Loony Toons (12Jan2021)

Earlier this week a massive grouping of gulls and seabirds congregated at the south end of Wrightsville Beach.  They appeared to be eating some small baitfish, but live ones.  In past years we have had fish kills which attract gulls but this was not a fish kill.  

The Great Cormorants are easily picked out even at great distant when sitting next to Double-crested Cormorants.  They are much larger, darker and have a blocky head.

I continue to have great luck with Parasitic Jaeger fly-by's.

This one a light morph...

When I first saw this loon I immediately called it a Pacific Loon but as I watched it more, the ID troubled me.  It seemed to have a dagger-like bill, a slight "chin strap" and it mostly held it's head horizontally like a proper Pacific.  However, the head shape was too angular and the nape was not really any lighter than the sides of the neck.  I have since changed this to Red-throated Loon, but I have to say it's a weird one.

Here is a more typical RT Loon with slightly upturned bill, whiter face/neck and more slim profile.

Horned Grebe

Royal Tern

Mostly Ring-billed Gulls, but plenty of Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed, Herring, Bonaparte's and Laughing.

Royal Terns

Forster's Tern

Black-legged Kittiwake - I wonder if it is the same one I had back in October.

Black Skimmers hanging on through the winter.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Iceland Gull

Another strange looking Red-throated Loon

Here is that same one from before.

A different more typical RT Loon with some darker tones.

Its nice to have a couple self-found rarities and even nicer that several other folks gave chase and saw them too, at least the Kittiwake.  I think I was the only one to see the Iceland.

Dovekies have been seen and photographed recently around the piers and jetties at Wrightsville but I still haven't been able to bag one.  Maybe this weekend!