Birding Fort Fisher

Natalia and I decided to bird Fort Fisher on our way back from the Carolina Bird Club meeting in Litchfield Beach, SC.  It was a report of a Yellow-headed Blackbird that drew us to a patch of senescent sunflowers by the ferry terminal.  While we couldn't turn up the target bird, the area proved to be quite birdy and hold a few surprises.

Lark Sparrow, Fort Fisher

Of course the rarer birds didn't do a good job posing for photos.  Lark Sparrow can be a tricky bird to find in NC, but this was not a first for me (link to when it was a first for me). 

Dickcissel is also an irregular NC bird and this was only my second in the state.

Dickcissel, Fort Fisher

The more common birds were much more cooperative.

Eastern Kingbird, Fort Fisher

Prairie Warbler, Fort Fisher

Just when we were about to give up on the vagrant blackbird, Greg Massey, Harry Sell and Jamie Adams arrived.  So we stuck around to show them the Lark Sparrow.

Greg tried to convince me there were Bobolinks in the area, but Jamie and I thought they all looked like Blue Grosbeaks.

Blue Grosbeak, Fort Fisher

Despite our disagreements over the finer points of little brown job identification, they invited us on a run down the Fort Fisher spit.  This is one of the best shorebirding spots in the whole state and one I had never previously explored, so I was thrilled to go along for the ride. 

We cruised out in Harry's truck and got Natalia her lifer looks at both Saltmarsh and Nelson's Sparrows and then got some close range practice picking apart the three North American peeps (Least, Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers).  The beach and marshes were littered with shorebirds.

A small flock of shorebirds in the marsh at Fort Fisher spit.  How many species can you see?

The best we found was a lone Red Knot, a species that may soon be added to the federal threatened species list.  I could check on its status if the Department of the Interior were not currently shut down.  

Red Knot, Fort Fisher

Just when we came up on a huge flock of a couple thousand shorebirds working the beach, Jamie realized that all our vehicles were parked in the ferry terminal lot, which was about to be shut behind a 15-foot razor wire fence.  So Harry bombed us back up the spit in record time so we could collect our vehicles before they were impounded. 

While we ended up getting back to Durham a lot later than we had planned, the excellent birding at Fort Fisher and the hilarious company of Harry, Jamie and Capt. Sell made it worthwhile.  Hope I cross paths with them again soon!

Birding Coastal South Carolina with the Carolina Bird Club

I was warned that it could become "the Bataan Bug March," but thanks to cool temperatures and a steady breeze the deer flies and mosquitos were only a minor annoyance on the trip I led Santee Coastal Reserve last weekend.

A pleasant day for birding at Santee Coastal Preserve, 9/27/2013, photo by Natalia Ocampo-Penuela

It is not often that I venture south of the border to go birding and when I do, it's usually a Carolina Bird Club meeting that entices me to do so.  The difference with this CBC meeting at Litchfield Beach, was all the extra hats I was juggling. I was brought in not only to lead field trips, but also had the honor of delivering the Saturday night talk, a lecture on my dissertation research.

Title slide from my talk at the Carolina Bird Club fall meeting

And I had an executive committee meeting to attend since I was recently appointed to serve as a Vice President of the CBC representing Eastern North Carolina.

But y'all came here for birds...where were we...

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Santee Coastal Reserve

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Santee Coastal Reserve

That's right, birding Santee Coastal Reserve, a huge piece of public land that borders the Santee River and contains a diverse array of bird-filled habitats including a nice patch of well-managed longleaf pine savannah that seemed to be loaded with Red-cockaded Woodpeckers.

Tricolored Heron, Santee Coastal Reserve

It also has several large impoundments that provide habitat for wading birds and waterfowl.  While the ducks don't arrive en masse until later in the fall, we stumbled upon a small flock of early Northern Pintail, which was a nice surprise.

But the highlight for most of us on this trip was a rail.  We were hearing Sora calling from all over the place down in the impoundments and with some patience we were all able to see one picking its way along the edge of a canal.

Sora, Santee Coastal Reserve

This was actually the first Sora I had ever gotten a good look at and clears out the North American rails for my life list (at least until the Clapper/King complex gets split up).

The deciduous woods were hit-and-miss with warbler flocks and we ended up with about 70 species for the day, pushing my South Carolina state list well over the century mark.

I was supposed to lead the same trip the following day, but only one person signed up and it got cancelled.  This was fortuitous for me because I desperately needed to get my talk finished (so I could deliver it that night!)  It also allowed Natalia and I to slip off and bird one the best spots in the state conveniently located a couple miles from the hotel, Huntington Beach State Park.

