Winter Birding in North Carolina

February 9th - 12th

Mute Swans at Lake Mattamuskeet, North Carolina

With some encouragement from a co-worker, I set-up a three day trip to North Carolina. I had a long standing goal to see the wintering masses of  swans and geese that congregate in the Carolinas. But have been putting it off for some time. So with a little push, I pulled the trigger.

While planning this trip, I expanded the itinerary to include venues around Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks. Stayed at a hotel on the beach near Kitty Hawk. Being off-season the rates were very good.

Day One - Virginia

Bufflehead at Pleasure House Point - Virginia Beach

Arrived in Norfolk, Virginia  just past noon and was at my first venue within the hour. Checked out Pleasure House Point in Virginia Beach. A good spot for waterfowl and passerines. Lots of Buffleheads and Gadwalls, plus American Wigeons, Red-breasted Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, Cormorants, Bonaparte's Gulls, Great Black Back Gulls, Carolina Chickadees, and Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow at Pleasure House Point, Virginia Beach

Bonaparte's Gull at Grandview Nature Preserve, Hampton, Virginia

Then onto Grandview Nature Preserve in Hampton, Virginia. The preserve stretches along several miles of coast line and was an excellent spot for viewing sea ducks.  The weather conditions were a bit rough with temps in the thirties, overcast skies and gusty winds. The wetlands that sit between the street parking and the beach held Canada Geese, Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers, American Black Ducks and Mallards.  At the beach I had a Lifer in sighting several Red-throated Loons. Also had a suspected red-necked grebe. Did have a lone Horned Grebe, many Ringed-billed, Bonaparte's and Great Black Backed Gulls and all three Scoters. Lots of Buffleheads, plus a small flock of Long-tailed Ducks flying-in to join a few Common Goldeneye.  Also large numbers of Sanderlings and Dunlin.  The much hoped for snow buntings and lapwing longspurs were not present at the expected location.  Perhaps due to the presence of a hunting Northern Harrier

Day Two - North Carolina

The weather conditions for the day have worsen. Colder, windier with a very heavy surf. On this day I visited two new venues. Mattamuskeet NWR in Hyde County, NC and Pettigrew SP in Creswell, NC. Before reaching the refuge several hard flocks of Snow Geese and Tundra Swans were seen resting in farm fields. The refuge features lots of Canada Geese, Tundra Swans, Mallards, Northern Pintails,  Northern Shovelers, American Coots, Gadwall, Blue-winged Teal, American Black Ducks, Greater Yellowlegs, DC Cormorants, Great Egrets, Northern Harriers, a Cackling Goose and even a pair of Mute Swans. One nice sighting was a mixed flock of birds including Carolina Chickadees, Cardinals, Downy Woodpecker, Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, a Fox Sparrow and American Robins.

Tundra Swans at Mattamuskeet NWR

Northern Pintail

Tundra Swan

Canada Goose

Tundra Swans at rest in Farm Field - North Carolina

At Pettigrew, spent time on the very cold but birdy boardwalk at the boat launch location. More Robins and several Sparrows including White-throated, Savannah, Swamp Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. Also Carolina Chickadees, Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmice, Cardinals, Blue Jays, American Kestrel and Sharp-shinned Hawk. Even flushed an American Woodcock. No waterfowl could be seen on the choppy lake.

Swamp Sparrow at Pettigrew State Park

Dark-eyed Junco at Pettigrew State Park

Day Three - The Outer Banks

Nasty weather conditions continue. Visited two new venues today. Currituck Heritage Park in  Corolla, NC and a drive south on the Outer Banks terminating at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

White Ibis at Currituck

 in Buxton, NC. At Currituck I had many of the same waterfowl - Tundra Swans, Canada Geese, Buffleheads, Red-breasted Mergansers, American Wigeons and Mallard hybrids, More Ring-billed Gulls, White Ibis and Savannah Sparrows. On the drive out to Cape Hatteras saw hundreds of Snow Geese flying northward. The wetlands area at the lighthouse featured more Canada Geese, Mallards, American Black Ducks, Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, Green-winged Teal and a Wilson's Snipe   

A surprise find of a water moccasin on a cold day at Currituck

Hybrid Mallards

American Robin

Song Sparrow

Whale Skull on Display at Currituck

Lighthouse at Currituck

Redhead at Hatteras Lighthouse

White-tailed Deer at Lighthouse

Snow Goose ( formerly Blue Goose)

Snow Geese

Great Black Back Gulls

Trip Species List (89)
Snow Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Northern Gannet
Double-crested Cormorant
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Bald Eagle
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Wilson's Snipe
American Woodcock
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch

Tundra Swans
Payne’s Prairie to New Smyrna Dunes
January 22nd - Day #4

Payne’s Prairie -
 On day four of my birding vacation I arrived about 8:00am at the LaChua Trail in Payne’s Prairie Preserve, south of Gainesville, Florida. Had earlier started my day with a Carolina Wren and a flock of American White Pelicans flying over the hotel parking in town, which I took as a good omen for the trip.

We had lived in Gainesville back in the 80s when I was the cafeteria manager at the nearby Nationwide Insurance regional offices. At that time I was too busy with work and tending to my growing family for birding. In fact I was just starting up my interest in family history research which did eat up my spare time. So now I am back to check out a great birding site.

