Only a Few Weeks Left (14-27Nov2021)

The year is coming to a close too quickly, much like my life.  So what does a twitcher in mid-life crisis mode do instead of buying a Corvette?  They go on the chase.

First some local pics...

A huge cowbird flock at Ashley High School had me running all over the fields trying to get good looks in favorable light in order to pick out a Shiny Cowbird.  I checked them all pretty thoroughly and aside from a few Starlings and Red-Winged Blackbirds the flock was almost all Brown-headed.

This Sharp-shinned Hawk was the cause of all the murmurations from the cowbirds.  

Meanwhile on the pond there was a little flock of Green-winged Teal which had some adult males, rare for Wilmington it seems.

Red-shouldered Hawks are common at Ashley.

What are the odds?  Pretty good at this particular ball field.

Ashley HS is one of the best places in NC where you can have Wilson's Snipe juxtaposed with vinyl siding.

Saltmarsh Sparrow at Fort Fisher

Cooper's Hawk at FF

This Leaf-footed Bug has been hanging out on my back deck.

Turkey Vulture - At Carolina Beach Lake there was a die-off of the giant carp, or maybe they were intentionally poisoned as invasives. The vultures have been enjoying a free buffet and allowing close study.  

Black Vulture

Last weekend I went on a long drive to the OBX with some stops on the way there and back.

Cackling Geese are back at the Beasley Rd ponds.  The small one on the left of the tall necked Canada was a slam dunk with the stubby bill and steep forehead.  The one just to the left of that one was kind of borderline.

Slam dunk on the far left.  The clouds moved in is why the water color changed.

I made it to Oregon Inlet at about 8am and the plan was to head straight to the jetty where folks had been seeing the Snow Bunting.  However, something made me go over to the area where the Longspur had been seen previously and while I was there sorting through sparrows, someone texted the GroupMe that they were on the Snow Bunting at the mid point on the jetty.  I hightailed it over there only to find a Merlin patrolling the area and the Bunting was gone.  Just my luck!

The beach to the south of the inlet had a huge assortment of gulls and I went through them all diligently looking for a rarity.  

The comparisons between Lesser and Great Black-backed were ..... Great.

The damn Merlin kept moving back and forth along the Jetty and basically ruined my chance of seeing the Snow Bunting.

Purple Sandpiper

Someone who was also looking for the Bunting found a White-rumped Sandpiper standing on the jetty.  I thought that sounded strange so I went to investigate.

White-rumped Sandpiper - weird... I have never seen them perched on rocks.

If there was any doubt about the ID, he/she showed the diagnostic rump.

I basically spent 4 hours walking back and forth along the jetty and the Bunting never showed again.  On the way home I took the long way around Mattamuskeet looking for large Blackbird flocks for Yellow-headed or Brewer's with no luck.

That same weekend someone had a Franklin's Gull at the wastewater treatment plant in Ocean Isle Beach. I gave chase on Sunday with no luck.  Later in the week it showed up again and I went on the chase again.  This time the bird was all the way back in the second impoundment just within range of my camera.

Franklin's Gull feeding amongst a large flock of Green-winged Teal.  Note the neat diagnostic black partial hood.

At sunset it flew up and offered some better looks in still poor light and headed towards the beach, probably to roost for the night.

Thanksgiving was spent with family with little to no opportunity for birds, but once the in-laws left I went on the chase for the Snow Bunting again.  I arrived at Oregon Inlet only to find a large group of birders telling me that the Bunting had just flown off..  ARGGHHH.  I walked the jetty a couple times and then went to find some sparrows when I almost tripped over this fellow.

Snow Bunting!  Finally.

That puts me at 352 for the year which is one over my previous best although still short of the new record which is now held by Matthew W who has a staggering 362 and counting. His record will probably stand for some time, but who knows with climate change and advances in technology may make it easier to locate vagrants in the near future.