Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road

Snipe Hunt

January 15, 2015
If alarmed it squats for concealment…;the longitudinal stripes on its back and head so closely resemble prostrate stems of dead grass that the bird is difficult to distinguish.

~Arthur Cleveland Bent, 1927

People often react with a bit of disbelief when I mention seeking snipe. After all, many have heard of the proverbial prank called a snipe hunt, wherein an unsuspecting city slicker is told to go out into the woods at night holding a bag with which to capture snipe, and is left there all night by the local folks. So, when I try to find a snipe for people, they are often surprised that there really is such a bird. Ours is now called the Wilson’s Snipe, Gallinago delicata. This widespread shorebird has undergone some common name changes from Wilson’s Snipe to Common Snipe, and now back to Wilson’s. They are a common winter resident in much of the Coastal Plain (and portions of the rest of our state), but are often a difficult bird for the average birder to spot, due to their habitat and camouflaged feather pattern.

Snipe habitat – a wet field at Pungo (click photos to enlarge)

Snipe prefer wet areas like marsh edges, roadside ditches, and wet puddles in farm fields. When alarmed or sitting tight, they can be very difficult to spot.

A Wilson’s Snipe can be difficult to see in a field or along a wetland edge

In fact, when I stop at a likely-looking spot and tell folks to look for snipe, I suggest they look for something that looks like a clump of grass stems with a long bill.

Snipe are well camouflaged and have an extraordinarily long bill

Indeed, a very long bill, measuring about one fourth the bird’s body length. They use this bill to probe for worms and other invertebrates in the soft ground and mud at wetland edges. Their feeding motion resembles that of a sewing machine in its rapid up and down movement, with their head often going into the water almost up to their eyes before pulling back up. They seem to feed for long periods of time without pulling their beak out of the substrate, leading some observers to wonder how they are swallowing their food. It appears that they move the prey up the backward-projecting serrations on the inside of the bill with their tongue and are thus able to swallow while the bill is still in the muck.

A short video clip shows this feeding behavior.

American Robin feeding in field

There were about six snipe feeding in this field puddle, along with a couple of Killdeer, and several American Robins.The low afternoon light enhanced the rust colors of the robins, making them, and the light-colored Killdeer, the most obvious birds in front of my camera when a car pulled up behind me. I can only imagine what the driver was thinking as he studied me taking pictures of such common species. I am also betting they may have totally missed my primary quarry, camouflaged amongst the soybean stubble.

Snipe threat display

At one point, one of the snipe rushed another to perhaps move it form a prime feeding spot. The bird that was rushed, squatted, and erected its tail, displaying a prominent tail spot. This may be some sort of aggressive display, and it is the first time I have ever seen that distinctive feather spot.

Wilson’s Snipe and its reflection while feeding in shallow water

One reference stated that the Blackfoot Indians had a name for this bird which meant, shadow in the water, supposedly because snipe often stand in the water and admire their own reflection. Well, I know I admired it when they managed to get into the shallow puddles, but I think they were too busy probing the mud for worms.

Wilson’s Snipe from behind, showing the long bill

As it turns out, people really do hunt snipe. The daily bag limit for Wilson’s Snipe in North Carolina this year is eight birds. The season runs until the end of February. This is a far cry from the days recorded by A.C. Bent. He reported on the exploits of one particularly notorious snipe hunter, a Mr. James Pringle. He supposedly set a one day record of 366 snipe in December of 1867. He is alleged to have shot 69,087 snipe in a twenty year period from 1867 to 1887. It is no wonder that their numbers decreased during that time. And Mr. Pringle was not a market hunter, but, instead gave the birds to friends. In the days of market hunting, the most skilled hunters would often bring many birds to market earning the name “sniper” as a badge of honor for the difficulty in shooting this elusive bird. The term has evolved to now mean a skilled shooter, but one with a very different target.
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Changing Weather

January 8, 2015
Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

~John Ruskin

My group last weekend certainly experienced most of these types of weather, something not that uncommon on an eastern North Carolina winter outing. I always fret about the weather for my groups, especially those interested in photography, but, I also know I can’t do anything about it. When we went down Thursday afternoon, it was beautiful, with an incredible sunset and sky full of Snow Geese. But, of course, the weather forecast for the weekend called for cold and rain, and then warming and rain, and even thunderstorms.

Sunrise at Pungo (click photos to enlarge)

Part of the group arrived Thursday night and we were out before sunrise on Friday, with what looked like an overcast sky as we headed over to the refuge. Arriving at the observation platform a few minutes before sunrise, we were greeted with a brief, but stunning display of light shining up under the cloud cover. It vanished in about ten minutes, and I thought that would be the last sun we would see for the weekend.

Bald Eagle and swans flying against a darkening morning sky

We spent the morning looking for birds and photo opportunities with an increasingly gray sky. A few breaks in the clouds made for an interesting backdrop for bird silhouettes, both in color, and black and white.

