls (part of an irruption this winter from farther north).

Some other highlights included the incubating Great Horned Owl with its "ears" blowing in the wind, the American Avocets feeding by swiping their bills sideways in shallow water, and the displays of carotenoids in the legs of several species of ducks!