May 31- June 6, 2007
North Carolina: Sea to Sky
I arrived at the Raleigh-Durham Airport on Thursday afternoon. In my sister’s front yard I saw a beautiful Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly. There was not much bird action though.
Friday morning I got up early and my brother John and I went to the Korstian section of Duke Forest in Durham, NC. Lots of birds were singing but they were hard to see in the thick canopy. I heard Hooded Warbler, Ovenbird, Indigo Bunting, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher as we made our way down to the creek. John pointed out a Brown-headed Cowbird. We saw a male and female Scarlet Tanager way up in an oak tree. Blue Jays were squawking overhead. At the creek I heard a Louisiana Waterthrush singing. It flew up over John’s head briefly. A Hooded Warbler also popped out very briefly and I heard a Northern Parula singing which also made an all too brief appearance. I think John was getting frustrated just hearing the birds and not seeing them. Back in the forest away from the creek there were Red-bellied Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Great-crested Flycatcher, Acadian Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, and Eastern Wood Pewee. Back at the open field we were able to see the birds better. There was a Field Sparrow singing and a Mourning Dove and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird zipped by. A Great Blue Heron flew over. Next we headed over to Umstead State Park in Raleigh, NC. We took a trail that followed along Sycamore Creek. It was full of birds especially many Acadian Flycatchers and Red-eyed Vireos. We heard a Wood Thrush giving its eerie call and also heard a Pileated Woodpecker and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. It was getting toward lunch and we had no food so we returned to my sister’s house. Then Sharon and I packed up and drove to Cape Hatteras.
It is a long drive to Cape Hatteras from Raleigh taking about five hours. We stopped at Pocosin NWR to use the restroom and saw many Purple Martins. Then we headed over the bridge over Oregon Inlet down the thin strip that makes up the Outer Banks. I was only able to pick out a few birds from the car, Laughing Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Tern, and Common Grackle. After checking into our hotel, the Comfort Inn in Buxton, we headed over to the Lighthouse. It was getting late and we didn’t see much but we heard a Chuck-will’s-widow calling as dusk approached.
Saturday, June 2, 2007, we got up before dawn and drove down to the marina at the very end of Cape Hatteras Island barely making it in time for our 6:00 AM departure on the Stormy Petrel II for our pelagic trip with Brian Patteson. We were so lucky to have famous birder, Steve Howell, on board to assist with spotting and identifying the birds. Steve is a fantastic birder and I have been so lucky to have had him on every pelagic trip I have ever been on. Steve has just released his latest book, Gulls of the Americas. He is also working on a book about tubenoses (the kind of birds we would soon be seeing which is why he is on so many pelagic trips) and probably the foremost authority on them in the US. The first two hours of the trip we only saw a couple of Northern Gannets and that was it. The boat sped along trying to get out to the Gulf Stream where we would see all the fabulous birds. There was no time to stop even if we had seen something. I like that Brian drives the boat himself because he could spot birds and then quickly get the boat turned around so that everyone could see them. He also gave the spotters walkie-talkies so they could let him know when they saw something. The only gulls I saw were Laughing Gull and Great Black-backed Gull, and those were close to shore; there were no gulls further out. In the first part of the trip I also saw Royal Tern and Least Tern. Finally we made it to the Gulf Stream. The water turned from a soupy green to a brilliant clear blue. The Gulf Stream is where we would have our best chance to see something rare. A Cory’s Shearwater flew by and the people on the boat hardly even noted it even though it was a first for me. It was the first of many we saw but I never was able to get a photo because most were far from the boat. I also saw a distant Sooty Shearwater, the only one of the day. Soon we came across a few Wilson’s Storm Petrels which are very common on the east coast but not the west coast so again it was a first for me. Someone yelled out bird and a Greater Shearwater flew by the boat. It looks very similar to a couple of other birds and it took me a while to identify them. I was positioned perfectly at the back of the boat next to one of the spotters, Chris Sloane, when someone yelled out. I got my binoculars on the bird and noted the white belly and white under wings. I thought it was a Black-capped Petrel. I asked Chris what it was and thought he was mad when he said, HERALD PETREL! A Herald Petrel is very rare off the Outer Banks. They nest off of the coast of Brazil and this would likely be the only one I would ever see in my life. But I was not convinced. Later I asked Steve Howell if he had seen the Herald Petrel and he