April 20 (Friday evening)

North River bridge (US 70 north of Beaufort), 5:00-6:30 PM

habitats -- salt marsh (Spartina and Scirpus)

weather -- cool, light NE wind, low tide at bridge 7:18 PM

April 21 (Saturday)

Oyster Point Campground (Croatan National Forest) on Newport River

Fort Macon State Park at Beaufort Inlet

Rachel Carson Estuarine Research Reserve (Carrot Island, Bird Shoal), 11:30 AM-2:00 PM

Croatan National Forest (Pringle Road, Dudley Road)

habitats -- dense coastal shrubs and pines, beach, inlet and ocean, dredge spoil dunes, mud flats with oyster bars, longleaf pine/wiregrass savannas last burned within the past several years

weather -- cool, sunny, light NE wind

high tide at Duke Marine Lab opposite Beaufort, 11:51 AM

THIS TRIP visited a state game land and a state estuarine reserve 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.

The avian highlight of the trip was the large numbers of shorebirds on Bird Shoal.   See some notes about the birds at the bottom of this page!

GAVIIFORMES
Common Loon	1	almost in alternate plumage
PELICANIFORMES
Northern Gannet	2	outside Beaufort Inlet
Brown Pelican	20	along the coast
Double-crested Cormorant	100	including a few seen close enough to see their small double crests (only apparent during the breeding season)
CICONIIFORMES
Great Blue Heron	1
Great Egret	2
Snowy Egret	10	including a few feeding with White Ibis
Little Blue Heron	1	over the North River marshes
Tricolor Heron	4	on the mud flats of Bird Shoal
White Ibis	50	including birds with intensely scarlet faces and legs -- preparing to breed
ANSERIFORMES
Canada Goose	8	on New Port River
Blue-winged Teal	1	male flying past at close range on Bird Shoal
Surf Scoter	3	females flying out of Beaufort Inlet
Red-breasted Merganser	6	female resting on an oyster bar in the North River
FALCONIFORMES
Black Vulture	2	near Raleigh
Turkey Vulture	40	scattered everywhere except the beach
Osprey	1
Northern Hrrier	1	female quartering over the North River marshes
Red-tailed Hawk	3	including a pair copulating on perch beside Newport River!
Peregrine	1	flushing thousands of shorebirds on Bird Shoal!
GRUIFORMES
Clapper Rail	4	heard in salt marshes beside Newport and North Rivers and one seen briefly when it flushed in the North River marshes
CHARADRIIFORMES
Black-bellied Plover	80	including some with a lot of black below (but none in full breeding plumage)
Wilson's Plover	10	in pairs on dry mud and sand on Bird Shoal
Semipalmated Plover	100	in several flocks
Piping Plover	1	on the beach at Fort Macon -- soon departed for less disturbed Shackleford Banks!
Killdeer	2
Greater Yellowlegs	40	scattered on Bird Shoal feeding by erratic darting after fish
Solitary Sandpiper	1	flushed from a stagnant pool in longleaf pines
Willet	400	in marshes, on mudflats and beaches, often with Whimbrels, twice in large flocks flying northward up the North River, none defending territories in the marshes
Whimbrel	500	roosting on flats and feeding in short Spartina, often in groups of 30-50
Marbled Godwit	30	feeding in "knee" deep water on Bird Shoal, often in pairs
Ruddy Turnstone	5	on Bird Shoal
Sanderling	80	on beaches and sandy parts of Bird Shoal
Least Sandpiper	30	in grassy pools on Bird Shoal
Dunlin	1000	large flocks roosting on Bird Shoal and Newport River, many partly in breeding plumage (black bellies, bright rusty backs)
Short-billed Dowitcher	1500	in dense flocks roosting (and sometimes feeding) on Bird Shoal
Wilson's Snipe	20	flushed from a pool on the North River marshes
Bonaparte's Gull	1	still in basic plumage
Laughing Gull	many	scattered everywhere -- all but one with the black head of breeding plumage
Ring-billed Gull	70	including a few in adult plumage (but mostly in first-year plumage with new second-year back feathers)
Herring Gull	2	first-year birds (no adults) including one dropping oysters on a bar in North River to break them open
Great Black-backed Gull	2	including a bird in poor condition on the beach
Gull-billed Tern	1	flew over Bird Shoal
Royal Tern	40	mostly on a bar south of Bird Shoal -- all in breeding plumage
Common Tern	1	immature across Newport River
Forster's Tern	60	singles and pairs, all adults with shining white primaries
Least Tern	1	over Bird Shoal
Black Skimmer	400	in several large flocks -- evidently still migrating northward
COLUMBIFORMES
Rock Dove	many	especially near bridges and docks, where some were building nests
