Birding the 'Banks: Part II - There and Back Again

Hitting up Pea Island and Oregon Inlet were really our main two goals for the day, so afterwards we were a little bit aimless, but I did have a short list of places for us to go. We checked out Bodie Lighthouse to try for some rails (we couldn’t find any) and fruitlessly cruised the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center for a Canebrake Rattlesnake that was supposed to be hanging around. We actually ended up back at Pea Island to check out the beach across the street, a nice place where I’d seen a pair of Merlins at close range this past winter, but as it’s now summer, I didn’t know if we’d be able to find anything.

The first order of business was to get past the beachgoers, and as there weren’t any ORVs at this location, it wasn’t long before we were on the birds. Mostly the usual stuff, like Sanderlings and Willets, with an odd Black-bellied Plover thrown in (including a nice breeding-plumaged one). But one shorebird caught my eye just as it had done the day before. Chilling by a tide-worn sandcastle was a not-so-red Red Knot, and just like my lifer, James’s lifer took off before we could get very close. Still, with the added zoom, the photo didn’t turn out half-bad!

The Red Knots never let us get very close, too bad!

With another lifer out of the way, it was time to visit a place I’ve wanted to bird for a long time: the Salt Pond at Cape Point. In the winter, it’s supposed to be great for things like Snow Buntings, or even a vagrant Common Redpoll, and earlier this summer it hosted a beautiful Red-billed Tropicbird. Walking along the mowed grass path towards the pond, we found this nice Southern Toad trying to hide under a bush. Nothing a zoom lens and a flash bulb can’t fix.

He's doing his best to camouflage himself, but it didn't work!

When we finally reached the pond, the first thing James noticed wasn’t a bird – it was actually a family of River Otters he spied cavorting near the shore. James was pretty psyched about it, he’s never seen a wild one, and I’ve only seen a River Otter once, so we tried to get into the good light. Alas, as soon as we stepped foot on the muddy shore, the otters bolted for the bushes, and we were left with this silhouetted distance shot. Still, I mean – River Otters! How cool is that?

Cooler than Billy Dee Williams drinking Colt 45's on the other side of the pillow

Having learned our lesson, we made our way into the better light where Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers were feeding along the pond’s edge. Not that we really needed any of them, we’d already gotten great pics of both, but we were more interested in the Short-billed Dowitchers that were probing the mud nearby. One of them still retained its burnt-orange breeding colors, but he was having none of James’s sneaking around, so instead we settled for this slightly paler but far more confiding individual.

Actually one of the more common shorebirds hanging around Salt Pond.

The apparent gluttons for punishment that we are, we headed back against the sun, where more dowitchers, sandpipers, and a single Piping Plover were busy doing what birds do best. Just up the shore, I spied a bird that looked like a Yellowlegs that was feeding oddly, and from my experience shorebirding, I knew exactly what to expect. James tried to flank it into the good light, but this Stilt Sandpiper decided he’d rather feed somewhere without annoying humans. In any case, it’s a bird I never get tired of, and a lifer for James to boot!

Sometimes, you just have to settle for back-lit...

With that, it was time to go. We had a ferry to catch and some great birds under our belt (and one great mammal!) but we weren’t through yet. Our car got put on the outside lane of the ferry, and right next to us on one of the wood pylons sat a huge Great Black-backed Gull who gave us stunning looks. At this range its size made it a very impressive bird, and a great way to end our Hatteras adventure!

Looks like he's been doing some swimming!

It’s not over, not by a long shot! Check back Friday to see what lifer James and I picked up on our last full day on the island!

They Taste Like Chicken, Apparently

There are many reasons to like the North Carolina Outer Banks: pristine sand beaches, insular little communities, and great fishing, among others. There’s one reason not to, however: they hate birders. Not all the islands, mind you, but mostly Hatteras, whereupon you can find bumper stickers affixed to large four-wheel drive vehicles that espouse the motto, and I kid you not: “Piping Plovers Taste Like Chicken”. Oh, and then there’s this little gem. (Warning: PG-13!)

So why all the hate? It all comes down to that little endangered species that tastes like chicken, apparently. The Piping Plover breeds all up and down the east coast in infuriatingly small numbers, including several sites along the NC Outer Banks. In an attempt to boost Piping Plover numbers, the National Park Service has mandated that 12 miles of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore be closed to off-road vehicles (ORVs), while 24 miles of the National Seashore remains open. Which, in turn, has ignited the ire of the local ORVing population, because apparently, driving your giant 4runner all over one of the best beaches in the country is some kind of God-given right (cuz, you know, this is ‘Merica!).

Among other God-given rights...

Which brings us to the other morning, when I decided to walk the ORV trail to the southern end of the island. When I finally made it to the beach, I wasn’t greeted to the immaculate view of the Atlantic I had hoped for. No, instead I was faced with hundreds and hundreds of four-wheel drive vehicles that seemed to stretch ad infinitum along the coastline. Still, I pressed on, trying to escape these mechanical behemoths, until the realization set in that it was just not going to happen. So I made my way to the water’s edge, maneuvering my way between a Jeep and a RAV4, and what should I find not yards from these daunting vehicles? None other than a pair of little Piping Plovers.

My lifer Piping Plover! Ocracoke Island, NC - 08/10/2011

Well, they say Piping Plover tastes like chicken, and maybe there’s a reason for that – these little guys are skittish! Any time you get close to them they run away like the fires of Hell are at their tiny little heels. After a little finagling I managed to get a decent shot, and I began to make my way back home. At this point, I got a little lost, and actually managed to walk right past the ORV road back into town. Not that I’m complaining though – a little group of shorebirds contained these nice adult and immature Common Terns squabbling by the surf’s edge.

"Junior, get back here!" "But mooooom!"

And then I noticed something different in the group of shorebirds. It was a plump little thing, something halfway between the size of the obligate Sanderlings and Willets. As soon as I identified it through the scope, I raced over to get a shot – and in doing so noticed two groups of beachgoers walking in opposite directions through the incoming tide. My mouth became agape in horror as, sure enough, the Sanderlings bailed, taking all the other shorebirds with them. It wasn’t meant to be I guess. Until of course I got home, and I realized that my long shot of the shorebirds revealed none other than the bird in question – my lifer (and now ex-nemesis bird) Red Knot!

Red Knot - and still red, too! Ocracoke Island - 08/10/2010

Now truly satisfied with my journey, I began my way back up the ORV road, pausing every once in a while to take a swig of water or to rest my feet (it had been nearly seven miles of walking through sand at this point). During one of these breaks, I heard an odd squeaky chip, and noticed a little bird perch up in the reeds. At first I assumed it was one of the numerous female Brown-headed Cowbirds I noticed earlier. As I swung around the scope to check it out, I noticed the bright yellow lores on an otherwise drab bird, and I realized I had picked up my lifer Seaside Sparrow! I didn’t manage a photo (it dropped down into the reeds before I could), but James had been down that way a couple days earlier and managed this nice photo of his lifer Seaside Sparrow.

Just about every look you get at a Seaside Sparrow - 08/09/2011

With three lifers under my belt, this day stands out as one of my more rewarding birding experiences. Going forward, these lifers are going to stand out like beacons in the night, and I’ll probably forget all about the Herculean effort it took to find them, which is a good thing, because if I never see another gigantic lumbering monstrosity that is a four-wheel drive vehicle, I think I could finally die happy.