said yes. I said was there a Black-capped Petrel next to it and he said no and then when he described it I knew I had seen my first ever Herald Petrel. Sibley says that most US records of this species are the dark morph so I was expecting it to look like a Sooty Shearwater. But Steve showed me a picture of the light morph and it was exactly what I had seen. Yes! As we proceeded along the Gulf Stream we threw chum out from the boat trying to attract birds. Soon a Black-capped Petrel flew in, another first for me. In fact, everything we saw was new except for the Sooty Shearwater. Steve said there might be a flock of hundreds of Wilson’s Storm petrels behind the boat and I should study them to get used to their flight pattern so I could tell them from other birds later on. The big flock never materialized but I was able to study them in great detail. While watching the Wilson’s Storm-Petrel you look for other petrels that are slightly bigger. Soon a couple flew in and Brian could spot them even while driving the boat and called out big storm petrel. There was a Band-rumped Storm-Petrel flying by. I got a good look at it. Steve happened to be nearby and made sure I got on it. They fly faster than the Wilson’s and are a little bit bigger but otherwise look incredibly similar. Soon a Leach’s Storm-Petrel flew by. They are also bigger but a little easier to pick out because they have a very notable carpal bar across the topof the wings. Then I Pilot Whale swam by the boat. Brian said not enough birds were coming to our little chum slick so we moved further out to sea and started another one. Soon we had a small flock of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels with some Leach’s and one or two Band-rumped’s There were also a few Audubon’s Shearwaters flying around, all new to me and so exciting to see. Then a Pomarine Jaeger started circling the boat over and over. I have never seen one so close. It went around and around terrorizing the other birds. Jaegers like to harass other birds and steal their food. We had quite a flock going with the Pomarine Jaeger, Audubon’s Shearwaters, Black-capped Petrels, and Great Shearwaters along with the storm petrels but Brian said we had to go because it was getting late and we were 30 miles from shore. So we reluctantly turned back to shore. On the way back we saw a Manx Shearwater but there was no time to stop even for that. Back near the shore I saw a Brown Pelican, Glossy Ibis, Parasitic Jaeger, and on the shoreline a Black Skimmer. When we got off the boat Sharon and I drove back toward the Lighthouse. As we proceeded down the road we saw a female Wood Duck with ten chicks. I got out to get a picture which would have been so cute but a redneck zoomed by right in between me and the ducks and scared them off into the bushes. There are some little seasonal ponds before the beach that we checked and saw some American Black Ducks. On the beach we saw only a few Ruddy Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers, Sanderlings, and Common and Least Tern.
Sunday, June 3, I had planned to check Cape Point for Roseate Tern. Unfortunately a fierce storm had moved in and it was raining and the wind was howling. I could barely walk up the beach. Sharon had sprained her ankle on the boat and could barely walk so she waited in the car. We drove to the Buxton Woods Nature Trail since it is wooded and protected from the wind. The only bird we saw was one Green Heron. However, there were hundreds of dragonflies and I heard a Common Yellowthroat singing in the pond. The storm began to die down so we drove to Cape Point. We didn’t have a four wheel drive so we had to walk to the point. There were dozens of fishers in their trucks driving up and down the beach which is so annoying. It is just inconceivable how the National Park Service can justify allowing this criminal behavior where birds nest. On the beach were some Ruddy Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers, and one Red Knot. I checked the salt pond for the tern colony but there were very few birds and they were mostly huddled on the inaccessible side of the pond. I had not brought my scope because it was raining when I started out. It was hard to make out the birds on the other side of the pond but I was able to pick out Black Skimmer, American Oystercatcher, Royal Tern, Least Tern, Common Tern, and Dowitcher sp. It was clearing up and turning nice but we decided we better go. On the way back to Raleigh we stopped at Alligator NWR. We heard dozens of Prothonotary Warblers singing along the entrance road but we never did see one. I also heard a Louisiana Waterthrush and Prairie Warbler singing. We took the boardwalk to the end of the nature trail and heard a Barred Owl calling from the woods and a Pileated Woodpecker. Sharon’s foot was swollen and it looked like it might rain again so we decided to head back to Raleigh. About 30 miles outside of Raleigh, this ferocious storm with torrential rain descended on us. We could barely see the exit signs but people were driving like nothing was happening. Soon we saw numerous cars in single car crashes in the ditch, in the median, in the guardrails and all along the roadway. People are so dumb.
