North Carolina Pelagics and More

North Carolina June 8th-14th 2006 by David Pavlik

The main purpose of the trip was to attend two pelagic trips out of Hatteras via Brian Patteson's Stormy Petrel.
On June 8th at noon Erik Enbody, his dad and I left East Lansing for North Carolina. After one
night at a hotel, on June 9th, we arrived in North Carolina. 

Our first stop was at Fort Raleigh and quickly found the target
Brown-headed Nuthatches. Our next was to south Roanoke Island marshes where we hoped to encounter the elusive Black
Rail. We had many other great birds including Seaside Sparrow, most southern herons including Tricolored, Little Blue and 
Snowy Egret. We also saw nesting Ospreys and heard a few birds that sounded intermediate between Clapper and King Rails.
As night fell, out came the Black Rail tape. Unfortunately, no Black Rails were heard, although we did hear a
Chuck-wills-widow in the nearby woods. 

June 10th
Our first Pelagic day out of Hatteras, North Carolina. We left at 6:00 a.m. and after two hours of voyaging into the Atlantic
Ocean, we encountered our first Cory's Shearwater. It was a fairly slow day according to the crew but many great birds were
seen. Many Wilson's Storm-petrels could be seen following the boat. After careful searching, we finally saw a few
Band-rumped Storm-petrels but could not find a Leach's. Also, Black-capped Petrels were seen in fair numbers as were Cory's 
Shearwaters. Only a few Audubon's Shearwaters were seen and Manx Shearwater, the harder of the two, was not seen today.
The fishing was also great and I managed to bring in a 25 pound Mahi Mahi. On the way in, after a long day at sea, one 
Bridled Tern was seen by a few observers as was a Black Tern. 

After a good dinner, Erik and I decided to check out Cape Point and found many new trip birds. Black Skimmers were
present along with many shorebird species and a few Least Terns. At the "Saltmarsh Pond" we found Piping Plovers, many 
Dowitchers, a few Willets and many peeps.

June 11th
Our second Pelagic provided all of the species mentioned above along with a few others. A few Greater Shearwaters were seen
including one that came right up to the boat. Also, one of the first birds of the day and probably the best bird of the trip
was a Manx Shearwater, not expected every trip. We had great looks at a young Bridled Tern sitting on a floating board 
in the water. Another great sighting of the day was a Pomarine Jaeger chasing a Cory's Shearwater. The numbers of birds were
much more and after watching the Wilson's Storm-petrels we finally found 2 Leach's Storm-petrels.

After the boat trip, we took a ferry ride Ocracoke Island and then to Cedar Island and ended up at Morehead City. On the rides
we saw three more Black Skimmers and a couple Black-crowned Night Herons.

June 12th
Land birding was the highlight of this day. We had a few targets in mind and thanks to the help of a very knowledgable local
we found some great places with great birds. Our first stop was to try for Black Rail again. We tried at the North River
Marsh near Beuford. A few highlights included White-eyed vireo, Prarie Warbler, more Seaside Sparrows and Forester's Tern
and a Willet but no Black Rail. We then went to the Nousiak (sp?) Trail, part of the Croatan (sp?) Forest. Prothonotary
Warblers were present along with a yellow-throated Warbler and a singing Summer Tanager but we could not find a Swainson's
Warbler. 

From here we headed to the Millis Road Savannah. We were lucky to find an active Red-cockaded Woodpecker and a Red-headed
Woodpecker and Common Nighthawk calling overhead and got good looks at a male and female Blue Grosbeak. Another nice find 
was a Georgia Satyr along the road. At FRS 168 there was a two track we walked down. We quickly heard multiple Worm-eating 
Warblers and a few came in for very nice looks and more Prothonotary Warblers were around. Again, Swainson's warbler could not
be found. From here, we looked at FRS 123 for Bachman's Sparrow and were successful. We were able to coax one into singing 
and heard another in the distance. Also, a very cooperative Variegated Fritillary provided a nice photo opportunity. From
here we met up with our local friend and went to his friends feeders where Painted Buntings make a regular appearance. 
Unfortunately for us none were seen and a thunderstorm started to roll in. We headed to the North River Marsh again to 
try for Black Rail for the third time this trip. The thunderstorm forced us back to the car before we could get far into the
marsh so our last attempt for Black Rail failed again. 

With the day coming to an end and the thunderstorm ending our Rail search, we decided to start heading home. 

June 13th
On our way back to Michigan, we stopped at the Endless Wall Trail in the New River Gorge in West Virginia. We added a few
birds for the trip right in the parking lot including Blue-headed Vireo and Hooded Warbler. We walked into the trail and 
came to a bridge where we were able to get a very cooperative Swainson's Warbler to make an appearance. Great looks were 
offered and his full song made it all the better. A great way to end a great trip of birding. We continued our driving back
to Michigan and stopped once at a hotel before we finally got back to Michigan on June 14th.

Below you will find a complete list of all birds seen on the trip. Enjoy!

Total Species = 120

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