HATTERAS
Part 2. The Redeye Circuit. Five Christmas Bird Counts in Virginia and
North Carolina, December 26-31, 2003. Harry Armistead and Jared Sparks.
Sat., Dec. 27. Cape Hatteras CBC. Our first 2 mornings there are no
restaurants open for breakfast but I find that with the little travelling
coffee maker plus doughnuts, bananas, yogurt, and OJ, such a breakfast in
our motel room sticks to the ribs as well as the ones with the eggs,
scrapple, and potatoes that I thought I preferred.
Our area is as usual Hatteras village. Mrs. Burrus at Burrus's store says
Isabel sent sea water just above the 2nd step outside of the store but
other storms have been higher. The devastation on the east end of the
village is appalling, and this over 3 months afterwards. Rusty cars line
the road with dead vegetation somehow under their hoods. Motels are
collapsed and shoved around. The nice clear lawn area, several acres,
where I had an Indigo Bunting once and snipe in other years, is now
completely filled with debris, piled high with the remains of houses
trucked in and dumped there, an ongoing process. One of my favorite
interior ponds has 4 small cabins in it.
But Isaac Pond is O.K. Our traditional starting point, it produces Sora
and Virginia Rail for Marshall Iliff and George by the time Jared and I
show up just before 7 A.M. Our barrier strip was submerged by Isabel with
several breaches forced through from the sound side, one developing into an
inlet reportedly up to 20 feet deep. This, amazingly, was filled in and
Rt. 12 repaved over it but most of the dune vegetation is destroyed and a
lot of the saltmarsh buried in sand. My favorite marsh just north of town
was not affected much and still holds sharp-tailed sparrows. Landbirds are
hard to come by today but the 4 of us work separately until mid-day and
find close to 80 species by then, but nothing unusual.
After lunch as usual we go to Cape Point, Cape Hatteras per se, for my
traditional walk around the Salt Pond there and a short sea watch from the
point. Find 2 dead banded birds at Cape Point. John Weske tells me the
imm. Brown Pelican, 0938-33833, was banded by Micou Browne at Oregon Inlet,
NC, June 23, 2003. Nice going Mike, a perfect closure and crimp that will
not admit a needle or thin paper edge (or, more to the point, fishing
line). By way of contrast, the adult Great Black-backed Gull, 977-94639,
is open about 1/8" but, to be fair, the bird may have done this. Still
waiting to hear the details on that one. Don't know why the birds died.
Some of the fisherman are curious why I am sawing the birds' legs off with
my Swiss army knife. Next year I'd like to try to use a dip net to capture
some of the tame pelicans that hang around Cape Point for handouts - after
I tell the anglers what I am doing. At least half these birds are banded.
I only see one fish caught here, a magnificent 29.5 lb. Striped Bass.
Takes about 10 minutes for the guy to haul it in. Jared spots a 2 foot
Eastern Ribbon Snake sunning on some flotsam and jetsam. Beautiful
markings. Very slender reptile with a diminutive head, easy to hand catch.
Not smelly like rat snakes. Four ad. White Ibis frequent the Salt Pond
but not as many waterfowl as expected although there are 12 Tundra Swans
here.
Cape Hatteras CBC is as always a patchwork list with lots of hits and
misses, or near misses, recording c. 141 species as reported at the
compilation at Our Lady of the Sea Catholic Church, where there is chunky,
hot clam chowder and good chili. Brian Sullivan's sea watch at Cape Point
turned up a black-headed gull, a kittiwake, and a juvenile skimmer.
Interesting count totals include 1 junco, 2 goldfinches, a chat, a Northern
Waterthrush, 1 waxwing, 1 bluebird, an alcid sp., 5 cowbirds, 1 Baltimore
Oriole, c. 7 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, 1 Carolina Chickadee (a rarity
here), 1 Ovenbird, 1 saw-whet owl, 1 Sedge Wren, 2 Chipping Sparrows, a
dozen Blue-headed Vireos but no White-eyeds, but no Downy Woodpecker, Tree
Swallow, Prairie Warbler, or Seaside Sparrow (or redpolls, see below).
Nine Ipswich Sparrows are good for here. Painted Bunting and Common
Merganser were seen during the count period. Of the 4 or so Piping Plovers
1 was a Great Lakes bird. Marshall saw a Monarch. I see 4 pods of
dolphins on the ocean side simultaneously plus the expected knots, Willets,
and black-bellies. This year we see more deer and deer sign than ever
before, including roadkills of a doe plus 2 Nutria d.o.r. Others find 20
or so Lesser Black-backed and a Glaucous gull. Sixteen Turkey Vultures are
high for here. This is the first of this string of counts where we will
find that landbirds are way down, scarce.
This being the case here's another quote , which I have overused in the
past year or so, but it is so germane. I really think we are on the
threshold of a disaster for bird populations on several fronts. However,
when I write these accounts each year they're intended to be a celebration
of what we DO see.
"There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore; -
Turn whereso'er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more."
Wordsworth. 'Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early
Childhood'.
Best to all - Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
1919-1225. 215-248-4120. harryarmistead at hotmail dot com.
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