Tundra Swans flying against a dramatic sky

One of the impoundments has been full of swans much of the winter, so we lingered there watching them interact and listening to the swan music. Lots of birds were flying over us as they left the lake to head out to the fields. providing the group with plenty of practice shooting what one participant called BIF (birds in flight).

Take-off

With all the birds flying overhead, it soon prompted the swans we were watching on the water to join in, providing us with the challenge of capturing BTO (birds taking off). Waterfowl tend to take off into the wind, so, if you watch their behavior, you can often predict when they will make their move. Swans have to run across the water to gain enough speed for lift off. They often swim with the wind until they get to a place that provides a good runway of open water, then they will turn into the wind and start slowly swimming, often bobbing their heads. Then, they start running, slapping those large feet against the water, and flapping their 6 feet of wing span until they achieve lift-off.

Cypress tree in Lake Mattamuskeet

Throughout the day, the skies darkened, making the use of the long lenses more difficult. After lunch we drove over to Lake Mattamuskeet. The lake surface was glassy, mirroring the leaden sky. But the wildlife was sparse, so we headed to back to Pungo for sunset, hoping to see the flocks of Snow Geese coming into the fields for a late meal.

Tundra Swans packed into a corn field

At first, the fields contained only swans, lots of swans. I have rarely seen a flock of swans so densely packed as they were in one of the fields, heads up, necks bobbing, and squabbling with one another over the abundant corn lying on the field.

Snow Geese flying over field full of swans

Then the unmistakable sound of incoming geese, and soon the sky was filled with a swarm of birds circling over the swans, trying to find a place to land. It is still a spectacle, even without the glow of an orange sunset like the night before.

Swans on a gray morning

The next morning continued the graying trend of the previous day, and black and white images seemed like the best way to relate the mood of the refuge. But, it would turn out to be an eventful morning, in spite of the clouds and drizzle.

Bear day bed

The wet conditions made for very quiet woods-walking, so we headed into the trees, looking for signs of wildlife. And the signs were everywhere. We soon spotted a young bear, sitting against a large tree trunk. We all watched it, the bruin returning our gaze, until it finally stood up and ambled off into the thickets. We checked out its tree and found where it had been laying down. There was a nice pile of flattened, dry leaves where the bear had been laying, surrounded by wet leaves from the rain. There was also some chewing on the edges of a hollow leading under the base of the tree, as if the bear was trying to enlarge an access hole for an entryway. We continued on, noticing the abundance of bear and deer trails.

Black Bear sleeping in tree

We soon spotted other bears, and, then, something I had hoped for – a bear in a tree. This young bear seemed totally undisturbed by our small group of camera-pointing humans, as it occasionally glanced our way, in between short naps. We spent some quality time with this bear, before heading back to the cars. Once out of the woods, I could see that thick fog was beginning to roll in, making a sunset show of Snow Geese unlikely. I have been there one other time this year when the fog obscured the birds coming into the field, even though I could hear them swirling overhead. So, we headed over to nearby Lake Phelps, the second largest natural lake in the state, at a little over 16,000 acres.

Group on “the dock to nowhere” at Lake Phelps

In all my trips over the years to this lake, I have never experienced the silvery curtain we had that afternoon. The water surface was glassy, and everything seemed suspended in a gray sky. The group posed on what one dubbed “the dock to nowhere”. The grayness seemed to absorb everything, including sounds.

Silhouettes in the fog

Young Bald Cypress tree silhouettes

Grasses in the grayness

It turned out to be a dramatic way to end our day – a colorless scene for the cameras and minds to record.

Surprise sunrise at Lake Mattamuskeet

I thought the next morning would be the same, but we headed out before sun-up to Mattamuskeet anyway, some in the group hoping for a shimmer of predawn light. Much to my surprise, the sky did not disappoint. We had ten minutes of a stunning sunrise before the clouds pulled the curtain down on the stage.

Swamp colors

The rains started early, at first a slow, spotty rain, then a few downpours to make me regret leaving my rain pants in my luggage. But, the ashen atmosphere enriched the colors, making the lichens and mosses on the trees pop in a way that is normally absent when sunlight paints the scene. The weather radar hinted at stronger rains headed our way, so we departed the refuge and headed west, hoping to get on the other side of what was looking like a strong storm front.

Swamp patterns on the boardwalk at Goose Creek State Park

Goose Creek State Park welcomed us with overcast skies, rapidly warming temperatures, and no serious rain. The boardwalk behind the Visitor Center is a favorite of mine, especially in spring and summer when the frogs, insects, and other small critters are so prominent. Much to our surprise, a Southern Leopard Frog greeted us within a few feet of entering the swamp. The reflections on this winter day were beautiful, allowing us to peer into another world, beneath the surface, while being suspended in the world above.