White Ibis, Huntington Beach State Park

The causeway leading into the park provides phenomenal views into a vibrant salt marsh.  For a nice change, the crowds of visitors actually enhance the birding experience; because so many people are bustling by, the normally wary wading birds have little fear of people here.

Wood Stork, Huntington Beach State Park

There were approx. 80 wood storks working the marsh and some seemed pretty oblivious to onlooking hominids. 

But one of the big draws to this park in the warmer months are the Roseate Spoonbills.  We were lamenting the fact that we couldn't find them, when a pair flew right over our heads and settled by the boardwalk in front of us.

Roseate Spoonbills, Huntington Beach State Park

They make it up to NC every now and again, but this is about the northernmost spot they can found reliably found. 

Roseate Spoonbills, Huntington Beach State Park

I've been pondering the biogeochemical implications of that spatulate bill...

Contuing our good luck with rails, we managed to spot a Clapper Rail working the marsh, a life bird for Natalia!

Clapper Rail, Huntington Beach State Park

Just before leaving we finally got to see the male Painted Bunting at the feeders by the nature center.

Painted Buntings, Huntington Beach State Park

While the birding in the Palmetto State isn't a world apart from what can be had at the NC coast, it's always nice to bird some new hotspots and meet some new birders.  And the talk went over very well.  Who knew that bird biogeochemistry could be so comical?  Apparently birders are suckers for poop jokes.

The next CBC meeting is at the end of January in Wrightsville Beach.  Hope to see you there!

How to find a Trindade Petrel off Cape Hatteras

The Trindade Petrel (formerly considered to be a subspecies of "Herald Petrel" in the Pacific) is one of those scarce Gadfly, or Pterodroma, Petrels that is rarely seen by birders.  It has a few, small, remote breeding colonies off the coast of Brazil in the Southern Hemisphere and ranges over a poorly delineated, but expansive swath of Atlantic (and possibly Indian) Ocean.  There may be as few as 1100 mature individuals in existence and the IUCN lists the species as "vulnerable."

The odds for August suggest that it should take 5 or 6 all-day pelagic trips with Brian Patteson to get a Trindade Petrel, but this summer has seen more reports than usual off the east coast.  They have been more regular than usual on pelagic trips out of Hatteras and several have been recorded on NOAA seabird surveys.  This past weekend was my last chance to spot on one of Brian's trips in 2013 and I was psyched to read the teaser he posted on Carolinabirds midweek:

A front just came through and we now have northeast winds, which is usually the best for seeing Trindade Petrels here- better than the conditions we've had recently.

It's ballsy to predict a good trip offshore, especially days in advance, but if anybody knows about birds in the Gulf Stream, it's Brian Patteson.

Sure enough, the Saturday trip, with winds out of the north, was about the birdiest I had ever seen the pelagic ocean off Hatteras.  Shearwaters were all around the boat most of the day without the much in the way of a typical midday lull.  In fact it was just after noon when vindication appeared:

Trindade Petrel (intermediate)

Passengers were screaming and cheering and Brian was giving his petrel breeding call over the PA, which actually seemed to bring it in closer.  The bird gave us several close passes (usually a bird has to just about sit on the deck of the ship for me to get passable blurry shots like these). 

Trindade Petrel (same individual as above)

Trindade Petrels are polychromatic, meaning they have dark, light and intermediate color morphs.  The first and friendliest bird we saw appeared to be intermediate and we had a second dark bird appear about an hour later that I failed to photograph.

To address the post title, hope and pray for winds out of the north when you take your Patteson pelagic and you just might get a Trindade Petrel.  Even if you don't, you should have a better than average time birding.  That petrel was just one of the 14 pelagic species we saw, which is about as good as one can reasonably hope for!

Other excellent birds seen were a White-tailed Tropicbird (my 350th bird for North Carolina!), Long-tailed and Pomarine Jaegers, Manx Shearwater (uncommon in summer), and both Bridled and Sooty Terns.

Oh and we also had one more first for me: a Hammerhead shark!

Hammerhead (if you look closely you can see the head)

Unfortunately the winds shifted around to the south overnight and Sunday's trip didn't yield such exceptional diversity.  But we still saw all of the usual suspects: lots of Cory's, Great and Audubon's Shearwaters, inquisitive Bridled Terns, a few Wilson's and Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, great looks at Black-capped Petrels and the always cute Red-necked Phalaropes.

Bridled Tern looking a bit bald

Red-necked Phalarope

 Always cool to see shorebirds looking at home 20+ miles from the shore!

Red-necked Phalaropes

We did have a couple nice bonuses on Sunday:

A few Manx Shearwaters including one that sat on the water next to a couple Audubon's for excellent side-by-side comparison, and a distant Sooty Shearwater, quite uncommon off Hatteras in August.

