[tn-bird] NC Pelagic
- From: "K.D. Breault" <KBreault@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "tn-bird" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 12:20:38 -0500
For those of you who have not yet taken the plunge (sometimes it felt like
that!) I thought I would try to interest you in a pelagic trip off North
Carolina. What follows is some of the details of my recent trip.
While pelagic trips closer to TN are offered from the Alabama shore (at Orange
Beach), trips off the Outer Banks of NC are much more likely to add to your
life list. Brian Patteson is the person who organizes the NC trips and I was
very impressed with his operation. He has trips out of Hatteras to the warm
waters of the Gulf Stream 30 miles off shore on a large, 72' boat (bigger is
better on the ocean for negotiating heavy seas) that is very fast and capable
of 30 knots at full power. On each trip he has a staff of at least four
experts (ours had five) who, in addition to himself and the captain (who is
very knowledgeable about pelagics), are always at the ready, scanning the water
for anything promising. I went out on May 31. At that time of year you are
virtually guaranteed to see Black-capped Petrel, Cory's Shearwater, Audubon's
Shearwater, and Wilson's and Band-rumped Storm-Petrels (I don't think Brian has
ever failed to see these birds between May 20 and June 10). Our trip saw those
birds and others including Manx, Greater and Sooty Shearwaters, Pomarine Jaeger
and a Royal Tern that, from a distance, had some of us hoping for a tropicbird.
The very next day tropicbirds were seen (most are white-tailed with red-billed
making up 15% of those observed) as well as the rare Herald Petrel (a code 3
bird). Other possibilities at this time of year include Fea's Petrel (a new
addition to the ABA checklist, seen on 20% of Brian's trips), Leach's Storm
Petrel, Red-necked Phalarope and Bridled Tern. Very rare possibilities include
Bermuda and Bulwer's Petrels and Swinhoe's Storm-Petrel (all code 4 or better).
The day I went out the waves were very high and seasickness was an issue. We
had about 60 people onboard and I would estimate that about 7-10 (12-17%) got
sick, including one of the experts. The experts and crew had a lot of
information about seasickness and I learned quite a bit. For example, there
seem to be two kinds of seasickness, one where you are sick from the get-go and
don't feel better until you get back on terra firma, and the more common form
where you get sick and make periodic visits to the stern of the boat but feel
fine in the interim (after you have fed the fish off the stern you immediately
feel better). We had one person, a non-birder I believe, in the former
category and the rest were in the latter, including myself. While having
episodic seasickness is momentarily unpleasant (I got sick three times) I found
that it was quite bearable and represented only a tiny portion of the exciting
12 hour day. Note also that I did not take any seasickness precautions and the
sea was unusually rough. I have no reservations about going out again and, in
fact, I plan to go on several trips at this and other times of the year.
Having just revived my interest in birding (begun at secondary school in
Vermont in 1971 and maintained sporadically since) I was happy to see that
there were birders of every skill level on the trip, including new birders and
those with many pelagic trips under their belts (this was my first pelagic trip
since 1974). Must of us were middle age like myself but there were quite a few
who were older. The best thing about the trip was that were we able to get
very close looks at the birds (as close as 25' from the boat). My favorite was
the common Cory's Shearwater. Its warm brown back and white underparts was a
beautiful contrast to the blue ocean and easily worth the $90 fare. Perhaps
the most curious thing I saw on the trip was the very numerous flying fish.
These robin-size fish would launch themselves out of the water and fly above
the waves for as much as 100' with their tiny fins beating furiously.
One of the nice things about making a trip to the Outer Banks is that the area
is full of birds and very nice places to see them. It is not difficult to see
100 or more species in the span of several days (a car trip to and from TN,
with stops in the mountains, would easily bring 150). For more info. see John
Fussell's excellent book, "A Birder's Guide to Coastal North Carolina". Among
the places I found that were productive included the Oregon Inlet area (Piping
Plover, gulls, terns, wading birds), Pea Island NWR (shorebirds, including
Marbled Godwit, and an unusual Mute Swan), Cape Hatteras (especially the salt
pond--terns, including Gull-billed, Sandwich and shorebirds), and the Ocracoke
Island flats (Red Knot, among others). My family stayed on Ocracoke Island, a
very charming place accessible only by ferry, with enough things for children
to enjoy. Note that in late May/early June the height of the tourist season is
more than a month away. For a more inland visit Roanoke Island is wonderful
for its history (the Lost Colony) and rails, including Black, and Alligator
River NWR is excellent for such birds as Swainson's, Worm-eating,
Black-throated Green and Prothonotary Warblers, Yellow-billed Cuckoo,
Brown-headed Nuthatch, Bobwhite, Red-cockaded Woodpecker (ask local birders for
directions). Those wanting more info. about the trip, including seasickness,
can contact me at MTSU or the address below. Brian Patteson can be found at
Brian@xxxxxxxxxxxx & see www.patteson.com.
Kevin Breault
Nashville, TN
kbreault@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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