Turkey Tail fungus on fallen log

Like at Mattamuskeet, the gray skies and palpable humidity enhanced the palette of the swamp, augmenting the colors and making for an ethereal landscape.

Storm clouds along the Pamlico River

Once again, the clouds and approaching front did not dissuade the wildlife. We saw several species of woodpeckers and countless Yellow-rumped Warblers along the boardwalk, plus a total of five Bald Eagles soaring over the swamp and the Pamlico River, our last stop of the day. Weather radar again indicated an approaching front, this one with the potential for strong winds and heavy rain. We all agreed to head home, thankful for our time spent in the changing winter weather. If only it had snowed…
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Sunset Sky

January 6, 2015
The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Snow Geese above Pungo Lake (click photos to enlarge)

I had a group tour the first few days of 2015, so I went down to Pungo on New Year’s Day to scout things out. It was a cold and beautiful afternoon. The usual groups of Tundra Swans dotted the fields and there were a few small flocks of the increasingly elusive Snow Geese flying to and fro. As the sun started getting low in the sky, I drove over to the south shore of Pungo Lake, hoping to catch the geese coming back in to roost for the evening. Instead, I spotted their characteristic undulating waves of birds flying high over the lake, as if headed out to the fields to feed. I jumped in the car and drove out toward the refuge entrance in case they were headed to the corn fields for a late snack.

Sunset view of Snow Geese flying over fields

When I arrived, most of the geese were feeding in a wheat field several hundred yards from my position. I could see a half dozen cars of folks close to the birds, but I wanted the geese against the orange sky, so I stayed put, on the far side of all the action.

Snow Geese against sunset sky

As the sun sank low in the sky, the geese continued to circle and land on the far side of the fields, giving me those silhouette images that I sought. Suddenly, the entire flock blasted off, presumably headed to the lake for the night. Instead, the mass of birds headed across the fields and swirled all around me, filling the sky with sound and the dark shadows of beating wings. Then, the entire flock landed in a corn field near the car.

The entire flock flew to the corn field adjacent to my car

The sound of that many birds feeding in a field next to you is unbelievable. It sounds like a giant machine of some sort, perhaps a huge industrial furnace. The flock, perhaps numbering 10,000 birds, moved through the corn like a feathered combine. I just sat and watched, in awe, at the spectacle of so many living things acting as one unified eating machine. Suddenly, as if one of the birds had realized it was getting late, the flock erupted from the field, turned, and headed toward the lake for the night. I stood there for a moment as the sound faded to the north. What a magical way to start a new year.
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Counting Birds

January 1, 2015
We can never have enough of nature.

~Henry David Thoreau

Snow Geese landing in field at Pocosin Lakes NWR (click photos to enlarge)

For me, I suppose that quote could be altered to, I can never have enough of winter wildlife in eastern North Carolina. Okay, not as poetic for sure, but true nonetheless. Why else would I (and 6 other bird nerds and friends) spend all day out in the brutally cold wind and mud at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge? Well, another reason is that we were one team participating in the annual ritual known as the Pettigrew State Park Christmas Bird Count. I helped start this particular bird count about 30 years ago when I worked for the state park system and I have managed to attend almost every one since.

This year is the 115th for the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Counts. The concept was born in 1900 when Frank Chapman, a noted ornithologist, and 26 other people went out and counted birds in 25 locations, mainly in the northeast United States. The idea was to offer an alternative to the practice of Christmas “side” hunts practiced at the time, where people would go out on Christmas Day and shoot as many birds (and often other wildlife) as they could, whether they had a use for them or not. Conservationists were concerned about this, and other practices, and the general decline in bird species, and thought the counts would be a good way to bring attention to the plight of birds. From those humble beginnings, the Christmas Bird Counts are now the longest-running citizen science program, with over 71,000 people participating in over 2,300 count circles in the Western Hemisphere. Data from these counts provides scientists with all sorts of useful information on population trends, range expansions over time, and other information on a wide range of bird species.

Looking for a Ross’s Goose amidst the thousands of Snow Geese

Participants try to identify and count all the birds within a chosen 15-mile diameter circle on a assigned day during the period from December 14 to January 5 each year. The Pettigrew Count is centered on the state park and includes surrounding farmlands and forests as well as a portion of the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes NWR. Teams of volunteers go out before dawn and bird their portion of the count circle all day, keeping track of everything they see and can identify by sound. Obviously, we do not record every single bird that is actually in the count circle that day (especially in areas like the refuge, where portions are closed to public entry to protect the wildlife from disturbance), and there are challenges with estimating the numbers of large flocks, and in trying to not to count birds more than once. But, one of the benefits of having some of the same people do the count each year is that the results will be somewhat consistent, enough that trends in the data over time can be seen. This year, our team consisted of three beginning birders, two experienced birders that had been on this count many times, and two young, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable birders that had never been on this particular count.

