We got home from the Bahamas on the 29th and I heard the last pelagic of the year was pushed out to 31Dec. What luck! I signed up and hauled ass up to the OBX. It ended up being a pretty ho hum trip but I did get one last bird for the year...
Red Phalaropes
We also had a Mola Mola or Oceanic Sunfish.
So that means 2021 ended with 354 species, 350 of them with photos and one with audio only (Whip-poor-will). The missed photos were for Broad-winged Hawk, Clay-colored Sparrow and Leach's Storm-petrel. Not bad for a practice run!
Here are some highlights from the year.
I left on 01Jan for a trip to the OBX and nabbed some good birds on the way.
A Vermilion Flycatcher in the rain.
02Jan was just as exciting and I picked up two more good birds at the Duck Boardwalk.
03Jan was no slouch either with a surprise Snowy Owl at Pea Island.
I just happened to be close by which is a good thing because it was a one-day wonder.
04Jan was notable for the Black-throated Gray Warbler which I had tried for and dipped on the previous three days on the north end of Roanoke Island. Thanks to Matt J and Archie for relocating this bird originally found by Jeff L.
Later in January I made the obligatory visit to Raleigh to see the long staying Varied Thrush.
12Jan was a good day as I had a couple self found birds at Wrightsville Beach.
Later that week I just had to make the trip up to the triangle again to get my NC lifer Evening Grosbeaks at Bert's place.
In reviewing pics I can't believe I traveled again later that month to the OBX but apparently I did for a pelagic. Unfortunately that pelagic did not turn up any rarities and it ended up being one of the only three winter pelagics available. The other trip bagged a Great Skua so that was a big miss for me.
An Eared Grebe up near Asheville was not super rare, but the close looks I got were notable for this species.
I had no business making the slog back up to the OBX again in early Feb but that's what I did. I can't remember if it was for a canceled pelagic or just cause I am glutton for punishment. Let's just say I have listened to a lot of NPR and sampled quite a few bad podcasts.
Long-tailed Duck up near Duck!
One of my favorite pilgrimages every year is visiting the Bar-tailed Godwit at the east end of Shackleford Island. In fact, I would go even if that bird was not there. It is truly a beautiful spot.
I will spare you the bad photos, but I picked up a Common Redpoll at the end of Feb.
The last winter pelagic was run in early March with no really rare pick ups although we did have puffins and a Fulmar.
One of my favorite times of year is when the Bonaparte Gulls start aggregating in large numbers on the beaches in my neck of the woods. The weather is still cold enough to keep the beaches free of people and I can spend hours watching the bonies feeding in the inlets. So when a Little Gull showed as a self found bird, I was over the moon.
No big year is complete without a trip to the VOA site in Bear Grass, NC in April to look for Henslow's Sparrows. This year they did not disappoint.
A Ruff found by Ricky at Morgan Futch was a notable find in April.
A Gray Kingbird was found in April at Pea Island and I chased it, not knowing that I was going to have a self found one later in the year.
South Polar Skuas can be tricky but this year they were plentiful.
Roseate Terns can usually be found at Cape Point but it is rare for me to get such crushing views as we did on this May pelagic.
June was pretty slow and I was also out of state for a trip to Oregon.
In July, the Pacific Golden Plover was found again and I did chase it, but I will spare you the bad long distance pic.
August was another month where I was out of state for a portion on a trip to Arizona.
September pelagics were fun but again nothing super rare. I had deplorable luck on pelagics this year. Matthew had a super rare Wedge-tailed Shearwater but I wasn't on that one. The photo ops were however quite good...
October was notable for a Kirtland's Warbler at Valle Crucis Community Park, but my photos suck. Say's Phoebes are becoming quite regular now but they are always good to see. This one was found by Martina in Anson County.
Here is the self found Gray Kingbird up on a wire near Mattamuskeet.
The best bird of 2021 for me was on 23Oct found by someone I don't know on the OBX. A little brown job (LBJ) freshly named Thick-billed Longspur in the recent move away from Patronymic names.
Not only was it a lifer for me, it was a North Carolina first.
November was pretty lame but this Snow Bunting was especially accommodating.
December was completely a wash! Despite a pandemic or maybe because of it, the year ended up being my best yearly haul. If I had dedicated more time to pelagics I could have maybe given Matthew a run for his money. However, he was dogged and pulled out an impressive record breaking total of 363! That's 5 better than the previous record set by the recently departed Steve (RIP). Steve was a friend and I was really sad to see him go but I can definitely say that he lived life to its fullest and he birded harder than anyone I have ever met.
Best mushroom of 2021? Shaggy-stalked Bolette!
Best family of 2021? Mine! Thanks to the Adams Clan for keeping the world in check while I bird like a maniac.
Now on to 2022!
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