North Carolina

After my planned April trip to Texas fell through I signed up for a fall migration trip to North Carolina. Friday September 20th was a long travel day with flight delays and I let home in Flagstaff at 4:40am (MST) and arrived at the hotel in Monroe, NV at 11:10pm (EDT).

In Saturday September 21st bid guide Steve and I were up a little after 5:00 to head out and meet Linda and Elaine for the four person tour. The morning was spent at the Sandhills area, first on some game lands and then at Weymouth Woods. We tried so hard for Bachman's Sparrow but dipped on this bid and the expected Northern Bobwhite but I got four lifers - Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Eastern Wood-Pewee and Pine Warbler -  as well as a number of other birds that I had not seen in a while - Brown Thrasher, Red-headed Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse.

After lunch we drove to Howell Woods, a much more swampy area with lots of flies and mosquitoes where I scored another lifer - Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - and picked up some other easy birds that I had not seen in many years - Carolina Chickadee and Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Brown-headed Nuthatch