Mourning Dove	30	scattered
Eurasian Collared-Dove	4	in Atlantic Beach and Morehead City -- an invasive species, like European Starlings and House Sparrows -- arrived in N.C. in the past decade
CUCULIFORMES
STRIGIFORMES
Great Horned Owl	5	including two pairs after midnight at Oyster Point, one with a fledgling with a nasal screeching call
Barred Owl	2	whooping and cackling before dawn at Oyster Point
CAPRIMULGIFORMES
Common Nighthawk	1	heard over Beaufort
Chuck-will's-widow	4	calling after before dawn at Oyster Point
APODIFORMES
Chimney Swift	10	in the sky over Beaufort
CORACIIFORMES
Belted Kingfisher	1
PICIFORMES
Red-bellied Woodpecker	2	calling
Downy Woodpecker	1	near Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavities!
[Red-cockaded Woodpecker]		several well-maintained cavities and several just begun -- but the woodpeckers eluded us
Northern Flicker	2	heard at Oyster Point in Croatan NF
Pileated Woodpecker	2	heard at Oyster Point and in Croatan NF
PASSERIFORMES
NEW WORLD FLYCATCHER FAMILY (TYRANNIDAE)
Great Crested Flycatcher	6	heard at Oyster Point and in Croatan NF
VIREO FAMILY (VIREONIDAE)
Red-eyed Vireo	1	singing at Oyster Point -- briefly
JAY AND CROW FAMILY (CORVIDAE)
Blue Jay	5
American Crow	20	inland
Fish Crow	20	near the coast
SWALLOW FAMILY (HIRUNDINIDAE)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	4	including several over fields east of Havelock
Barn Swallow	60	scattered everywhere, especially near bridge and docks, some collecting nest material already
TITMOUSE FAMILY (PARIDAE)
Carolina Chickadee	2
Tufted Titmouse	6	singing at Oyster Point
NUTHATCH FAMILY (SITTIDAE)
Brown-headed Nuthatch	2	at Oyster Point and Croatan NF
WREN FAMILY (TROGLODYTIDAE)
Carolina Wren	20	singing everywhere
House Wren	3	singing at Oyster Point
Sedge Wren	2	flushed in the salt marsh -- stubby tails, weak flight, very elusive!
GNATCATCHER FAMILY (POLIOPTILIDAE)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	4	including a nest in a longleaf pine at Croatan NF
THRUSH FAMILY (TURDIDAE)
Eastern Bluebird	8	on wires and fences in agricultural areas and in longleaf pines
American Robin	2	in towns
MIMIC FAMILY (MIMIDAE)
Gray Catbird	1	singing at Fort Macon
Northern Mockingbird	many	widespread
Brown Thrasher	3	singing in thickets
WAXWING FAMILY (BOMBYCILIDAE)
Cedar Waxwing	15	feeding on berries beside Bojangle's parking lot, Morehead City, with black masks and red spots on wings
STARLING FAMILY (STURNIDAE)
European Starling	many
WARBLER FAMILY (PARULIDAE)
Northern Parula	1	singing at Oyster Point
Yellow-rumped Warbler	25	including many singing birds and males in bright plumage
Pine Warbler	12	singing at Oyster Point and in Croatan NF
Prairie Warbler	1	singing in CNF
Prothonotary Warbler	1	singing in a swamp near Oyster Point
Ovenbird	4	singing cher-TEA cher-TEA ... at Oyster Point
Common Yellowthroat	1	singing in North River marshes
TANAGER FAMILY (THRAUPIDAE)
Summer Tanager	2	singing at Oyster Point -- gave us the slip!
CARDINAL FAMILY (CARDINALIDAE)
Northern Cardinal	15	scattered in thickets
SPARROW (OLD WORLD BUNTING) FAMILY (EMBERIZIDAE)
Eastern Towhee	15	including many calling with a southern drawl -- at least 2 confirmed with orange or pink eyes
Bachman's Sparrow	4	singing in long-leaf pine savannas in Croatan NF -- including one in plain sight in the scopes!
Savannah Sparrow	10	on grassy mudflats on Bird Shoal
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow	4	flushed from short grass in North River marshes -- very elusive! -- one briefly showed its diffuse streaks below, with little buff
Seaside Sparrow	4	flushed repeatedly from Scirpus stands in North River Marshes -- but no singing!
White-throated Sparrow	2
BLACKBIRD FAMILY (ICTERIDAE)
Red-winged Blackbird	30	including a few on territories in marshes
Eastern Meadowlark	2	flushed from grassy areas of Bird Shoal
Boat-tailed Grackle	100	including males "singing" and displaying
Common Grackle	100	mostly in pairs (male following female) or singles
Brown-headed Cowbird	50	including males with two-part flight whistles and females with rattles -- also one flock of 30 in a plowed field
Orchard Oriole	4	singing males including one in plain sight in response to a brief playback of the species' song
FINCH FAMILY (FRINGILLIDAE)
House Finch	15	in town
OLD WORLD SPARROW FAMILY (PASSERIDAE)
House Sparrow	20	in town

