A Couple More Vagrants and a Missed Opportunity (17-25Feb2019)

I was scheduled for another pelagic this past weekend, and once again we were stymied this time by the weather.  However, not all was lost and I managed to make some lemonade out of the lemons.

Boat-tailed Grackle on Johnnie Mercer's Pier.

On Saturday I pulled the trigger on chasing the Common Redpoll in Taylorsville which has been seen 2-3 days in a row.

Common Redpoll - It took a good hour before it showed and there were several people watching so I didn't want to sidle up and scare it off.  Hence the heavy crop and poor quality.  One day I will crush this species.

Random Red-tailed Hawk in Winston-Salem area on my way east.  I tried for a better photo of a White-winged Scoter at Salem Lake but it was far off.

Driving to the OBX that afternoon I was getting tired and listening to a podcast, so probably was not as alert as I usually am.  Long story short, I got my first ticket in 15 years of living in NC.  I will go to court in May to see if I can get it wiped somehow.  ARGGhh..  I hate it when counties set up speed traps just because they need revenue, it defeats the purpose of why speed limits are set which is to promote safe driving.  When a stretch of road is so remote and straight but the speed limit is set so low intentionally it becomes obvious it is not for safety reasons.

In the morning I was fully suited up in super warm clothes and arrived at the dock to find out the trip was canceled.  ARGGGggghhh. Second trip in two weeks I was scheduled for that was canceled.  There has been only one pelagic this whole season.  Maybe not the best year for a big year after all.  I was rescheduled for 06Mar and headed out to Frisco to try for the continuing Western Grebe.

Ovenbird - I was airing down at the beach ramp and jumped in the bushes to pee and found this guy flipping leaves nonchalantly.

Ricky and Derb jumped in the bed of my truck due to my strict COVID regulations (no-one outside of my immediate family is allowed in my truck) and we headed down the beach. It didn't take long....

Western Grebe - the black cap extends around the eye which rules out Clarke's Grebe.

American Kestrel at Alligator NWR.

Back home during the week I only got out 1-2 times before or after work.

Sora at Wade Park in Wilmington.

Red-bellied Woodpecker - male.

Female outside the cavity.

Tufted Titmouse at Airlie Gardens

Brown-headed Nuthatch at Airlie

Common Grackles are pretty shy in my experience and a challenge to get decent photos of.

Pileated Woodpecker 

Meanwhile at the beach one afternoon...

White-winged Scoter - Masonboro Inlet

Long-tailed Duck

Savannah Sparrow - last night at Fort Fisher.  I tried for owls but dipped.

Thinking of going to Cape Lookout to try for Pheasant on Saturday.  No one has reported one in a long time but I did talk with a tourist on the boat last week when I went to Shackleford and he said he saw a Pheasant a couple months ago.  Cape Lookout is the only place in the state right now that has countable Pheasants. 

Shackin it Up (15-17Feb2021)

Every year I make one or two pilgrimages to Shackleford Banks to bag me a European godwit and a Western curlew and also Reddish Egrets.  However, the real reason is I love it there.  So beautiful and usually totally quiet and solitary.  I made good time up into Carteret County and as I was driving across the new section of Highway 70, I noticed the Sandhill Cranes were unusually close to the road so I swung around and re-acquainted myself with them.

I had planned my trip to Shack this winter to coincide with a high tide which makes finding the shorebirds much easier as they rest on the beach usually in large flocks.  So I was super disappointed when I arrived at the ferry terminal at Harker's Island to find a sign that the 10:00am ferry was canceled and the next one would be 11:30am.  High tide was at 11am so by the time I got there it would already be ebbing and I would risk missing the congregation of shore birds.  Oh well, when given lemons make lemonade.  I took a walk around the trails near the Core Sound Museum.

These crazy looking Mock Oyster mushrooms (Phyllotopsis nidulans) were all over the place.  Apparently they smell bad but I didn't notice.

No idea what these are but pretty cool as well.

Nature is cool.

Semi-palmated Plover

For some reason this House Wren was flagging as rare in eBird.  Note the tick on his brow.  Apparently birds frequently get ticks and mites.

Even from his good side you could see that the tick was not a small thing.

Swamp Sparrow

Downy WP

Periodically I was checking on the ferry and the guy working the window was saying unless some other people showed they would not leave.  They needed a minimum of 4 people to shove off.  Arrghhh...  After considering paying for 4 tickets some cars started to come in and 5 minutes before scheduled departure we had a grand total of 5 people including me.  YAY!  Off we went.

I must have looked like a crazy person to the other two people that got dropped off on Shack because I took off running to get to the south beach where the birds congregate at high tide.  It's a good thing I did because I was running around the bend, I saw huge sections of the flock starting to lift off and fly towards the mudflats on the north end which at that time were starting to reveal themselves.  I focused in on the Marbled Godwit flocks knowing that the Bar-tailed Godwit mostly hangs out with them and quickly honed in on a smaller bird in the group.  EUREKAAAAaa!

Bar-tailed Godwit leading the pack!

I was so lucky that it decided to fly along the shoreline instead of over the dunes which many of the birds were doing.  These shots are great because you can actually see the barred tail which distinguishes it from the Black-tailed.

As I was paying attention to the Bar-tailed, the Long-billed Curlew slipped behind me but I swiveled and got off this distant shot which shows the difference in bills compared with a Marbled.  Don't worry dear readers, I managed to hunt the LB down for better pics.

Whimbrels - noticeably shorter bills and plainer plumage.

Oystercatchers

I had over 20 Piping Plovers!

Western Sandpiper

Marbled Godwit

Western SP hanging out with a Dunlin.

Red Knot

Lots of Red Knots

Wilson's Plover - there is a pretty good group of over-wintering Wilson's here which is weird because we don't have them further south.

Once I got my fill on the south beach, I crossed the dunes and hiked onto the mudflats trail.

Greater Yellowlegs - the bill didn't look too long and I almost mis-identified it.

Ah that's a better angle, definitely a Greater.

Long-billed Curlew - I suppose this is the same one that was on the beach but its possible there are two.

Great times, I made it just in time for the early boat back so I could get home in time for dinner.

These Wild Turkeys were hanging out on the side of the highway on the way home.

Northern Flicker - Here is a random photo from my front lawn during the week taken through my office window.

Yesterday we finally had some sun so I skipped out a bit early from work and took a quick walk at Burnt Mill Creek.

Rusty Blackbirds were thick

Anhinga

Little Blue Heron

Turkey Vulture

Can't wait for this weekend!  2nd winter pelagic is on for Sunday.