April 21 (Friday evening)

North River bridge (US 70 north of Beaufort)

habitats -- salt marsh (Spartina and Scirpus) and brackish marsh (mostly Scirpus)

weather -- warm, little wind, high tide at bridge 5:51 PM

April 22 (Saturday)

road west from Beaufort airport

Rachal Carson Estuarine Research Reserve (Carrot Island, Bird Shoal)

Fort Macon at Beaufort Inlet

Croatan National Forest (Pringle Road, Dudley Road, Millis Road)

habitats -- dense coastal shrubs and pines, dredge spoil dunes, mud flats with oyster bars, maritime scrub, beach, longleaf pine/wiregrass savannas last burned <1 year to several years ago

weather -- warm, light easterly wind, high overcast, thunderstorms in the afternoon

low tide, Taylor Creek and Bird Shoal, 10:12 AM

THIS TRIP visited a state game land and a state estuarine refuge adminstered by the NC Division of Coastal Management and a national forest administered by the National Forest Service -- and we could see a national seashore (Shackleford Banks Wilderness Area in the Cape Lookout National Seashore) administered by the National Park Service.

More about the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve and Rachel Carson

GAVIIFORMES
Common Loon	20	migrating eastward and northeastward up the coast
Tricolor Heron	1
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron	1	young bird in trees beside the North River marshes -- close looks!
White Ibis	50	including birds feeding on mud flats and in salt marsh
ANSERIFORMES
Mallard	8	near the airport -- possibly wild birds!
Red-breasted Merganser	1	female resting on an oyster bar in the North River
FALCONIFORMES
Osprey	2	soaring near New Bern on our return
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	beside a coastal river on the way to MC
Red-tailed Hawk	1	one the way to MC
GRUIFORMES
Clapper Rail	6	heard in salt marshes or seen in flight near the North River -- one close look! -- plus one road kill near the North River bridge
CHARADRIIFORMES
Black-bellied Plover	20	including some with a lot of black below (but none in full breeding plumage)
Wilson's Plover	15	in singles and pairs on dry mud and sand (RCMES) including one on a nest (and another on the sand nearby)
Semipalmated Plover	12	including both winter (or immature) and breeding plumages
Killdeer	20	in singles and pairs in grassy places
American Oystercatcher	8	in singles and pairs on oyster bars and on dunes (RCMES)
Lesser Yellowlegs	1	in a pool on the North River marshes
Willet	30	mostly on the North River salt marshes where pairs defended territories
Ruddy Turnstone	1	flew past at RCMES
Sanderling	8	on dry mud and sand at RCMES (all in winter plumage)
Least Sandpiper	30	in a salt marsh pool and on grassy mud at RCMES
Dunlin	50	on mud flats at RCMES, including some with most of the breeding plumage (black bellies, bright rusty backs)
Short-billed Dowitcher	6	feeding like machines in shallow water on the mud flats at RCMES, including a few with breeding plumage (of the hendersoni subspecies that nests in the taiga zone west of Hudson Bay)
Wilson's Snipe	20	flushed from a pool on the North River marshes
Laughing Gull	120	scattered everywhere (including a 50 or so at the parking lot at Fort Macon beach) -- all but one with the black head of breeding plumage
Ring-billed Gull	30	including a few in adult plumage (but mostly in first-year plumage molting with second-year back feathers)
Herring Gull	12	first-year birds (no adults) scattered
Great Black-backed Gull	2	near the airport (one first- and one second-year bird)
Royal Tern	24	over the North River, the channels, and the beach
Sandwich Tern	2	flew over Fort Macon
Forster's Tern	10	singles and pairs, all adults with shining white primaries
Least Tern	8	along the channels of the RCMES
Black Skimmer	25	on the beach at Fort Macon, probably a migrating flock, in very slick-looking attire with strange candy-corn bills and dog-like barking
COLUMBIFORMES
Rock Dove	100	especially near bridges and docks, where some were building nests
Mourning Dove	50	scattered, including males cooing and displaying in flight
CUCULIFORMES
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	1	heard calling in CNF (slow even call, cu--cu...)
CAPRIMULGIFORMES
Common Nighthawk	3	high in the sky, uttering nasal peeent calls
APODIFORMES
Chimney Swift	6	high in the sky, stubby bodies, bow-like wings
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	4	buzzing past -- no good looks!
PICIFORMES
Red-bellied Woodpecker	3
Downy Woodpecker	2
Northern Flicker	2	in Croatan NF
Pileated Woodpecker	2	heard besdie the North River marshes and in CNF
PASSERIFORMES
NEW WORLD FLYCATCHER FAMILY (TYRANNIDAE)
Eastern Phoebe	1
Great Crested Flycatcher	6	near the airport and especially in longleaf pines -- one look in a scope!
Eastern Kingbird	1	allowed great looks!
SWALLOW FAMILY (HIRUNDINIDAE)
Barn Swallow	60	scattered everywhere
JAY AND CROW FAMILY (CORVIDAE)
Blue Jay	10
American Crow	20	inland
Fish Crow	40	near the coast
TITMOUSE FAMILY (PARIDAE)
Carolina Chickadee	2	near the airport
Tufted Titmouse	2	singing near IMS
WREN FAMILY (TROGLODYTIDAE)
Carolina Wren	20	singing everywhere
Sedge Wren	24	flushed repeatedly in the salt marsh -- stubby tails, weak flight, very elusive!
GNATCATCHER FAMILY (POLIOPTILIDAE)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	2
THRUSH FAMILY (TURDIDAE)
Eastern Bluebird	12	on wires and fences in agricultural areas and in longleaf pines in CNF
American Robin	50	in towns
MIMIC FAMILY (MIMIDAE)
Northern Mockingbird	40	widspread
Brown Thrasher	8	singing in thickets -- one feeding a fledgling at IMS
[SHRIKE FAMILY (LANIIDAE)]
[Loggerhead Shrike]	0	[despite one "wild-shrike chase"]
STARLING FAMILY (STURNIDAE)
European Starling	20
WARBLER FAMILY (PARULIDAE)
Yellow-rumped Warbler	20	including many singing birds and one male in bright plumage at IMS
Yellow-throated Warbler	1	singing in CNF
Pine Warbler	10	singing in CNF
Prairie Warbler	6	singing in CNF -- and one that allowed close looks just before the rain!
Common Yellowthroat	2	singing
CARDINAL FAMILY (CARDINALIDAE)
Northern Cardinal	30	scattered in thickets
SPARROW (OLD WORLD BUNTING) FAMILY (EMBERIZIDAE)
Eastern Towhee	20	including many calling with a southern drawl -- one confirmed with orange eyes
Bachman's Sparrow	1	in plain sight briefly in a recent burn -- but no singing!
Chipping Sparrow	2	flushed from the side of the road
Field Sparrow	2	singing
Savannah Sparrow	4	on grassy mudflats in RCMES
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow	2	or more flushed from short grass in salt marshes, singing three-part spitting songs, bright orange-buff foreparts -- elusive -- no good looks
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow	1	or more flushed from short grass in salt marshes, neat thin stripes on sides, almost no buff on foreparts (also about 5 other "sharp-tails" not identified to species) -- elusive -- the "sharp-tails" tended to land in short grass after flushing
Seaside Sparrow	6	singing (k-zeeeeee) from perches in patches of Scirpus in salt marsh -- some clear looks!
Song Sparrow	2	singing on Carrot Island (RCMES)
Swamp Sparrow	2	skulking in bushes beside marshes
BLACKBIRD FAMILY (ICTERIDAE)
Red-winged Blackbird	60	on territories in marshes everywhere
Boat-tailed Grackle	200	including females feeding in salt marshes and on mud flats, males keeping an eye on them, males and females around a colony at IMS, and otherwise scattered everywhere along the coast, making lots of strange noises
Common Grackle	100	mostly in pairs (male following female) inland
Brown-headed Cowbird	15	singles overhead, including males with two-part flight whistles, and females with rattles
Orchard Oriole	6	including males singing rich tones and nasal buzzes and chasing each other and females (no definite first-year males although an older male once chased a female-like bird that might have been a first-year males)
FINCH FAMILY (FRINGILLIDAE)
House Finch	4	in town
OLD WORLD SPARROW FAMILY (PASSERIDAE)
House Sparrow	20	in town

