Starting out the new year with a bang is important. With a good first week, outlooks are brighter and prospects are rosier. So that's why I usually book a weekend on the outer banks and go birding! This time I opted for a VRBO instead of a hotel room and booked 4 nights at a nice condo just south of Jeannette's Pier overlooking the ocean. VRBOs are cheap this time of year especially during a pandemic when business is slow. Unfortunately the weather forecast turned out to be pure crap, but that sometimes can be good for rare or out of place birds so I didn't let it deter me.
My first planned stop early Friday morning was to Morehead City to get my peepers on the fresh male Bullock's Oriole that Sam uncovered a week ago during the Xmas Bird Count. However, the steady rain had me take a detour as I didn't want to show up at the house hosting the Orioles in a downpour. So to kill some time I headed to the fields near the Beaufort, NC airport and quickly found the two Sandhill Cranes that have been coming back each winter.
These Sandhill Cranes roost across from the Beaufort waterfront at the Rachel Carson Reserve and then fly a little north to the farm fields to feed during the day. As I watched them the rain tapered off some and I headed to the neighborhood hosting the Orioles. The nice lady hosting the orioles has multiple feeders with jelly and nectar among other bird goodies. Apparently the Bullock's has been visiting for years unbeknownst to the birding world. It took Sam C to walk/drive by and notice all the orioles to pick out and identify the Bullock's during the Xmas Bird Count. It was still drizzling and the feeders were all visible from the road so I simply parked on the road and rolled down my window to use my car as a blind.
The Bullock's flew in to get his fill of the jelly and then luckily flew into the Sweetgum right next to my truck.
With my spirits high from such an auspicious start, the couple hours to my next stop near Williamston flew by. Some of you may wonder how I fill my hours of driving when I go on these trips. Mostly with NPR but also with podcasts. I particularly like the NYT podcast the Daily, but lately have also been listening to Criminal which is quite good. I should probably do something more constructive like learn Spanish.
Upon arrival at Bob's farm to see my next target, I was a little miffed that the rain continued but happy to see some birders just leaving with a smile on their faces which could only mean one thing, the Vermilion was still being seen. I threw on my muck boots and slogged over to the pasture where it was flycatching in the rain.
A very wet Vermilion Flycatcher coming into breeding/adult plumage.
A fortuitous beginning to say the least! 2 for 2 or 3 for 3 if you count the Sandhills. This luck would not continue for the rest of this day as the rain continued and I dipped at the Black-throated Gray Warbler spot on the north end of Manteo. Derb was also looking when I arrived so I know it was not just my skills that were lacking. I knew finding it was going to be tough. It had been visiting a row of live oaks which line about a mile of road from the North End Park all the way to the Elizabethan Garden entrance. By my estimates there are hundreds of these live oaks and this little needle of a black/white/gray bird was hanging out all by its lonesome in that proverbial haystack. A little consolation presented itself when I found some Long-billed Dowitchers working relatively close to the road at Milltail Rd in the Alligator NWR.
Dowitchers can be tricky to ID and no one field mark can be used to seal the deal, but if you can cobble together numerous field marks, you can be fairly sure. First helpful "rule" which is really not a rule is that Long-billed Dowitchers favor fresh water habitats, but that is a pretty floppy rule as you can certainly find SB Dows in fresh water. The next is the size and girth, which these birds met. Although this particular pic does not show it well, a Long-billed Dowitcher looks like it has swallowed a grapefruit which gives it a more barrel-chested look. Another mark is the tail barring which again I neglected to photograph but saw well is that the tail barring is more black than white. The supercilia is another mark, you want it to be fairly straight on a Long-billed where a Short-billed has a significant flare in front of the eye. The wing feathers (scapulars and tertials) on a Long-billed in this plumage have nice dark centers. Finally the bill, its long.... duh... and is not kinked like it would be on a SB. So anyway, I would be willing to lay money down on these birds being LB.
I slept well in my VRBO which was right on the water south of Jennette's Pier and was happy to see the weather had improved for Saturday. My first stop at the Kitty Hawk Town Hall came up short for Red Crossbills but it was early and still somewhat gloomy so I headed to the famous Duck Boardwalk.
The birding at the boardwalk was very slow due to strong west winds coming off the sound, but once I located a nice flock nestled between two buildings, I was in heaven. Birding is kind of like meditation, once you are in the zone everything else just melts away. Its just you and the birds and all of life's worries and stress just melt away. Mindfulness is a funny word as for me it really should be mindlessness, your mind is void of the usual clutter and you are simply taking in your surroundings in their raw form without any extra thoughts except wonder. Wow deep.
Black-and-white Warbler - can a warbler be a symbol for racial unity? I think so.
Carolina Chickadee - show me a bird with more personality and I will hand wash your car for you.
American Robin - an under appreciated beauty.
Orange-crowned Warbler - I love the variation on these little guys. Some are very yellow, some gray, some are a mix.
Ash-throated Flycatcher - we have tons of these western vagrants showing up all over NC this year.
Yellow-rumped Warbler - I have not seen as many of these as I usually do, maybe they did not need to leave up north as the weather has been somewhat mild.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - they give warblers a run for their money when it comes to being frenetic.
On that same note, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers also do a good job of not ever staying still.
You could be excused if you thought this gnatty was pissed off at me. If you look closely you will see that it was simply catching a worm it tossed up. Nothing is as it seems!
This might be my new favorite Brown Creeper photo. It mixes my new interest of fungi with my old interest of birds, not to mention trees.
I will end this post with the star of the show which appropriately showed up just as I was about to call it quits for lunch. I present to you, Mr. MacGillivray!
This is one cool customer and I did not begrudge him for showing up to the party late.
MacGillivray's Warblers are just one of the many western vagrants that have been showing up east of the Mississippi this year. Some say a combination of fires, bad weather (cold snaps) and habitat loss have been driving them east. Who knows what made this snazzy little bird come to Duck, NC but I am happy he did.
Here is a map of the usual range courtesy of the Cornell website.
Usually a pretty skulky bird, this one has periodically come out for a good crushing with the camera (2-dimensional crushing).
Although I have been eating almost all my meals out of my truck or VRBO, I decided this warbler was worth celebrating and risking a quick visit to pick up an Egg and Cheese bagel across the street which was delicious. I just hope the college aged kids working the counter were not vectors for the dreaded COVID.
Worry not dear readers, I have plenty more materials to share with you from this wonderful trip to the OBX. Look for another installment in a couple days.
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