Authored by Jeff Beane
This is a report on a joint field trip between NC State Museum of Natural Sciences and Wake Audubon. We visited the following areas between November 17th and
Sunset on the Scuppernong River at Pocosin Lakes Visitor Center.
19th: Alligator River, Pea Island, and Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuges; Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve; Cape Hatteras National Seashore; Pettigrew and Jockey’s Ridge State Parks; and a few other stops.
Trip leaders: Jerry Reynolds, Jeff Beane, Martha Fisk
Other participants: Betty Lou Chaika, David Chaika, Marty Demko, Phyllis Demko, Eileen Hancox, Sue Harvey, Stephanie Horton, Jerry Johnson, Debbie Ludas, Mary McClure, Adair Pickard, Carole Stevens
* = observed only as dead-on-road (DOR) or otherwise dead specimens.
All photos by Jeff Beane.
Fishes
Gambusia holbrooki Eastern Mosquitofish (many)
Amphibians
Acris gryllus Southern Cricket Frog (many)
Rana catesbeiana [Lithobates catesbeianus] American Bullfrog (at least 1)
The dune-sheltered maritime forest and interdunal freshwater ponds at Nags Head Woods provide unique habitat for species like the Southern Cricket Frog, which are common on the mainland but unable to survive on most of the Outer Banks.
American Bullfrog at Nags Head Woods
Reptiles
Chrysemys p. picta Eastern Painted Turtle (several)
Pseudemys rubriventris Red-bellied Cooter (several)
Trachemys s. scripta Yellow-bellied Slider (many)
Coluber constrictor Black Racer (1 adult male DOR) *
Nerodia taxispilota Brown Water Snake (1 adult female)
Red-bellied Cooter at ARNWR. This species reaches the southeastern edge of its range in northeastern NC.
Yellow-bellied Sliders, like these basking at Pea Island, are one reptile species that can often be seen on sunny days throughout the winter.
Sunday was warm enough for this Brown Water Snake to be out basking at ARNWR.
Birds
Our federal refuges provide critical wintering habitat for many waterfowl species, and they were packed in at Pea Island NWR. This view includes Bufflehead, Redhead, Northern Pintail, American Widgeon, Gadwall, American Black Duck, and Tundra Swan.
Tundra Swans, like these at ARNWR, are just one of many wildlife spectacles that our large coastal refuges have to offer.
Aix sponsa Wood Duck (at least 2 or 3)
American Widgeons at Pea Island NWR
Anas americana American Widgeon (many)
Anas clypeata Northern Shoveler (many)
Anas crecca Green-winged Teal (many)
Anas platyrhynchos Mallard (many)
Anas rubripes American Black Duck (many)
Anas strepera Gadwall (many)
This female King Eider at Pea Island was by far the rarest and most unexpected find of the trip!
Aythya americana Redhead (several)
Aythya collaris Ring-necked Duck (several)
Bucephala albeola Bufflehead (many)
Melanitta americana Black Scoter (several)
Somateria spectabilis King Eider (1)
Branta canadensis Canada Goose (many)
Oxyura jamaicensis Ruddy Duck (a few)
Canada Goose at Pea Island. This trip offered plenty of looks at “real” (i.e., migratory) Canada Geese (as opposed to introduced/behaviorally-altered resident populations).
Meleagris gallopavo Wild Turkey (1 DOR) *
Podilymbus podiceps Pied-billed Grebe (many)
Morus bassanus Northern Gannet (many)
Phalacrocorax auritus Double-crested Cormorant (many)
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos American White Pelican (several)
Pelecanus occidentalis Brown Pelican (many)
Ardea alba Great Egret (at least 1)
Ardea herodias Great Blue Heron (many)
Great Blue Heron at Alligator River NWR at sunset
Botaurus lentiginosus American Bittern (1)
Egretta caerulea Little Blue Heron (at least 1)
Egretta thula Snowy Egret (a few)
Egretta tricolor Tricolored Heron (at least 1 or 2)
Eudocimus albus White Ibis (many)
Cathartes aura Turkey Vulture (many)
White Ibis at Pea Island NWR
Coragyps atratus Black Vulture (several)
Buteo jamaicensis Red-tailed Hawk (many)
Buteo lineatus Red-shouldered Hawk (at least 1)
Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier (many)
Haliaeetus leucocephalus Bald Eagle (many)
Falco columbarius Merlin (1)
Falco sparverius American Kestrel (many)
Fulica americana American Coot (many)
American Kestrel at Alligator River NWR
American Coots at Pea Island NWR
Charadrius vociferus Killdeer (many)
Pluvialis squatarola Black-bellied Plover (several)
Calidris alba Sanderling (many)
Black-bellied Plover at Pea Island
Sanderling on Coquina Beach
Calidris alpina Dunlin (several)
Gallinago delicata Wilson’s Snipe (1)
Tringa flavipes Lesser Yellowlegs (a few)
Tringa semipalmata Willet (many)
Lesser Yellowlegs at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
Willet on Coquina Beach
Chroicocephalus philadelphia Bonaparte’s Gull (several)
Larus argentatus Herring Gull (many)
Larus delawarensis Ring-billed Gull (many)
Larus marinus Great Black-backed Gull (many)
Leucophaeus atricilla Laughing Gull (many)
Ring-billed Gull at Nags Head
Laughing Gull on the beach at Nags Head.