OTHER VERTEBRATES

Southern Cricket Frog Acris gryllus -- CNF

Green Frog Hyla cinerea -- CNF

Corn Snake Elaphe guttata -- recent casualty on Millis Road in Croatan NF :(

feral horses -- several groups of mares with stallions competing for access to fresh water on Bird Shoal in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Sanctuary

FLOWERS IN LONGLEAF PINE SAVANNAS

Grass Pink (Orchidaceae) Calopogon pulchellus

Venus' Flytrap (Dionaeaceae) Dionaea muscipula

Yellow Bladderwort (Lentibulariceae) Utricularia inflata

Sundew (Droseraceae) Drosera intermedia (probably this species)

Yellow Pitcher Plant (Sarraceniaceae) Sarracenia flava

Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarraceniaceae) Sarracenia purpurea (not in flower)

Dwarf Azalea (Ericaceae) Rhododendron atlanticum

(Ericaceae) (perhaps Leucothoe species) with clusters of small slightly purplish flowers

(Rosaceae) with creeping stems and white petals

NOTES

Our January trip to the coast was dominated by ANSERIFORMES -- this trip by CHARADRIIFORMES!

We missed several target species -- Black Rail, Painted Bunting, Piping Plover, and Red-cockaded Woodpecker -- although we did find active cavity trees used by the woodpeckers.   We might have been too early in April for the buntings.   The rails are always hard to find.   The plovers simply eluded us -- perhaps because the tide was so low.

But we saw some great examples of unspoiled North Carolina -- salt marsh, brackish marsh, estuarine mud flats, dunes, longleaf pine savannas.   And we found some of the characteristic species there -- Seaside Sparrow, both sharp-tailed sparrows, Clapper Rail, migrating shorebirds (Whimbrel, Semipalmated Plover, Least Sandpiper, Black-bellied Plover, for instance), Black Skimmer, and a fortuitous look at a Bachman's Sparrow.

This is the season to be migrating (or just arriving).   The shorebirds (sandpipers and relatives) were good examples -- some were on their way from Tierra del Fuego to the arctic (Sanderling) or at least from South America to the arctic (Whimbrel, Least Sandpiper, Semiipalmated Plover), some were migrating from Caribbean (or Florida) to the arctic (Dunlin, Black-bellied Plover), and some were nesting right here in NC (Willet, American Oystercatcher, Wilson's Plover).

Also recently arrived from South America -- Chimney Swift, Barn Swallow, Eastern Kingbird -- or from the Caribbean or Central America -- Orchard Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher, Black Skimmer, Royal Tern, Laughing Gull.

We also found some of the spectacular flowers that grow in the longleaf pine savannas -- sundew, bladderwort, pitcher plants (all carnivorous plants), dwarf azalea, and (a first for me) grass pinks (orchids that bloom before they grow leaves).

Total species -- 83