Monday, June 4, I got up early and drove east toward the mountains. I decided to make a detour and headed north to the tiny town of Jackson, NC to New River State Park. I entered at the Highway 2311 entrance and took all the trails in that section. I saw many more Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies plus some Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, Little Yellow, Cloudless Sulphur, and a Red-spotted Purple. I heard Wood Thrushes singing in the wooded trails. There were lots of Eastern Towhees and Indigo Buntings. I also heard Ovenbird, Black-and-white Warbler, Summer Tanager, and Northern Parula and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. I was not able to find any Black-billed Cuckoos though. After hiking all the trails I drove along the river on some dirt roads and heard a Willow Flycatcher singing. I saw some Tree Swallows and one Northern Rough-winged Swallow. I drove to the Wagoner Entrance and took all the trails there. There were most of the same birds as the other entrance but also Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Wood Pewee, Brown Thrasher, Yellow Warbler, and Eastern Bluebird but no Black-billed Cuckoo. I drove to the Blue Ridge Parkway and got on it. I got off at Linville Gorge and took the short trail to the Linville Falls. There were a lot of people even though it was a week day. I heard mountain birds in this area. I had definitely left the piedmont. I heard Red-breasted Nuthatches calling from the trees and I saw Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Northern Parula, Ovenbird, and Veery. I saw the first Dark-eyed Junco of the trip and one Ruby-throated Hummingbird and one Brown Creeper. I heard lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets. I drove to Davidson River Campground in Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, NC and set up camp for two nights. There were two separate families one in front and one behind with gigantic tents as big as my house in which the entire family slept. They were very noisy and I was concerned I would never get to sleep. Around 9:30 PM the family in front began singing kumbaya to a drum accompaniment. I was horrified. But right on queue at 10:00 PM when quiet hours begin the place went dead silent so I was happy.
I got up at 5:00 AM on Tuesday and tried to be respectful and quiet since the others had been. I got back on the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed south stopping briefly at Black Balsam where I easily found a definite Alder Flycatcher singing away near the parking area. I drove much further south on the parkway enjoying all the blooming mountain laurel, rhododendron, hibiscus, and numerous wildflowers before turning off on the Heintooga Spur Road which starts out in the Blue Ridge Parkway but ends in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I took the 5.2 mile Flat Creek Trail. It was lush with growth and green and full of bird song. It was a great trail and I was so happy to have it all to myself. There were many Blue-headed Vireos, Black-throated Blue Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warblers, and Black-throated Green Warblers. I also heard a couple of Winter Wrens giving their lengthy song. I found one Least Flycatcher along the trail. This species is at its southern most limit in this location. So that was a good find. I saw four Elks that had been tagged and one White-tailed Deer. At the end of the trail I found my only Pine Siskin of the trip. After my hike I walked along Heintooga Road looking and looking for a Black-billed Cuckoo in vain. I did see a Wild Turkey and a Broad-winged Hawk flew right past me. In the Great Smoky Mountains I saw many butterflies, more Red-spotted Purple, Little Yellow, Hobomok Skipper, Orange Sulphur and some others I could not identify. While looking for the evanescent cuckoo I heard a warbler singing loudly and looked into a tree to find a Chesnut-sided Warbler singing his cute little head off. After thoroughly exploring Heintooga Road I had to drive to the nearest town, Cherokee, NC, the tackiest town in North Carolina, to get gas as I was nearly out before heading back north on the parkway to Pisgah NF. It was a long drive and I didn’t get to Pink Beds Loop Trail in Pisgah NF until nearly 8:00 PM. I walked the trail until it came to a bog where I found the Louisiana Waterthrush we had seen on my previous trip in April. The bog had diminished greatly and I was able to get across it to the other side and film the bird as it foraged for food. I spent too much time and barely made it back to my car just before 9:00 PM with it nearly dark. The pink mountain laurel for which the trail was named was blooming all along it.
My last day, June 6, I got up early to the sweet song of the Whip-poor-will. Before day even breaks the Eastern Towhee starts to sing, next comes the Eastern Phoebe, and then the Robins. So that by sunrise there is a symphony of song. Unfortunately I had to go. I drove toward Ashville and then north on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Craven Gap to again look for Black-billed Cuckoo but it was fruitless. There were lots of birds just no cuckoos. I saw Hooded Warbler, a very close Worm-eating Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Ovenbird, Pileated Woodpecker, Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Carolina Chickadee, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and White-breasted Nuthatch. Then it was time for the grueling drive back to Raleigh to catch my flight home.
Total species =128
Life birds = 9
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
Leach’s Storm-Petrel
Cory’s Shearwater
Greater Shearwater
Audubon’s Shearwater
Black-capped Petrel
Herald Petrel
Alder Flycatcher
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