Birding in North Carolina

Sat, September 24, 5:00 pm – Mon, October 3, 2011, 7:00 am
SE NC

Trip Report

This Snowy Owl was most cooperative.

My Wife, Emry, fellow Todd members Elyse and Tom Fuller (my daughter and son-in-law), and I vacationed in southeastern NC. We all met in Lumberton, NC, the home of Emry's kinfolk. Now when Tom and Elyse are part of any trip, that means birding; and when we all met up, the birding started. We set a goal of 100 species and a minimum of five life birds for myself. We got a total of 101 species, and I found 7 life birds:

Wood Stork
Bobolink
Clapper Rail
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Sandwich Tern
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Elyse made arrangements to rent a house on the beach in Sunset Beach, NC, and we all agreed this beach was one of the cleanest and most attractive beaches we have experienced. Our stay was after the summer season, so the beach was not crowded and the birds were very cooperative.

On our first walk on the beach we were met by the official greeter. The first bird we found was a Ruddy Turnstone. We watched this bird checking out the people on the beach, and when it noticed us, it came within five feet of us. We figured the bird was asking us if we had anything to eat, and after it determined we did not have anything, it went back to flipping through the vegetation washed up on the beach.

Other birds of note for the trip included the Brown-headed Nuthatch, one of our target birds which we found at a number of locations. This bird's distinctive call sounds like a "squeaky toy." The Bobolink was a surprise; since it was not in breeding plumage, it took us a while to figure out its identity. We had not anticipated a Bobolink. Our 100th bird species were four Bald Eagles we found in Myrtle Beach State Park. One of the eagles was chasing an Osprey over the water, and when we noticed the same eagle back over land, it had a talon full of feathers. The park had a thick line of windswept Live Oak Trees next to the beach with "caves" cut into them for picnic tables. These areas provided shelter from the constant wind for the smaller birds. The signature bird for this trip had to be the Northern Mockingbird. They were all over the place. We found them in Lumberton, at every stop whether we were birding or not, and one bird in the bushes in front of our rental sang all day long.

We birded a number of locations around the area, Green Swamp, Lake Waccamaw, Brunswick Community College, Shollotte Township Park, and Myrtle Beach State Park. But the most interesting area was on and near the beach. The birds on the beach were very coorperative. We could get within 20 - 30 feet of large mixed flocks of gulls and terns. The plovers and sandpipers paid little attention to us. The Sanderlings were a treat to watch. I noticed that their legs were always a blur of motion whether they were moving fast or slow. The rental was on a barrier island, and between the island and the mainland was a salt marsh. One evening at sundown as we walked along the marsh's edge, we were treated to very vocal Clapper Rails.

We enjoyed our trip to NC, visiting relatives, and of course birding. The only disappointment was that we could not find a Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Mmmm... I guess we now have a reason for another trip to NC.

Note Photos.

Tom Glover


I photographed this Monk Parakeet near Carteret.	Cave cut into the Oaks that protect the birds. Tom Glover

Mixed flock of gulls, terns, plovers, sandpipers, and Black Skimmers. Elyse Fuller	Piping Plover. Elyse Fuller

Sanderling. Elyse Fuller	Northern Mockingbird on No Parking Sign. Elyse Fuller