Field Trip Report: OBX 2024

Photo: Group at Alligator River by Shirley Devan

Thumbnail Photo: Pine Warbler by Seth Honig

Report By: Meredith Bell, VSO Field Trips Co-chair

Mother Nature provided us with beautiful weather and abundant birds for the VSO field trip to the Outer Banks February 2-4, 2024. We had sunny skies every day, which is rare for this always-popular trip. Our 102 enthusiastic participants tallied an astonishing 154 species!

Even before the weekend, there was a lot of positive energy on the overview call Monday night with an outstanding presentation by one of the trip leaders, Jerry Via. He gave us excellent tips for identifying species we might encounter.

Many thanks to ALL the trip leaders, who worked had to make sure everyone saw as many species as possible: Bill Akers, Jerry Via, Lee Adams, Pete Peterman, Lee Bell, and Meredith Bell.

We’ve already booked the Comfort Inn South Nags Head for the 2025 trip, so mark your calendar now for January 31-February 2 and plan to join us.

It’s impossible to capture the overall excitement participants expressed during our time together as a result of the highlights that each location held. Some examples…

-          Lake Mattamuskeet: Anhinga, American Woodcock, Black & White Warbler, Sedge Wren, and Eastern Screech Owl

-          Jennette’s Pier: Common Eider (2), Surf Scoter (2), and Harlequin Duck (4) - all right below the pier

-          South of Pea Island Visitor’s Center: a literal island of 10,000+ Redhead! Also, Black-necked Stilt, Marbled Godwit, and American White Pelican

-          South of the bridge: flock of 25-30 Snow Buntings near the Old Coastguard Station

-          Bodie Lighthouse: Prairie and Orange-crowned Warbler, Virginia and Clapper Rail, Marsh and Winter Wren

-          Alligator River NWR at the intersection of Longcurve Rd and Borrow Pit Rd: “Triple Crown” - several each of Orange-crowned Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Golden-crowned Kinglet feeding together in a sunny area

-          Alligator River NWR: Ash-throated Flycatcher in multiple locations, Wilson’s Snipe, White-eyed Vireo and Blue-headed Vireo. A few lucky birders also saw one or more Red Wolves!

Red Wolf by Cindy Andrews

Complete list of 154 species from the Outer Banks weekend follows.

Snow Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
American Black Duck
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal

Green-winged Teal by Cindy Taylor

Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt by Cindy Taylor

American Avocet
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Piping Plover
Marbled Godwit
Sanderling
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Wilson's Snipe
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs by Cindy Taylor

Dovekie
Razorbill
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Forster’s Tern
Red-throated Loon

Red-throated Loon by Jan Kool

Common Loon
Northern Gannet
Anhinga

Anhinga by Seth Honig

Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican by Doug Campbell

American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis

White Ibis by Jan Kool

Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Screech Owl
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Ash-throated Flycatcher

Ash-throated Flycatcher by Jan Kool

Eastern Phoebe
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Tree Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
House Sparrow
American Pipit
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting by Cindy Haddon Andrews

Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Meadowlark
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Black-and-white Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Northern Cardinal