Snow Geese blasting off from field

One of our highlights on this count is the huge numbers of Snow Geese that roost on Pungo Lake and feed in nearby farm fields. The birds have been a little less predictable the past couple of years and they continued that trend this year, with the huge flock breaking up into smaller flocks and dispersing in varied directions during the day. We did find a flock of a couple of thousand feeding in the fields near the refuge entrance, and then began the sometimes long process of trying to pick out some Ross’s Geese from the flock. Ross’s Geese look like miniature Snow Geese, and can be tough to spot when there are thousands of their look-alike cousins in a field. But, with the gusty winds holding the birds up in the air longer as they landed and slowing down their flight, we were able to spot many of the smaller Ross’s Geese in in the air, and, in fact, got our highest number ever (23) for this portion of the count circle.

Immature Mute Swan (left) compared to adult Tundra Swan (right)

Other highlights included the first Cackling Geese (look like small Canada Geese) we have ever recorded on this portion of the count and an immature Mute Swan. The latter has been hanging out in one of the impoundments at Pungo for a few weeks. It is much larger than the usual Tundra Swans, and immature birds have a pink bill and lack the large knob on the bill that is diagnostic of adult Mute Swans. At first, I really wanted to make this bird an immature Trumpeter Swan, but I guess I will have to go with the consensus of it being a Mute.

Walking on a bear trail

Another highlight was walking through the woods looking for mixed species flocks, and traveling through the underbrush on a well-used bear trail. We did see seven bears along that trail, including two resting high up in trees (always a thrill to see). Added to those non-bird sightings were soaring Bald Eagles, a Cooper’s Hawk dive bombing some robins and a Wood Duck, the flash of a Merlin as it streaked overhead, and tens of thousands of Snow Geese coming into the lake at sunset, and you can see why the day was memorable, in spite of the bitter cold. One of the most memorable moments was when I asked the young birders (and these guys are both passionate and skilled) how they first got into birding. They both gave some of the credit to a trip I had helped lead to this very refuge when they were with the museum’s Junior Curator Program. They recalled walking down this same dirt road, seeing bears, and thousands of Snow Geese and Tundra Swans flying over, the vastness of the place, and the amazing sounds, as one of the things that inspired their passion. What a great way to start a new year…and to help me make a resolution to help get more people, especially young people, out into nature to discover their own passion.

December 30, 2014 data – Pungo Unit portion of annual Pettigrew State Park Christmas Bird Count (70 species for our team; 110 species for the total count circle):

Snow Goose – 45,000
Ross’s Goose – 23
Cackling Goose – 5
Canada Goose – 250
Tundra Swan – 2000
Mute Swan – 1
Wood Duck – 150
Gadwall – 50
American Wigeon – 40
American Black Duck – 10
Mallard – 225
Northern Shoveler – 40
Northern Pintail – 40
Green-winged Teal – 17
Ring=necked Duck – 50
Lesser Scaup – 7
Hooded Merganser – 12
Northern Bobwhite – 8
Pied-billed Grebe – 1
Great Blue Heron – 7
Turkey Vulture – 22
Bald Eagle – 18
Northern Harrier – 15
Cooper’s Hawk – 3
Red-shouldered Hawk – 2
Red-tailed Hawk – 6
American Kestrel – 5
Merlin – 1
Peregrine Falcon – 1
American Coot – 8
Killdeer – 46
American Woodcock – 3
Ring-billed Gull – 403
Mourning Dove – 370
Belted Kingfisher – 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 21
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1
Downy Woodpecker – 15
Northern Flicker – 6
Pileated Woodpecker – 6
Eastern Phoebe – 2
Blue Jay – 1
American Crow – 50
Fish Crow – 2
Carolina Chickadee – 20
Tufted Titmouse – 5
Brown-headed Nuthatch – 1
Brown Creeper – 1
Carolina Wren – 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet – 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 3
Eastern Bluebird – 2
Hermit Thrush – 1
American Robin – 800
Gray Catbird – 2
Northern Mockingbird – 1
American Pipit – 104
Yellow-rumped Warbler – 400
Eastern Towhee – 10
Savannah Sparrow – 20
Fox Sparrow – 5
Song Sparrow – 20
Swamp Sparrow – 6
White-throated Sparrow – 30
Dark-eyed Junco – 7
Northern Cardinal – 15
Red-winged Blackbird – 3200
Eastern Meadowlark – 13
Common Grackle – 25
American Goldfinch – 21
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The Tree Fox

December 29, 2014
The Fox of Carolina is gray…When hunted, they make a sorry Chace, because they run up Trees, when pursued.

