After my delicious egg and cheese bagel sandwich I was ready to try round 2 at the spot in Kitty Hawk where Red Crossbills have been seen/heard. It was not long before a Bald Eagle flew overhead and flushed a large group of about 20 crossbills which have a distinctive call. I think it was the Type 1 call, but it was all too fast for me to record it. They quickly settled down in a distant loblolly pine to feed on the plentiful cones. Unfortunately the tree was far back in the impenetrable woods so I had to content myself with this horrible but good enough for ID pic. Note the large curved bill and red/orange color which is quite different from other finches (purple or house). Hopefully I will pick up some better photos later for my year list.
At that point reports were coming through the rare bird Groupme for NC of all kinds of rarities from Pea Island. Ross's Geese (two of them), Eurasian Wigeon and a Common Teal (eurasian subspecies of Green-winged Teal) were all being seen north of the bird blind. So off I went....
Ross's Goose in center frame among the hundreds of Snow Geese.
Some time ago any Ross's Goose would be scrutinized for possible hybrid status, but I have seen discussions on Advanced Bird ID groups on Facebook lately where the experts say hybrids are actually the exception and most questionable birds with Ross's traits are probably full Ross's. This bird was definitely smaller and generally more cute than the Snow Geese and had the distinctive bluish coloration around the base of the bill. In addition the bill has no real "grin patch" like the Snow Geese do.
The Snow Geese were really impressive at Pea Island, staying very close to the road allowing for excellent looks.
Canada Geese were outnumbered but held their own.
Tundra Swans have tons of variation. Some have just a spot of yellow on the bill. You have to zoom in to see it on this one.
I was super excited to add this Bonaparte's Gull to my Birds Pooping page but then realized this is the second Bonaparte's I have on there already. I guess this species really likes to poop.
Any time you have a large flock of Bonies, you need to check them for Little Gulls. None in this group..
The quintessential view of a Eurasian Wigeon. For some reason I never get good looks or pics of this species. However, the burgundy head and cream forehead is a dead giveaway.
This is a really good year for ducks it seems. Usually Blue-winged Teal are hard to find at Pea Island.
Every so often a Bald Eagle would cause a stir which was actually kind of nice. When Snow Geese kick up and then drift back down again, it feels like a snow storm.
I tried my luck in the bird blind and was super pumped to find the Common Teal (eurasian subspecies of GWTE) was hanging out right in front.
Common Teal - note the horizontal white stripe instead of the vertical one like the "normal" Green-winged Teal in back.
Northern Pintails are so beautiful...
Purple Sandpipers are fairly regular at the end of Oregon Inlet jetty if you go at low tide when they feast on the invertebrates hiding in the seaweed covered rocks.
The plan was to end the day at Alligator National Wildlife Refuge to get me some Short-eared Owls at dusk.
When I initially saw this little raptor at Alligator I instinctively thought Merlin because it was so small. As I got closer I saw it had the long tail of an accipiter and the only one that small was a Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Bug eyes, dark blotchy streaks, almost no white on the tail tip and the "sharp" shins are the field marks.
Also here you can see the nape is not buffy like on a Cooper's.
Although I did see Short-eared Owls in the distance and fading light, I was not able to obtain pics that didn't look like classic Yeti photos.
Day 3 had nicer weather and therefore better quality photos. That installment will come this weekend.
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