Last weekend I had a Saturday to play around so I left work on Friday and made the drive up to the OBX. I woke early with great expectations and well laid plans. Things rarely go according to plan, but I did end up getting some good birds anyway. I greatly underestimated the impact of the stiff NW wind which was cold and kept many birds out of some key locations.
For the past several weeks a quartet of Harlequin Ducks have been hanging out near the Duck Research Pier. I had never been there so I thought it would be fun to check it out. There is no public access to the beach in that area so you have to park a couple miles away and walk. I chose to come in from the south and made the slog into the wind.
I new the pier was long but I was not prepared for how far away the ducks would be. Here is an un-cropped photo and you can barely make out the ducks.
The best image I came away with shows one adult male and some females.
A lone Surf Scoter initially had me questioning a possible White-winged, but when I looked at pics later you can clearly see the multicolored bill and white eye. The bill structure is definitely a better fit for Surf Scoter. This is why taking photos of your bird is always a good idea, first impressions are not always correct.
Next on the agenda was a visit to Pea Island to look for Snow Buntings and get some ducks in good light. I succeeded on the first count but was disappointed on the second. The Snow Buntings have been hanging out near the old Coast Guard Station so that is where I started.
A lone Redhead in the small bay at the CG Station.
It didn't take too long to find the huge Snow Bunting flock in the dunes. I even managed to get a bunch of other birders on them.
Such cool characters! I tried for some good flight shots but failed. The people I got on the buntings said they found a Purple Sandpiper on the old bridge walkway so out I went.
Another Surf Scoter that tricked me.
Purple Sandpiper
Next stop down Pea Island was the Visitors Center where I hoped to get ducks feeding on the bulkhead with the sun behind me. I have gotten some amazing photos there in the past, but this time the cards did not fall my way. The stiff NW wind had all the ducks sheltering on the north end of the pond or else they were in the far reaches of south pond or the back bay.
Some fly-over American White Pelicans were my only consolation.
And some distant American Black Ducks.
I got in the truck and headed up to the north end of the pond where a small flotilla of ducks was sheltering in the lee of the dyke.
Ruddy Duck stretching out her leg.
Greater Scaup with nice clean flanks, a honker of a bill and the roundest gently sloped head you will find on a duck. Not to mention the nice green tinge which is not a good field mark in isolation.
Another view of a Greater Scaup.
A female Redhead and a Bufflehead - as you an see, the light on the north end of the pond was not idea with the sun backlighting the birds.
Male Bufflehead
Green-winged Teal
GWT
Female Bufflehead
Male Ruddy Duck
A sleeping beauty female Canvasback was the only one I could find and it simply refused to show me its face. I waited 20 minutes before it finally untucked.
Female Canvasback
My Groupme App was alerting me to multiple sightings of Ash-throated Flycatchers at Alligator NWR so off I went with a short stop at Bro's Sandwich Shop for a Philly Cheesesteak. It ended up being a delicious mistake as by the time I got to Alligator the flycatchers were out of view.
Thousands of Northern Pintails littered the impoundments but most were quite far off.
The fields were also chock full of Wilson's Snipes.
I stayed until shortly before sunset and said my farewell to Dare County. Not everything I hoped for, but not bad for a blustery cold day.
On Sunday after my morning survey at Figure 8, Sam C called and said he had secured entry to Landfall to go look for ducks and asked if I wanted in. Heck yeah I wanted in! I headed over to Sam's so we could carpool. In addition to the Rufous Hummingbird, now Sam has a Western Tanager coming to his feeders, so I posted up for a short session before we set off for Landfall.
Downy Woodpecker
Western Tanager!
He has a slew of Baltimore Orioles too.
Once in Landfall, we started at the big lake and worked our way around the path that circumnavigates the whole lake.
Wilson's Snipe
American Wigeon
Pied-billed Grebe
Greater Yellowlegs
Eurasian Wigeon! I was so glad to see this stunner was still around.
This Glossy Ibis showed up on our way out.
Bonus Mammal! Muskrat!
This year has started well for a big year effort if someone were to try. The next couple weeks will tell if it is worth making an attempt. It would probably not be ideal as I will be out of the country for at least a whole month and I am doing this survey gig 4 days a week. I certainly am not in full out chase mode. There is a Trumpeter Swan up at Hanging Rock SP, but I just can't bring myself to drive 4 hours for one bird. Maybe if something else shows up near it.