~John Lawson, 1709

Gray Fox after waking up from a nap (click photos to enlarge)

On almost every visit to Mattamuskeet NWR these past few months, I have seen one or more Gray Foxes. I am guessing they had a den somewhere along Wildlife Drive and the adults, and their young, have stayed in that general vicinity all Summer and Fall. A few weeks ago, I was driving down the dirt road along the lake and my friend hollered, “fox”, as we drove right by one sleeping in the grass along the road. When I started to back up, it quickly got up and slipped into the thick brush (seems as though most wildlife does not like it when you back up your vehicle). As John Lawson pointed out oh-so-long-ago, Gray Foxes are the only canid in North America that can climb trees. I have seen that twice, once on the coast, where a fox was after some persimmons (a favorite Fall meal), and once on a teacher workshop at the Belize Zoo. It seems that Gray Foxes really are much more cat-like than other members of their dog clan, having semi-retractable claws, and short legs relative to their body size (ideal for climbing trees). Gray Foxes are often mistaken for Red Foxes, due to the reddish coloration that is so noticeable on portions of their body. An easy way to distinguish the two is that Gray Foxes have a dark stripe and dark tip on their tail, whereas Red Foxes have a white tail tip.

Gray Fox napping along road

On a more recent trip, I was telling my companion about the sleeping fox incident when I spotted a gray lump over in the grass on the opposite side of the road from where I had seen the fox a week before. This time, I stopped the vehicle ahead of the lump and checked it out. Sure enough, a Gray Fox napping…really napping, it turned out. We got out, hoping not to spook it. But, not to worry, it continued napping. I was surprised the fox was still hanging around this area since the annual duck hunt at Mattamuskeet had started earlier in the week and takes place at a series of blinds adjacent to this dirt road. I really thought the shotgun blasts would have spooked it from this area.

The fox finally looks up to check us out

We took a series of images, all with the fox laying there, eyes closed. It finally raised its head and gave us a look.

Gray Fox yawning

For the next several minutes, we stood there, watching the fox nap, raise its head, yawn, and then lay back down to nap again.

The fox finally raised up and looked around

After several minutes of standing there and waiting, the fox finally stood up, looked at us sleepily, and slowly walked away.

The fox finally walks away

I hated that we might have awakened the little guy, but was happy that we didn’t seem to upset it much by our presence. The fox stopped a few times, sniffing the ground, and perhaps grabbing something to snack on, as I had seen them do several times on previous visits to the refuge. Gray Foxes have an incredibly varied diet – everything from rabbits and mice to amphibians and insects, and lots of different types of fruits. Finally, the fox slipped into the thick underbrush, leaving us appreciative of our time spent with it. It is such a rare treat to be able to observe an animal going about its daily life, seemingly unconcerned by our presence. This is one more reason we should all be thankful for places like our wildlife refuges and parks, where there is adequate habitat and regulations that protect wildlife, so we can all have moments like this.
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December Scenes

December 24, 2014
If we can somehow retain places where we can always sense the mystery of the unknown, our lives will be richer.

~Sigurd F. Olson

Wildlife refuges, parks, open spaces – these are the special places I love. And we are lucky here in North Carolina to have an incredible variety of public lands to enjoy. Last week, I took a few days to do a quick tour of some of my favorite places – five national wildlife refuges (Pocosin Lakes, Mattamuskeet, Alligator River, Currituck, and Pea Island), and a national seashore, Bodie Island at Cape Hatteras National Seashore).

Snow Geese on foggy morning at Pocosin Lakes NWR (click photos to enlarge)

A light fog hung over the fields at the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes NWR at sunrise and soon, they could be heard coming from the lake – Snow Geese. Not the tens of thousands I had hoped for, but still enough to delight the eyes and ears.

The flock probably numbered a couple of thousand. They did the usual Snow Goose act of noisily settling into a field, moving as a large white mass feeding in the field, and then erupting into the sky with a loud roar – then repeat – and repeat. One blast off was triggered by a Bald Eagle flyover, but I have no idea what caused the other take-offs. While I don’t understand why they behave this erratically (or how it isn’t a total drain on their energy reserves), I never tire of seeing and hearing it.

A Merlin sitting on a bird-friendly sign on the beach

The next morning I took my inaugural drive on the beach in my new 4wd Honda up at Corolla. I had never been to this part of the Outer Banks, and I was amazed at the super highway out on the beach. But, there was also a welcome bird sighting – a Merlin, appropriately sitting on a refuge sign along the dunes at Currituck NWR. Merlins are slightly larger and generally darker in plumage than our smallest falcon, the American Kestrel. They are voracious predators on various species of small birds, but this one was quietly surveying the scene as cars and trucks whizzed by on the beach.

