November 18, 2011
This was the first day of participation in the SEANET bird mortality survey on a portion of Bird Shoal in Rachel Carson Reserve. The purpose is to document the number and reasons for waterbird strandings. I had the great company of Paula Gillikin (site manager) and Robin Newton (volunteer and self-stated Pelican lover) as we walked the beach in my orientation survey. Fortunately, there were no new fatal bird strandings found but we had the joy of finding an entangled and dual fishook impaled Brown Pelican. After we removed the hooks and unwrapped the line, we checked for other injury. The pelican is my favorite bird also and to lean over its back and expand its wings one at a time not being able to reach the wings tip with my wing span is a neat memory to be easily surpassed by the moment we stepped back, heard the bird give a thank you quonk, saw him/her make a step forward--expand his wings to find them and his legs free--and then with two flaps take the air and climb to gliding height. Our spirits soared alongside.
A short while down the beach, we found a cold and skinny,malnourished first year cormorant stranded just above the high tide line.He was missing more than 30% of his right-sided tail feathers and was struggling to breath or move. He was easily captured, bundled up and carried to the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter (OWLS) where they gave him/her 50% odds of survival. In transit, as he warmed up, he already had begun to be feisty.
Far down the beach, a stranded Kemp Ridley’s juvenile sea turtle was discovered and was able to be evaluated for research later that day by Paula.
One prior tagged gull-like bird was found a second time. We documented the re-discovery. This bird also was entangled around the head and bill with monofilament line...do not know if the line was there last week at first discovery, but it seems that today we had two fishing related strandings as we have just passed peak trout season.
Lots of shorebirds--a hawk, 2 turkey vultures,many sanderling, several ruddy turnstone, 3 great egrets, 15 white Ibis, more than 400 dunlin, many gulls and several terns, a dozen or so Pelican, black bellied plover, and possibly one pipng plover.
Future days will be hard-pressed to match this start.

April 2 --big burst in shorebirds on Bird Shoals

April 4 2011 cormorant, gulls, terns, yellowlegs, willets/lots, little blue heron,
tricolored heron, whimbrel, one dunlin, lots of black bellied plovers/lots in fall plumage, godwits/ lots, spotted plover in winter plumage, oystercatchers at entrance and a lot of songs about—one banded, pelican , black bird with blue highlight, ibis and egrets. What a burst in variety.

New Banded Oystercatcher--April 2

At the edge of Taylors Creek on ther sand spit entering the mud flats, there was a new banded oystercatcher new to me.

Feb. 26, 2011 the shorebirds are returning

After a windy and cold respite, the shorebirds are returning to the mudflats. Mostly Dunlin, semipilated plovers, and a few skiddish black-bellied plovers.

February 6, 2011

February 6, 2011

High tide falling with light southerly wind—a pretty day after several wet and cold days. A pied billed grebe was in Taylors Creek and a kingfisher watched from the estuary sign post. There were few birds in the inner marsh but there were more Willets than usual, one flock of White Ibis, a few Yellowlegs, and scattered but diminished Dunlin. One Oystercatcher flew by and I heard others. Another Kingfisher sat atop the post in the inner marsh and a solitary egret was fishing among oystershells. I suspect that other sites held larger numbers of birds in the shallows but I explored only the central marsh. No ducks or cormourants and only a couple gulls.

January 21, 2011

Very windy-very high tide--temp in the 40s. There was a green winged teal in Taylors Creek and a cormourant at the entrance to bird shoal. Shorebirds were diminished from the high tide and wind--ibis were hunkered down on the bank. Saw a few gulls, a group of Red breasted mergansers, yellowlegs on a bar,one great blue heron, two snowy egrets and two kingfishers seemingly fishing together--they usually are alone.

Jan15.2011 Banded Oystercatcher

Finishing my paddle, this bird was on the east side of the entrance to Middle Marsh.

Jan15--Mid day

Jan15,2011 at high tide, mid day, mid 40s temp and light wind after an extremely cold week. A red fox (apparently blind in one eye) explored the south edge of Taylors Creek. This is the second fox sighting in two months but had only seen one in RC before. Besides the few gulls and a solitary Blue Heron, most birds were Dunlin. Three unbanded oystercatchers in Middle Marsh and one banded at its mouth, two Ruddy Turnstone, and two bigger birds ?Willets were resting on the bar. Limited varieties and numbers today.

Banded Oystercatcher Dec 24, 2010

This pair of Oystercatchers was resting at high tide--I guess waiting for the oysters to be uncovered by dropping tide. Yellowlegs keep them company. Later a group of Oystercatcher let me get close by kayak inside Middle Marsh.

Jan. 2, 2011
Low tide, warm, still wind and fog. Less birds than usual with 2 Ibis, a few gulls, no Oystercatchers, but Dunlin and Semi-pilated Plover were upwind in Middle Marsh with a few Ruddy Turnstone, one Yellowlegs and a solitary Long-billed Dowitcher, I spooked a Great Blue Heron on the way back up Taylor’s Creek.