Back in January 2009 was, in fact, my first visit to the LaChua Trail, which is very impressive. Had been attracted here by Florida Rare Bird Alerts to a Harris’s Sparrow, very rare in Florida, and of the presence of a pair of Whooping Cranes. On that visit I did score on the Harris’s Sparrow and on the Whooping Cranes. Both lifers.

The whoopers were among several thousand Sandhill Cranes wintering on the prairie. They were adorned with tags and telemetry, as they were a part of the flock of birds that wildlife management are trying to reestablish to Florida. This status negates their qualifying as ABA countable at this time, but I had to see them in the wild and they are now on my lists. Technically, I need to look for them in Texas on their wintering grounds or at the Platte River during migration. But I don’t live over there, I live here.

A surprise last year was the arrival of a flock of Snow Geese. Very unusual in Florida. I witnessed their arrival and was able to get a photograph as they grazed among the cranes. Several days later I noticed remarks on the Birdbrains message board about these same geese and that in fact one of them was a rarer Ross’s Goose. A review of my photos showed that I had a photo of the bird. Cool! Two new lifers. Plus I was able to see one of the resident bison, that lives on the prairie along with a herd of wild horses.

My 2009 list - Snow Goose, Ross's Goose

This year was different. The thousands of cranes, including the whoopers were not on-hand this day. Did find about thirty Sandhill Cranes. Also counted well over a hundred large, some very large, alligators warming themselves in the sun along the trail on this chilly morning. Got five sparrows including Field, Chipping, Vesper, Savannah and White-Crowned Sparrows. Found four ducks including Mottled Ducks, Wood Ducks, Northern Shovelers and Blue-winged Teal. Other interesting sightings included Stilted Sandpipers, Merlin (supposed to be very unusual here), Northern Harrier, Eastern Towhee and an American Bittern. Plus a fly-over of Long-Billed Dowitchers.

My 2010 list - Wood Duck, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Wild Turkey, American White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Merlin, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Stilt Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Northern Mockingbird, Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird , Northern Shoveler, Pied-billed Grebe, American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Merlin, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Whooping Crane, Killdeer, Stilt Sandpiper, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, House Wren, Northern Mockingbird, Palm Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Harris's Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle

My list - Tundra Swan, Pied-billed Grebe, Merlin, Loggerhead Shrike, Eastern Meadowlark Bartram Farm, St John’s CountyNext was about an hours drive east toward St Augustine for a pair of juvenile Tundra Swans wintering on the Bartram Farm development along CR13A in St John’s County. This is an extremely southern location for this species and the initial observation reported that original flock was of twenty birds. For some reason these two elected to stay put, which is fine with me as I had been considering a trip to South Carolina to look for wintering swans. Should make the trip someday. Following the Florida Rare Bird Alert directions I drove right up the swans. They were standing on the shore of the lake right next to the roadway. Pretty cool!! Another lifer.

My list - Northern Gannet, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Black Skimmer, Parasitic Jaeger
Gamble Rodgers recreation Area
Next, onto the Atlantic Ocean. Arrived at Flagler Beach about 2:00pm and was amazed by the hundreds of Northern Gannets feeding off the beach. Checked in at the Gamble Rodgers park to look for the reported common eider that had been enjoying this stretch of beach. It was a no-show during my visit, but there was still a good show to watch. The Northern Gannets continued feeding and I had a lifer appear when a dark-morphed Parasitic Jaeger flew in, harassing a gull. With it getting late, I passed on the Florida scrub jays and marsh wrens to be found in the habitat on the western side of A1A at Gamble Rodgers park 

New Smyrna Beach
My last stop for the day was at New Smyrna Beach at the Ponce Inlet in Volusia County. Arrived about 4:00pm, so I hurried along the boardwalk toward the rock jetty for my target. Ponce Inlet is about the most southerly location to reliably locate wintering Purple Sandpipers. I did find a pair of these birds here last year and in a recent email request about them with local Ponce Inlet birding expert, Michael Brothers, a reported recent survey found a pair on the Smyrna Jetty. They prefer rocky shorelines, or rocky jetties and are often in the company of ruddy turnstones.

I attempted to walk along the boulders making up the jetty, but my shoes were too slick for the slippery rock. About had a serious spill, much for the entertainment for the locals. I did get my tick on the Purple Sandpiper, but it was too far out for my camera. So I’ve include a shot from last year. As I was heading out the Northern Gannets arrived at the inlet and were actively feeding. Cool!!.

My list - Northern Gannet, Brown Pelican, Snowy Egret, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Black Skimmer, Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-rumped Warbler
 

Whooping Crane with crowd of Sandhill Cranes from January 23, 2009


A Ross's and Snow Geese grazing with the cranes at Paynes Prairie January 23, 2009



Alligator sunning along side LaChua Trail - 2010

Flock of Turkeys along LaChua Trail in the early morning - 2010

Purple Sandpiper on the jetty at New Smyrna Beach in 2009

Pair of juvenile Tundra Swans at bartram farm in St John's County - 2010

A trio of Ruddy Turnstones on the Jetty at New Smyrna Beach - 2010

Count for the day was 59