Female or immature male Bufflehead at Pea Island

Ruddy Duck

That afternoon included stops at two other waterfowl hot spots. There were plenty of birds at Pea Island, but most were far out on North or South Ponds. A walk along the trail did produce some nice views of two species – a few Buffleheads and a group of Ruddy Ducks. Ruddy Ducks always seem to have a startled look when swimming, their stiff tail feathers held up at an angle.

Bodie Island pond (iPhone photo)

As the afternoon light started getting that golden glow, I walked out onto the observation platform at Bodie Island. Ducks were calling and flying – a quintessential coastal Carolina December scene.

Northern Pintails

Female Northern Pintail dabbling

Several Northern Pintails and a few Tundra Swans were feeding in the shallow water near the observation platform, dabbling on submerged aquatic vegetation, with their rear ends up in the air.

American Avocets

A few American Avocets were scattered across the pond, picking at some unseen morsels in the water. I always enjoy seeing these elegant shorebirds with their unusual upturned stiletto bills.

The fading light bathed a pair of Tundra Swans near the platform in rich golden hues as the adult bird preened itself one last time before sunset. Immature (first year) swans have grayish heads and necks and are usually seen accompanying their parents and siblings on the wintering grounds.

The trip, while brief, turned out to be memorable – beautiful scenes, abundant and diverse wildlife, peaceful soundscapes, and the vast sky characteristic of eastern North Carolina. As the year winds down, I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a joyous new year. I hope you are all able to spend more time outside this coming year.

Wild parks are places of recreation…

Nature’s cathedrals…

Where all may gain inspiration and strength…

~John Muir

Bodie Island Lighthouse at sunset (iPhone photo)
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Refuge Magic

December 15, 2014
I do not understand how anyone can live without some small place of enchantment to turn to.

~Marjorie Kinnan Rawling

For me, that place of enchantment in my home state is Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge…more specifically, the Pungo Unit of that refuge. I had a trip this past week with a couple of friends and it never fails to deliver. It is not always the same thing, but it is a wild enough area that there is always something to provide a memorable moment. It was a day trip, leaving Raleigh at 7 a.m. That makes for a long day, especially when you start by going to my other favorite wildlife spot, Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge.

Immature Black-crowned Night Heron (click photos to enlarge)

Lake Mattamuskeet is the largest natural lake in North Carolina and attracts thousands of waterfowl in the winter. But most of those birds are hidden from view, spending much of their time in the east end of the lake or in impoundments that are closed to the public. However, a drive along Wildlife Drive will allow you glimpses of that wildlife richness. There are a couple of small pools near the gate that reliably produce good bird sightings (although the invasive plant, Phragmites, is beginning to block much of the view in this area). One species you are likely to see there is the Black-crowned Night Heron. This trip provided a good view of an immature bird, while the nearby adult was hidden in thick vegetation.

Great Blue Heron gets a drink

There is almost always a sentinel of the marsh, a Great Blue Heron, present in this area when you first drive in. Unlike Great Blues in many other areas, these are fairly tolerant of our presence and thus are probably amongst the most photographed of their species in North Carolina.

Great Egret striking at prey

Another almost sure bet near the entrance is a Great Egret. These elegant white birds forage throughout the area, most often taking small fish, with the occasional larger specimen caught for the luckier viewers. I have hundreds of images of these marsh stalkers from this location over the years, but I can’t seem to resist trying to get a few more on each trip. I particularly enjoy trying to capture the moment of the strike – their white head splashing in the water as they snag a meal.

Pied-billed Grebe

Another reliable species near the entrance is the diminuitive Pied-billed Grebe (PBG for short). These chunky little divers scoot about the pools, diving for fish, and generally going less appreciated than the long-legged marsh dwellers. But, I like these little guys, and they often swim close enough to shore to allow a nice reflection shot when waters are calm.

Horned Grebe

A surprise sighting in the pools this trip was a Horned Grebe. I have seen them out on the lake in some winters, but never in one of the canal areas where you can appreciate their winter plumage and bright red eyes.

Fish eye lens view of swamp

One of my favorite stops at Mattamuskeet is the short boardwalk through a cypress swamp just off Wildlife Drive. I borrowed my friend’s fish eye lens for some unusual perspectives and then learned of a simple trick with my iPhone that produces some interesting results as well.

iPhone vertical pano shot in swamp

I have used the pano feature on my phone’s camera many times in this area, but never vertically. Simply turn the camera sideways in pano mode and start overhead and bring it down. By starting overhead, you get the proper exposure for the sky. You can then lighten the darker areas near the base of the image with some shadow reduction features in post processing. Not nearly as nice or sharp as the fish eye, but it doesn’t require the outlay of thousands of dollars that the high quality lens does.

As the afternoon shadows lengthened, we drove over to the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes for the sunset show. Tundra Swans were flying to and from the lake, providing some beautiful views in the afternoon light. But what I wanted was the return of the Snow Geese to the fields or lake itself. The large flocks have been leaving the refuge in the morning, apparently feeding in fields far to the east. I was hoping they would fly back into some of the refuge fields before heading into the lake to roost for the night.