Well, that wraps up a successful pelagic season for me.  Hopefully there will be more to come in 2014!

Check out the official trip report and some fantastic photos by Kate Sutherland on the Seabirding blog.  Brian has space on his trips this coming weekend.  More info at: http://www.seabirding.com/

Spotting for Bee Hives on the Gulf Stream

 I gaze over Gulf Stream waters from the bow of the Stormy Petrel II and see nothing but endless blue swells.  In the calm there are no birds nor creatures of any type to be seen.

As a spotter charged with finding birds for paying customers these famines can seem interminable.  There's nothing to do but keep scanning the horizons hoping to spot a distant feast.

Brian Patteson calls such bird swarms "Bee Hives."  Schools of tuna force baitfish to the surface, which attract ravenous flocks of shearwaters.  The arcing and swirling tubenoses on a distant horizon recall bees at a hive. 

Great and Cory's Shearwaters

 
With one spotted, Brian slams the boat into gear and we race toward the action, stumbling upon straggling, loafing, satiated shearwaters that allow close approach.

Audubon's Shearwater

Great Shearwater

 ...and reluctantly take wing.

Cory's and Audubon's Shearwaters

Cory's Shearwater

Over the two trips last weekend we found three "bee hives" of shearwaters some 35 miles from shore, and in one we found a ferocious hive queen.

South Polar Skua with Great Shearwaters

The South Polar Skua is a kleptoparasite, making its living by stealing fish from seabirds. Brian said he has even seen them kill shearwaters.

South Polar Skua

While we didn't witness a murder at sea, the bulky pirate was causing utter pandemonium among the flocks and committed countless larcenies.

South Polar Skua

Check out this video of the action.


The skua was my favorite bird of the weekend (now I just need to find a Brown Skua, and I'll have seen all the world's Stercorariidae), but there were many other highlights.

On Saturday's trip we had, per Brian Patteson, one of the top 10 Leach's Storm-Petrel trips of all time.

Leach's Storm-Petrel

Yeah, storm-petrels are tough to photograph.  They just don't hold still.  But for those with the proper combination of equipment, skill, and patience, this was an excellent trip for storm-petrel photo ops.

My Band-rumped Storm-Petrel photos are even worse than the Leach's shot above, but I got some decent Wilson's Storm-Petrel captures.

Wilson's Storm-Petrel

Check out those long legs!

Wilson's Storm-Petrel

A fortuitous find was a young Bridled Tern resting on a float on Saturday.

Bridled Tern

We saw one or two Bridleds on Sunday as well, plus a Sooty Tern.  These tropical pelagic terns are not very common off of Hatteras until August.

Finally, the smooth ocean made for some excellent marine mammal spotting conditions.  We had Bottlenose Dolphins riding the bow, several good sightings of Gervais' Beaked Whales, and saw four Sperm Whales!

Sperm Whale

The one we saw on Sunday was particularly friendly!

Sperm Whale

It was a fantastic weekend of pelagic birding.  Brian's spring trips are more popular because of the chance of better diversity, but in the summer the numbers of birds seen are generally much higher. The trend held true this weekend and we had plenty of space on the boat and hundreds of birds to see. 

Thanks again to Brian and Kate for having me along and to Kyle Kittelberger, who did a great job in his spotting debut. More info about these trips and the official counts and species list can be found on the Seabirding Blog; and additional (better than mine) photos here. 

Brian says there's room on most of the trips this summer; see www.seabirding.com/ for the schedule and booking information.

I know a birder who came from Duluth...

I knew a lady who came from Duluth
She got bit by a dog with a rabid tooth

For some reason the word 'Duluth' always brings to my mind those Nirvana lyrics from "Lake of Fire." Well from this trip I've learned some new associations, and as it turns out, "Lake of Ice," would apply better to this city.

My presentation at the Society of Wetland Scientists annual meeting brought me up to the largest port on the Great Lakes and I managed to work in some birding during the preceding weekend.

It turns out the Park Point area in which I was staying had just experience an epic warbler fallout with 26 species spotted in a morning a few blocks away!  I only caught the tail end of the warbler fest, but it was crazy seeing Canada, Wilson's, Nashville Warblers and Chestnut-sided Warblers flitting around in urban neighborhood shrubs.  Most shocking was the Mourning Warbler I saw scurrying around the mulched plant beds of a downtown city park!  Such birds often require special effort and/or moderate to exceptional luck to find in North Carolina.

This new perspective on which warblers are locally "common" (i.e. those listed above) and which are very rare (i.e. Black-throated Blue, Prairie, Yellow-throated, etc.) was strange, but even more so was the weather.  It would be 72 F and gorgeous and then the wind would shift and it would suddenly be 45 F and impenetrably foggy.

