Local Treats (02-03Jan2025)

In the couple days leading up to the Christmas Bird Counts, it was fun to kick around my local areas while juggling some work stuff.  A quick visit to Wade Park yielded the usual suspects.

Eastern Bluebirds were enjoying some non-native trees with berries.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are always around in the winter.

A young Little Blue Heron 

Southern Wax Myrtle or Bayberry is a really cool native plant in our area.  Some cool facts, Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warblers get there name from this plant because they love the berries.  The Wax part of the name comes from the fact that early settlers boiled the berries to make wax for candles.  This plant also has many medicinal properties.

American Black Ducks can be difficult to find in Wilmington, or at least one that has not mixed with Mallard.  This one looked good for a full blooded specimen.  

For a lunch break,  I headed out with Sam, Jacob and Jesse to Landfall to check the lake after a report of an immature Purple Gallinule the previous day.  Spoiler alert, we didn't find it but had some other good birds.

Double-crested Cormorant

American Wigeon - unfortunately the Eurasian Wigeon from last year is not around.

Blue-winged Teal

Green-winged Teal

Spotted Sandpiper

Canada Goose

Friday morning I woke up early again for a sunrise on the Johnnie Mercer Pier.

Common Loons are remarkably good fishers, seemingly coming up with something a good percentage of the time.  

Laughing Gulls don't laugh too much this time of year.  

Least Sandpiper on the north end at Mason Inlet.

Nelson's Sparrow - little contrast between the malar and the breast and the streaks on the breast are blurry.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls have been increasing in number drastically over the years.

There is over 20 LBBGs in this shot alone!

Of course Ring-billed Gulls are one of our most common gulls this time of year playing see-saw with Laughing depending on where you are and the time of day.  

American Herring Gull with the bubble-gum pink legs.

A goth looking LBBG with mascara.  

Piping Plover

Semi-palmated Plover

Western Sandpiper

Saltmarsh Sparrow - tons of contrast between malar and breast and the streaks are nice and dark.

Seaside Sparrow

Nelson's Sparrow

A different Nelson's

And yet another that almost looked like a LeConte's Sparrow but was in fact a Nelson's.

For my third iNat submission this year, I chose something in my yard.  iNat came up with Swamp Bay.  I had just assumed most of these seedlings in my yard were Sweet Bays because I have some big ones in the yard but birds help me get some new plants every year by spreading seeds.  

I should have added a picture of the leaf underside because the main difference between Swamp Bay and Sweet Bay leaves is evident when you flip it over.  Sweet Bay leaves are whitish underneath.

I am really liking this iNaturalist New Year's resolution which is helping me to learn more about the nature surrounding me.

My next posts will be from the Christmas Bird Counts in New Hanover and Brunswick counties.