We positioned ourselves near one of the fields containing several hundred swans and enough bear tracks along the road to make you think you would certainly see a bruin as it came out to feed. Finally, I spotted them – several thousand Snow Geese flying in from the east in undulating waves of wings. They began to circle and land, joining the hundreds of Tundra Swans already in the field. Right at sunset, a Black Bear came out and wandered over, setting the flock into the air where they circled a few times before heading out to the lake to spend the night. Refuge magic at its best.

I will be leading trips to this area for the next several weeks to observe the wintering waterfowl and other wildlife. Most weekends in January are already booked, but I have many week days left as well as some single weekend dates. I’ll also soon be posting details on my blog Trips page for my June trips to Yellowstone and my July trip to Trinidad and Tobago (the latter in conjunction with EcoQuest Travel and the NC Zoo Society). If you are looking for that last gift for someone special (or yourself), consider giving the gift of nature – a field experience with the Roads End Naturalist. Contact me at my email address – roadsendnaturalist@gmail.com – for more information, rates, and availability.
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Otter Outing

December 14, 2014
It swims and dives with great readiness and with peculiar ease and elegance of movement…

Thomas Bell on otters, 1874

I recently spent a couple of days with a great group of guys in my favorite winter haunts – Pocosin Lakes and Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuges.

Sunrise, Pocosin Lakes NWR (click photos to enlarge)

The first day started out beautifully with a rich sunrise…and that was about the end of the nice weather. The next day and a half, we experienced very little sunshine, and a lot of wind, cold, drizzle, and clouds (did I mention wind?!!). And much of the wildlife thought we were crazy being out there, so they stayed home.

Tundra Swans on impoundment

Tundra Swan flyover

The Snow Geese have arrived, but they continue the trend of the past few years and are a bit unpredictable. Instead of flying out to the refuge fields in the morning, they took off far to the east for points unknown. The Tundra Swans were a bit more obliging as they flew out of Pungo Lake in small groups, giving us some nice views. A few hundred landed in one of the impoundments and graced us with their mesmerizing calls, one of my favorite natural sounds.

Bald Eagle flying behind treetops on a gray morning

And where there are waterfowl, there are eagles. We saw several Bald Eagles as they flew over the flocks looking for possible weak birds that would make an easy target.

What you often capture when trying to photograph a swimming River Otter

But the highlight of the day was seeing several River Otters. A friend had said he had seen a bunch on a recent trip so I was looking. Finally, I caught some motion out of the corner of my eye through the thick vegetation lining the canals – an otter! We drove up a bit and got out waiting on the otter to swim our way. It turned out to be three River Otters cruising the canal. They were very aware of our presence and barked and snorted their disapproval. At first, they proved to be difficult subjects for photography – just about the time I focused on an otter head, it would disappear with a ker-plunk.

River Otter bobbing up and down in the canal

Finally, one raised up to get a better look and I got a shot. It soon became a whole lot of images, as we walked along the banks of the canal trying to figure out where they would pop up next.

River Otter checking us out

The first siting had three otters. They disappeared through a culvert under the road and then we found five lounging on the bank. When they swam off, we came across three of them on another canal and began watching them. Two suddenly came up across the canal while one seemingly disappeared.

River Otter catches a fish

The two began swimming very close together and one had its head down relative to the other. I soon saw why – it had a fish it was dragging beneath the surface of the water. At first, I couldn’t make much out, but then the otter reached the shore opposite me and began to drag its prize up on the canal bank.

River Otter with fish

Trying to subdue the meal

The fish looked huge compared to the size off the otter. I think it was a Carp, or perhaps a Bowfin. One otter had its paws full tying to lug the fish up on the bank while keeping the other otter at bay. This made for a lot of commotion and splashing, and not a very good view of the fish from where I stood.

The otters quickly stripped off chunks of the huge fish

The finest chefs have nothing on the skill of these otters as they quickly stripped off chunks of the fish and gulped them down, essentially fileting it, all while swimming and tussling with each other in the water.

River Otter giving us “the look”

We finally decided we had disturbed their meal long enough (in between bouts of fish eating one or both would occasionally give us “the look”). So, when they turned and swam off with the remains of their lunch, we let them be, amazed at what we had just witnessed.

A River Otter pauses to look one last time before swimming off down the canal

I never tire of watching these energetic mammalian masters of the aquatic realm. I will certainly keep my eyes open for them on my next trips down this way in the coming weeks.
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Finch Findings, Part 2

December 11, 2014
Here are the long overdue results of the winter finch quiz from my last post, Finch Findings.

