Eastern North Carolina Birding Trip
Tom Driscoll (leader) and Norm Budnitz (helper) led a group of fearless Auduboners on a birding trip to eastern NC over the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday (January 18-21, 2013). The group consensus seemed to indicate that this was one of the best birding trips ever!
We visited Lake Phelps, Lake Mattamuskeet, the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, and the Outer Banks. The weather was cold in the mornings, but the sky was clear every day, making for excellent opportunities for our photographers, as you can see. The birds were gorgeous, the mammals were amazing, and the food, well, some of us added a few pounds because it was sooooo good.
The group recorded 114 species of birds, plus several species of mammals--short-finned pilot whale, raccoon, and coyote. The coyote generated a lot of excitement because we thought it might have been a red wolf. (They look very similar.)
Perhaps we'll do this trip again next year (hint, hint).
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Tom (left) and Norm (right)
(Carol Tuskey)
Tom (right) and Norm (left)
(Laura Paul)
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Red-breasted Merganser--good hair day!
(Carol Tuskey)
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Bufflehead
(Carol Tuskey)
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Northern Gannet
(Carol Tuskey)
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Great Blue Heron & Great Egret
(Laura Paul)
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Wilson's Snipe
(Carol Tuskey)
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Wilson's Snipe
(Laura Paul)
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Dunlin--look at that droopy bill
(Carol Tuskey)
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White Ibis
(Carol Tuskey)
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Tundra Swans--adult & immature
(Carol Tuskey)
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Tundra Swan
(Carol Tuskey)
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Common Yellowthroat
(Carol Tuskey)
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Wilson's Warbler--a rarity!
(Carol Tuskey)
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House Wren
(Carol Tuskey)
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The experts say coyote, but we tried to make it a red wolf.
(Carol Tuskey)
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