Back in NC (17-Feb - 08Mar2025)

For my wife, coming home from a trip abroad is one of the best parts.  She likes to travel, but she also loves being home.  For me, its always a bit disappointing.  I just love seeing new things and that is hard to do in NC.  My iNat resolution has been coming undone but I am still trying to find new plants to identify anyway.  Finding new plants to identify at my most frequently visited winter birding location is even more tough as there are only a handful of different plants at Mason Inlet.

Carolina Sea Lavender also known as Seaside Thrift - there isn't much on Wiki about this one other than it is frequently cut in the late summer for floral arrangements.

This is what the spent flowers look like.

Marsh Hay Cordgrass or Salt Hay or Saltmeadow Cordgrass

Per Wiki - "Saltmeadow Cordgrass marshes serve as pollution filters and as buffers against flooding and shoreline erosion. During the colonial era, towns scattered from Narragansett Bay to the Gulf of Maine were often settled based on their proximity to salt marshes due to the importance of saltmeadow cordgrass for fodder. It was harvested for bedding and fodder for farm animals and for garden mulch. Before hay was baled and stored under cover, it was used to top the hay stacks in the fields."

Back at home, I am realizing most of the flowers that grow in my yard are not native even when I did not plant them.  

This House Holly Fern is growing in one of my beds and I know I didn't plant it.  I do see it around in the neighborhood so I guess it is spreading naturally.

The underside of the leaves.

The Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Mason Inlet are increasing in numbers and seem to outnumber the Herring Gulls lately.

But the Dunlin can outnumber all of them.

Get your fill of Forster's Terns now because they will start to be replaced by Common, Least and Royal Terns soon.

Black-belled Plover - this one looks a bit dumpy.

A group of American White Pelicans flew overhead at Mason Inlet.

American Oystercatcher - always a crowd pleaser.

Short-billed Dowitcher

Northern Harrier

Meanwhile down at Fort Fisher.....

Cedar Waxwings abound.  Some have yellow-tipped tails.

And some have red-tipped tails.

Orange-crowned Warbler

You don't normally get to see the orange crown.

Red-headed Woodpecker - looking a little ratty.

Blue Jay - an undeservedly under-appreciated bird.

At the pier on the Air Force base at Fort Fisher, I was scanning the water and found these two Common Goldeneye.

Common Goldeneye pair waaaaayyyyy out..  I decided that if the weather held up I would bring out my kayak the next day.  It's not often that you see a drake Goldeneye in NC.

Common Goldeneye!  It took a long time to locate it and then it was very difficult to get close as all the ducks were flushing.  This was the best I could do.

I ended up kayaking several miles to find the Goldeneye and my back was killing me, but it was worth it.

The Laughing Gulls are starting to look good again.

As are the Ringers.

Piping Plovers always look good.

Largeleaf Pennywort!

Maritime Bluestem - I guess the stems are bluish in the summer.

A closer look....

I finally got enough motivation built up to make the trek to see the continuing Brewer's Blackbird that Ron M found up in Franklin County.  It was good to get some decent pics of a bird I have seen a few times in NC but never managed a good pic of.  

After picking up this beauty I decided to head over to the VOA in Bear Grass to try my luck on Short-eared Owls.  They have been seen in the daylight there over the past few months and I still don't have a decent photo of one.  I got there shortly after lunch and it was pretty dead.

It was hard to even find some Savannah Sparrows which was weird because this spot is full of them.

But as the sun started to set, things got more active.

Short-eared Owl at about 4pm and way off in the distance.

Unfortunately it never got very close and all my shots were super cropped and speed blurred.

There distances were so huge that each time I moved closer it would move before I could get close, not in response to me, as I was still almost half a mile away, but just because it was actively hunting.

Trevor joined me at this point and we saw more in the distance but they never did get close.

Loggerhead Shrike

Northern Harrier - these were the shots I was hoping to get of the owls.

Meanwhile back home I kept my efforts up of trying to find the Heermann's Gull which has been sighted in Florida, the OBX and now up at Lea Hutaff Island just north of Mason Inlet.  That bird gets around.

Virginia Glasswort.

The Japanese Camelias at Airlie are in full bloom now.

Winter Daphne - Airlie has lots of Asian plants.

Carolina Laurelcherry - and some natives thankfully!

I suppose I will keep my year list going for a little white but I am already out of the running for a big year as I am 20-30 birds off the mark of the record year.  There are a few birds I could pick up if I wanted to take a drive but so far my motivation for long drives is low.