Purple Finch female – note the bold eye stripe and heavy streaking (click photos to enlarge)

House Finch male – note the red color is confined mainly to the head and breast area, with brownish streaking on sides

Purple Finch male – note the raspberry juice color, and hint of a whitish belly. There is also a darkish stripe behind the eye. I also think the bill looks “heavier” than that of a House Finch.

House Finch male – note the streaking on the breast

Pine Siskin – from this angle, it is mainly the streaking and very pointed bill that gives it away

On a less pleasing visual note…while photographing the finches last month, I noticed something I see every few years in the House Finches I encounter.

Male House Finch shows his “good” right eye

One finch landed and looked over his shoulder. After I snapped a quick photo, he turned his head to reveal a problem.

Male House Finch with House Finch disease

His left eye was swollen and red, an indicator of an eye disease known as House Finch Disease, or Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis. The disease is caused by a strain of bacteria that previously was known to infect only poultry and pigeons. It was first noticed in House Finches in the Washington, D.C. area in 1994. It spread rapidly through the House Finch population in the East and then was discovered in finches in their native western U.S. range in 2004.

Female House Finch with House Finch Disease

Birds can apparently recover from the disease if they don’t starve or get killed by predators (it certainly impacts their vision and thus their feeding efficiency and predator avoidance) but they are still carriers of the disease. It is transferred by direct contact with other birds, especially when flocking together in winter and congregating at feeders. Researchers say that the disease has cut the booming population of House Finches in the East by as much as half, but that now appears to have stabilized. While it is mainly found in House Finches, the disease has occasionally been seen in other finch species like American Goldfinches and Purple Finches. One source recommends periodically cleaning your feeders with soapy water and a mild bleach solution to help reduce this and other bird diseases.
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Finch Findings

December 7, 2014
This winter’s theme is a “mixed bag” of finch movements.

~Ron Pittaway, Ontario Field Ornithologists

Male Purple Finch at feeder (click photos to enlarge)

After seeing the first Purple Finches at my feeder a few weeks ago, I started searching online for some information. I ran across one of those interesting combinations of technology and old-fashioned field observations that seems so common in the birding world – Ron Pittaway’s Winter Finch Forecast 2014-2015. Winter finches are birds of far northern forests and include Purple Finches, Grosbeaks (Pine and Evening), Redpolls (Common and Hoary), Crossbills (Red and White-winged), and Pine Siskins. What all of these birds have in common is that they are primarily seed eaters, and in the northern forests, the key tree species for them are spruces, birches, and mountain ashes. Ron and his collaborators do extensive surveys every year and assess the status of the seed crop of these tree species and use that to predict southward movements of the various finches. And they are usually spot on…2012-2013 was predicted to be a great finch year down south (and it was), and last year he predicted a poor one due to abundant seed crops. And, indeed, last year, I did not see a single Purple Finch or Pine Siskin.

Pine Siskins are small, streaky, finches with a very pointed bill, and hints of yellow on their wings.

So, this year Ron predicts Purple Finches will move south in decent numbers, along with scattered Pine Siskins, but many of the other species will show limited southward movements due to good crops of certain tree seeds. As I write this, there are about a dozen Purple Finches on the feeder outside my window. I have seen one (an odd number as they usually come in small flocks) Pine Siskin thus far this winter. One non-finch species Ron suggests will move south in moderate numbers this year is the Red-breasted Nuthatch, another seed eater.

House Finch male

I think many backyard bird-watchers have some difficulty in identifying our finches, especially in separating the more urban-dwelling, year-round resident, House Finch, from the irregular winter visitor, the Purple Finch. House Finches are a common feeder bird in the East after having been released in New York City in 1940 from a stock brought from their native range of the West Coast for the pet trade. They nest and feed in areas near human habitation, but I see more out along the power line some winters, which indicates, they too, probably undergo winter migrations in especially cold weather. Male House Finches have varying amounts of red on their head and back, a red eyebrow, throat, and upper breast, brownish streaks on their sides and belly, and a square or slightly notched tail. The amount of red is variable because it depends on the individual bird’s diet (red pigments in bird feathers come from a class of compounds called carotenoids, found in plants).

Purple Finch male

Male Purple Finches are more wine-red on their head, breast, sides, and rump, and have a white belly and strongly notched tail. The famed ornithologist, Roger Tory Peterson, described the male Purple Finch as looking like a sparrow dipped in raspberry juice.

House Finch female

Females of the two species are a bit more difficult to distinguish. House Finch females have brown upperparts with some streaking, and brownish white underparts with faint brown streaks.

Purple Finch female

Purple Finch females have brown upperparts, and white underparts that are more boldly streaked with brown. But to me, the most distinctive difference is the bold, white eyebrow stripe on the female Purple Finch (lacking in the female House Finch).

So, here is a little quiz to help you identify those birds you may be seeing at your feeders this winter. Answers will be posted later in the week.

Good luck!
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