May 20th, 2011 Last week, I saw my first Green Heron and first bluebird on the Reserve. Today, my first rabbit near the eastern spoil along with Canadian Geese hanging out around the fresh water. Red-winged Blackbirds, Martins, the usual Ibis, Egrets and peeps. I am still amazed at finding a previously unseen or unidentified waterbird at almost every visit.

May 4th and 5th, 2012 Unseasonably warm with high tides. Last week the marbled godwits and skimmers were here and returning migrants. Strikingly more bird varieties and breeding plumage made me think I had identified a new variety for me only to be the breeding Dunlin. Sunday was a treat since I was able to photograph my first Wilson's Plover, following some close shots of a Common Loon straggler in Taylor's Creek. Pics include the plover and loon and a favorite...a few Whimbrel.

March 24, 2012
At high tide by kayak, a slightly overcast day with rain impending. A Little Blue Heron waded alongshore searching for prey--captured a shrimp. A tricolored heron was seen as well, along with Ibis, oystercatchers, willet, short-billed dowitcher, yellowlegs and terns. A few mergansers were seen but kept their distance.

Jan 28 SEANET Survey

Walking Bird Shoal was comfortable in cool but sunny quietude. Dolphins and Loons off the beach joined the usual Ibis and a few oystercathchers. Predominant birds were the Dunlin and sidekicks--sanderlings with gulls.

New Years Day 2012

A warm and calm day to start the year with a cold snap coming. A couple of loons were hanging around the sheltered water--one seemingly in the shallows after crustaceans. Many Dunlin about and a Belted Kingfisher. The usual scattered pelicans.

December 16, 2011

Uncommonly warm and sunny with clear skies. Lots of Dunlin (hundreds) and plenty of Ruddy Turnstones in winter outfits and the usual Sanderling. One raft of mergansers off Bird Shoal but less egrets and heron than usual.

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.