OTHER VERTEBRATES

Southern Cricket Frog Acris gryllus -- Oyster Point

Gray Treefrog Hyla chrysoscelis -- Oyster Point

Diamondback Terrapin Malaclemys terrapin -- a small individual in a tidal creek in the North River marshes -- this species, once endangered by over-hunting for turtle soup (remember Alice in Wonderland!), occurs in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast from Cape Cod to Mexico.

Carolina Anole Anolis carolinensis -- Fort Macon SP

Gray Fox -- one after dark beside the road -- one yapping after midnight at Oyster Point

feral horses -- several groups on Bird Shoal in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Sanctuary

Bottle-nose Dophin -- near the Beaufort docks

FLOWERS IN LONGLEAF PINE SAVANNAS

Sundew (Droseraceae) Drosera intermedia (probably this species)

Dwarf Azalea (Ericaceae) Rhododendron atlanticum

NOTES

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

We missed Painted Bunting 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.   We did find one (just one!) Piping Plover on the beach at Fort Macon.   These three species are the subjects of major conservation efforts in North Carolina.   Each in a way "represents" one of the state's fragile habitats important for many organisms.

We also saw some great examples of unspoiled North Carolina -- salt marsh, brackish marsh, estuarine mud flats, dunes, longleaf pine savannas.

But the most remarkable spectacle of the weekend was the great flocks of shorebirds on Bird Shoal.   Most had stopped there to refuel during migration by feeding on the invertebrates in the mud flats.

Some were migrating northward relatively short distances -- from the southeastern coast to states along the coast farther north (Willets, some no doubt were staying in North Carolina) or to the Great Plains (Marbled Godwit).   Others were going intermediate distances -- from the northern coast of South America to the low arctic in Canada (Short-billed Dowitchers) or from the southeastern states and Caribbean to the high arctic (Dunlin).

Some were in the process of spanning two continents -- all the way from Argentina to the high Arctic (Black-bellied Plovers, Whimbrels, Semipalmated Plovers).

In contrast, the Wilson's Plovers were getting ready to nest right on Bird Shoal!

The numbers of shorebirds roosting at high tide on Bird Shoal were the biggest an Avian Biology trip has ever seen.   When a Peregrine scared them all into the air at once, the huge flocks made ameboid gyrations in the sky.   And when more than a thousand of the frightened dowitchers passed near us their wings made a startling whoosh.

These shorebirds were easy to see because the tide was so high.   As a consequence, most of the sandpipers and plovers were roosting at the upper edge of the tidal flats where we could see them well, while they waited for the tide to drop so the mud flats would be exposed once again.   The only species feeding actively were Marbled Godwits (their long legs allowed them to operate in deeper water), many Whimbrels (feeding in the grassy areas at the top of the tide), and Least Sandpipers (which also favored flooded grassy areas).

Other species had also recently arrived from South America -- Chimney Swift, Red-eyed Vireo, Barn Swallow -- or from the Caribbean or Central America -- Orchard Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher, Black Skimmer, Royal Tern, Laughing Gull.

Total species of birds -- 105