An All Bird Post -- Mattamuskeet, Pocosin Lakes Wildlife Refuge and Ft. Fisher

Each  year I head up to northern North Carolina to see the Snow Geese and Tundra Swans which winter here each year.  This year I went with my oldest daughter and we were not disappointed.  The only bad thing was the light.  The birds seemed to know where to stand so we could not get good pictures!!  These were three Tundra Swans flying over early in the morning. 

We were lucky enough to see two Bald Eagles way off in the distance in the drive across Lake Mattamuskeet. This was the female on the nest (at least my guess is that it was the female).

This is the male Bald Eagle hanging out on the tree nearest the nest.  Lisa spotted both of these birds from the road and made us stop.  They were very far away!

This was a female Kingfisher standing guard some distance away.  They are hard to capture in pictures.

Two Wigeons also visited the Bald Eagle area.

We spotted this bird in very poor light and tried to guess what it was as all it looked like was a big blue bird in the light.  With some tweaking, found it to be a Kestrel which is one of my favorite hawks.

A Great Blue Heron and two Cormorants were resting along the canal.

Driving back to the hotel from Mattamuskeet along the scenic route (the western road from the top of the lake), we found a huge field filled with Snow Geese.  It was the first we had seen this year.  Last year, I think we only saw one or two.

A closeup of some of the Snow Geese.

First thing the  next morning, we went to Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge.  Lots and lots of Tundra Swans there and a roar from Pungo Lake with all the other birds although we could not get close to the lake for some reason.  We were treated to seeing one bear cross in front of us and five River Otters including a family of four.

Just one of the River Otters swimming away.

This is a picture my daughter too of the family of River Otters.  They were very distant and the light was just after dawn.  She said they looked like they were posing for a family Christmas card!!  I agree!  Best picture either of us took from the trip.  This is the first time we have seen the otters as well!

Back home, I spotted this immature Red-shouldered Hawk down at Ft. Fisher.

 Yesterday, I went down to the pond by the aquarium as someone had spotted some Goldeneye ducks there.  I have seen these before but only one other time.  This is a picture of several of the Hooded Mergansers which frequent the pond each winter.  The males are certainly beautiful.

 These are a couple of female Buffleheads, a frequent visitor to our shores and sometimes the pond.

Right in the center of this picture is the 1st year female Common Goldeneye.  I was surprised to see how different her coloring was and had to look her up on my bird book to make sure what she was!  

There were also a couple of Ruddy Ducks there, another common visitor in the winter.