Wednesday of last week started out like most of my days this month, on Johnnie Mercer's pier looking for something unusual. There is something refreshing about starting the day out on the pier.
Red-breasted Mergansers are not unusual but I still love them. A duck with teeth!
Brown Pelicans are a personal favorite. They are so graceful in the air but also so goofy looking.
Red-throated Loons are outnumbered by Common Loons at the pier, but they can hold their own on some days where you can see thousands moving further out. The odd thing is the ratio flips at Fort Fisher.
Common Loon
Boat-tailed Grackle
Rock Pigeons frequently have an odd white feather but this guy had a whole panel that was white.
Ospreys are more scarce in the winter but they are around.
The south end of Wrightsville Beach always hosts a bunch of Piping Plovers at high tide. This one was sporting from pink bling.
Northern House Wrens love the beach too.
If you want to know your seabirds well you have to study how they look in flight. This Red-throated Loon was trying to show us that the field marks are not always true. A field mark for RTLO is usually that their head dips lower than the body giving them a bowed appearance. However, it was close enough to see the clear throat and smaller feet.
Ring-billed Gulls are in full force on the beach. There are currently thousands loafing on the north end of WB as I write this.
Sanderlings are fun to watch. They hardly ever sit still.
Short-billed Dowitcher
Greater Yellowlegs
This past weekend I had big plans but as it always seems to happen when I have plans, they change. I decided to start out the weekend by heading up to Carteret County and making a day of East Shackleford Banks. The plan was to quickly stop at a private property in Beaufort to pick up the continuing Bullock's Oriole and then catch the 10am ferry to Shack. However, when I got there, two carloads were already on the feeder and I apparently just missed the bird. Then a Sharpie made an appearance and kept the feeder area clear for an hour or so. Finally it started to pour rain! Rain on Shack is not fun because there is zero cover and you are at the mercy of the elements. So the plans changed and I decided to stay at the feeder setup for as long as it took to bag the Bullock's. The home owner is super cool and was fine with me using my car as a blind.
Blue Jay
House Finch
Purple Finch - bonus bird!!
Blue Jay during a brief window of sun.
There were 3-4 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds wintering here.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
I wonder if this is the very same Orange-crowned Warbler I have seen here in previous years?
Pine Warblers can look funny in the rain because the moisture reacts with all the sap they get on their feathers from the Pines they forage in.
Whereas the Bullock's was taking its sweet time to visit the jelly feeder, the Orange-crowned kept coming back for more.
Finally after more than 2 hours, my friend came in for some jelly.
I got to get me one of these wheel feeders, very stylish.
There are now 10 Sandhill Cranes visiting the fields near the Beaufort airport. In previous years it was just 2-3. It was really just pissing rain at this point so I threw in the towel and headed for home but I got bored about an hour into the drive and decided to say hello to my Red-cockaded friends in Holly Shelter.
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Sunday the forecast was not great so I decided to stick close to home. I had a bit of insomnia so I decided to check Fort Fisher at first light and I was glad I did!
The sunrise over the ocean with the green rocks in the foreground was stunning. Sunrises and sunsets are always better in person, but the photos give you an idea of how beautiful it was.
The light was not conducive for photography but I had some year birds. Surf Scoter.
I guess this is why they call them Surf Scoters, he looked like he was going to drop in and get barreled.
Buffleheads love Coquina Rocks at FF.
Black Scoters too.
Eastern Bluebirds look good even when its raining. Right behind this bluebird I flushed a Great Horned Owl but was a little slow on the draw and missed my photo op. Then it started to piss rain again. Ugh..
Back at home my wife's awesome home baked Sourdough waited for me to make a yummy brunch with eggs. That sourdough starter was the best gift I ever gave her. After brunch the sun started to come out again and I headed across the river to look for some random birds.
Rusty Blackbird - although the people at the Battleship have done their best to destroy the habitat these birds love, some are still hanging out in the area.
When looking at adult male Rusty Blackbirds, the first clue is the white/gold eye but then you have to check other field marks to make sure you don't have the more rare Brewer's Blackbird. The default at the Battleship is always Rusty, but I check anyhow. The bill on a Rusty is slightly down curved like this one is. A Brewer's bill is relatively straight. Otherwise they are pretty similar.
The Western Kingbird at the entrance to Eagle Island is still around and still not cooperating for decent photos. Its my bad for always showing up in the afternoon when he is backlit. Since that area is off limits, you can't just walk behind it to get a better shot.
Since I have not found ducks elsewhere, I decided to head up to Lake Sutton at the northwest corner of New Hanover. I typically don't like it because the views are mostly obstructed of the spoil ponds where the ducks hang out. However, this time the strong wind from the west made all the ducks head to the west side to try and shelter from the wind.
There were a ton of Scaup which allow for some fun identification attempts. I actually like this adult one for Greater because of the somewhat rounded head profile and almost greenish looking sheen, not to mention the clean white sides, but these ducks are notoriously difficult and can change quickly depending on the light and posture.
No problems with ID on these Ring-necked Ducks!
This female scaup looked good for a Greater to me. The head is perfectly around with no real peak to the back like you would expect on a Lesser, plus the bill is honking!
Here is an example of a Lesser with the peaked head in back of the eye.
A Greater Scaup - nice rounded head and clean flanks. You can almost see a green sheen, although I suspect this is subjective and others would say they see purple!
Hmm, this is a tricky one...
On second thoughts this one looks good for Lesser - see the peak in back of the eye.
Ruddy Ducks were mostly tucked in sleeping but I managed a quick shot when a Cooper's Hawk flew by.
For my final stop of the weekend, I headed to the airport to pick up my annual Loggerhead Shrike. It didn't take long to find it, in fact I think he found me first.
Maybe he is getting to know me because he was very trusting this year.
Not a bad haul for a weekend that was mostly bad weather but ended nicely.
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