A gorgeous day at Duluth Beach

The mercurial climate is a result of Duluth's position on the shore of Lake Superior, which holds 10 percent of the worlds supply of fresh water and keeps it refrigerated at a refreshing 39 F yearround.  The lake has it's own beaches, sand dunes, ship wrecks, SCUBA divers, surfers, and "sea" birds!

A gull and shorebirds nowhere near the ocean

 The shorebirding on Duluth Beach is pretty slow by North Carolina standards.  The first Wilson's Plover since the 1980's was found here the week before I arrived, but all I could turn up were a few flocks of Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones (and my count of 12 turnstones was flagged by the ebird filters as unusually high).

Ruddy Turnstones

Grebing was more exciting...well I was excited to see these grebes anyway.  Rednecks (the kind with wings) are not that easy to find in the Southeast. 

Red-necked Grebes

You know I hate to admit it, but more fun than birding Lake Superior, was paddling out on it to the Apostle Islands Sea Caves.  The wonderful host I found on couchsurfing.com, Deanna, also happened to be a pro kayak trip leader and took me out for free!

Apostle Island Sea Caves

 A combination of wave erosion and uplift created the nooks, arches, tunnels and chasms on this sandstone cliff face that we explored by kayak.  Awesome.

Thanks Deanna!!

It's amazing the nice people you can meet on the internet.  Another was Frank of Minneapolis, who I found through birdingpal.org.

He picked me up and we headed up to the famous Sax-Zim bog where I foolishly hoped to find some of the uncommon boreal specialties, such as Gray Jay, Great Gray Owl and Boreal Chickadee.  I guess they were around there someplace, but apparently finding them is much easier in winter.  The unfamilair songs of Mourning, Connecticut and Nashville Warblers were a treat though.

Mourning Warbler (stick face)

And I got two lifers!:

Black-billed Magpie

and...

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

 So it ended up being a successful day!  Thanks Frank!

Hilariously, the "best" bird (in terms of local rarity) I saw during my week a Northern Mockingbird.  Apparently Duluth is farther north than this "northern" bird usually cares to stray (but don't be surprised if they become much more common over the next few decades *wink*).

Northern Mockingbird

So I've showcased some pretty poor photos in this post, but here's a better one...

American Bittern

I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing bitterns.

I managed to sneak out early one morning to find my lifer Trumpeter Swans, but beyond that, most of the birds came on Powerpoint slides.

Duluth was plenty cold for me in June, but I guess I'll have to go back one winter to see Goshawks and Hawk-Owls.

Andrea effects at the Outer Banks

The rough seas from the passage of Tropical Storm Andrea cancelled Saturday's pelagic trip, but the storm had left the outer banks littered with interesting birds.

A scruffy-looking Common Eider showed up at Oregon Inlet.  This is a pretty rare bird in North Carolina in the dead of winter, so one in June is especially odd.

Common Eider

It even wattled up on the beach near the coast guard station...I had never seen one stand before!

Common Eider

Eventually it drifted out the inlet with the strong outgoing tide looking a bit storm-weary.

The most buzz came from the 3 to 5 Magnificent Frigatebirds that were seen along the outer banks.  One cooperative pair hovered around the Chicamicomico (Rodanthe) water tower for at least 7 hours.

Magnificent Frigatebird

These birds were in the vicinity of Kitty Hawk Kites and a few dozen kiteboarders were zooming around the sound taking advantage of the high winds.  Perhaps the kites made the frigatebirds feel at home?

Magnificent Frigatebirds

With the recent storm and the wind out of the south I was sure we would get a tropicbird on Sunday's pelagic trip.  Turns out I was wrong...we got something even better.  On our way back in an immature Brown Booby cruised past the boat!

The Booby (and getting to hear Brian Patteson shout "BROWN BOOBY!" over the PA) made up for our failure to find any rare deep sea birds. Normally I would blame the spotting crew (famous big year birders Jeff Lemons and Ali Iyoob, and myself), but it just seemed like there wasn't a ton of pelagic bird activity this day, with a modest showing by the usually-abundant Wilson's Storm-Petrels.  Maybe the storm blew all the birds away?  We did find the expected Corey's, Great and Audubon's Shearwaters; Black-capped Petrels; Ali got Band-rumped Storm-Petrel for his big year list; and a "friendly" Pomarine Jaeger followed us for at least an hour.  So really, even a relatively slow day off Hatteras is still a pretty great day!

Pomarine Jaeger

I found it interesting that all the odd storm-blown birds--the eider, frigatebirds and booby--were all immature/1st-year birds.  Perhaps adults are better at avoiding becoming displaced by severe weather?

Big thanks Brian for having me along to spot again!  For more details on Sunday's trip check out the the Seabirding blog.