Sterna forsteri Forster’s Tern (many)
Columba livia Rock Pigeon (many)
Zenaida macroura Mourning Dove (many)
Bubo virginianus Great Horned Owl (1 heard)
Strix varia Barred Owl (1)
Megaceryle alcyon Belted Kingfisher (at least 3 or 4)
Colaptes auratus Northern Flicker (several)
Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Northern Flicker at Alligator River NWR.
Dryocopus pileatus Pileated Woodpecker (at least 2 or 3)
Melanerpes carolinus Red-bellied Woodpecker (several)
Picoides pubescens Downy Woodpecker (at least 2)
Sayornis phoebe Eastern Phoebe (several)
Vireo solitarius Blue-headed Vireo (1)
Eastern Phoebe at Alligator River NWR.
Corvus brachyrhynchos American Crow (many)
Cyanocitta cristata Blue Jay (several)
Tachycineta bicolor Tree Swallow (many)
Baeolophus bicolor Tufted Titmouse (several)
Poecile carolinensis Carolina Chickadee (several)
Cistothorus palustris Marsh Wren (at least 1 or 2)
Thryothorus ludovicianus Carolina Wren (many)
Regulus calendula Ruby-crowned Kinglet (many)
Regulus satrapa Golden-crowned Kinglet (several)
Catharus guttatus Hermit Thrush (at least 1)
Sialia sialis Eastern Bluebird (several)
Turdus migratorius American Robin (many)
Dumetella carolinensis Gray Catbird (a few)
Northern Mockingbird in the dunes at Coquina Beach
Mimus polyglottos Northern Mockingbird (many)
Toxostoma rufum Brown Thrasher (1)
Anthus rubescens American Pipit (a few)
Setophaga coronata Yellow-rumped Warbler (many)
Vermivora celata Orange-crowned Warbler (1)
Junco hyemalis Dark-eyed Junco (a few)
Melospiza georgiana Swamp Sparrow (a few)
Melospiza melodia Song Sparrow (several)
Passerculus sandwichensis Savannah Sparrow (several)
Zonotrichia albicollis White-throated Sparrow (at least 1 or 2)
Cardinalis cardinalis Northern Cardinal (a few)
Passerina cyanea Indigo Bunting (1)
Female Indigo Bunting at Pocosin Lakes Visitor Center.Female Indigo Bunting at Pocosin Lakes Visitor Center.
Boat-tailed Grackle at Nags Head
Agelaius phoeniceus Red-winged Blackbird (many)
Quiscalus major Boat-tailed Grackle (many)
Sturnella magna Eastern Meadowlark (many)
Carpodacus mexicanus House Finch (a few)
Passer domesticus House Sparrow (at least 2)
Mammals
Bears! How fortunate that there are still places left for American Black Bears in our world, and the Albemarle Peninsula is one of the best. They were a focus of our trip, and the group was afforded a few good looks.
A Red Wolf at Alligator River NWR was a lucky sighting!
Didelphis virginiana Virginia Opossum (many DOR) *
Ursus americanus American Black Bear (ca. 4)
Eastern Gray Squirrel at Pocosin Lakes Visitor Center in Columbia.
Procyon lotor Common Raccoon (at least 1 DOR) *
Canis rufus Red Wolf (1)
Sciurus carolinensis Eastern Gray Squirrel (a few)
Odocoileus virginianus White-tailed Deer (at least 3 alive, many DOR)
Tursiops truncatus Atlantic Bottle-nosed Dolphin (several)
Fishes: at least 1
Amphibians: 2
Reptiles: at least 5
Birds: at least 95
Mammals: at least 7
The “adventure” part of “Alligator River Adventure.”
Birders are often more easily identified than birds.
[Not all species were seen by everyone in the group, and some group members may have seen species not listed above. Some additional species were potentially glimpsed or heard but not positively identified (e.g., Spotted Turtle, Blackpoll Warbler, et al. may have been glimpsed; glimpsed road-kills may have included Gray Fox, Eastern Cottontail, et al.).]
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