Like Shooting Ducks in a Barrel (03-04Jan2022)

I love a new year for the obvious reason that I can rack up big numbers of year birds every day.  It's probably a form of OCD that I do this every year but I don't care what people think of my habit/addiction.  It makes me happy and its way safer than crack cocaine and has less impact on my family life than gambling.  

CB Lake is a great place to satisfy my urges...

Tricolored Herons at close range are like getting 3 cherries lined up on a One-armed Bandit.

Little Blue Herons are better than Heroin.

A well placed Snowy Egret beats a pile of the white stuff for satisfying my delirium tremors.

Chipping Sparrow - Who needs a twelve step program when you can chip away at your goals by just walking around your neighborhood.

Ok that's enough of that horrible word play..

Black Scoter at Fort Fisher.

Buffleheads 

Northern Gannet

Brown Pelicans can glide above the waves using updrafts from the wave faces to keep up effortlessly.

In winters past the Piping Plovers always settled on the south end of Wrightsville Beach at high tide, but ranger traffic (they drive all over the beach), unleashed dogs and human traffic is making the sightings few and far between now.

Ospreys are fewer in the winter but they are around and sometimes they come in close.

Could you imagine just minding your own business and having a large flying carnivore plucking you off your feet and digging its huge talons into your soft parts?  I guess it could happen if you swim around these parts but most likely it would come from below.

Ring-billed Gulls are pretty mellow.  If I could talk with animals like Dr. Doolittle, I would like to have a conversation with a Ring-billed Gull.  He could tell me where all the best restaurants are and give me the inside scoop on where I could find rare gulls.

Ruddy Turnstones on the other hand would probably not be very interesting conversationalists.

Savannah Sparrow - maybe an Ipswich Sparrow but not an especially light colored one.

Rock Pigeon - how can a bird be beautiful but sleazy at the same time?  I guess kind of like what Britney Spears has going on.

Black-crowned Night-herons are plentiful at Airlie in the winter.

As are White-throated Sparrows

Carolina Wrens are loud and boisterous.

Eastern Towhee male

Female

Brown Thrashers doing what they do best - thrashing.

Northern Cardinal

Hooded Mergansers are by far the most dapper ducks around.

Semipalmated Plovers use the water's reflection to check that all feathers are in place.

Black-bellied Plovers can be elegant too when they try.

Ahhh living the bird life is the way to go.  Don't tell the masses, we need to keep this on the down low so all the good spots stay quiet.