10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

A couple weekends ago I headed out to the Carolina Bird Club’s winter meeting in Nags Head, North Carolina, on the cusp of the Outer Banks. I was to go inland to Pocosin Lakes NWR, home of massive flocks of Tundra Swans and Snow Geese. Birding North Carolina Outer Banks' The second was better.

North Carolina 170

North Carolina Owls Geese Alligators 170

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2016

For the past several weeks a pair of Trumpeter Swans have made themselves at home along a road through Mattamuskeet NWR in eastern North Carolina. I know this for a fact, because this is precisely what I did last week when I spent a day in the eastern part of North Carolina chasing rarities.

North Carolina 111

North Carolina Wounded Hunting Geese 111

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2015

Way back last year, a whole two weeks ago, a sudden influx of Ross’s Geese in central North Carolina led to an unofficial competition between myself and some birders in the Raleigh-Durham Area. Enter my newest creation, the Piedmont eBird Challenge!

Game 181

Game Raleigh North Carolina Gorillas 181

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

in the nearly two years since I’ve been here I’ve been steadily climbing towards 200, a fair goal for a county in the center of North Carolina. In the darkening evening and rain, I found the goose among a flock of golf course Canada Geese. I move to Greensboro, NC, in the summer of 2013 with a county list of 60.

2016 141

2016 North Carolina 2015 Raleigh 141

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

Lifers includes Gambel’s Quail and Neotropic Cormorant, but the real highlights were the morning fly-out of Sandhill Cranes and the evening fly-in of Snow Geese. I’ve also been on pelagic birding trips on both coasts, out of Half Moon Bay and Monterey, California; Newport, Oregon; and Hatteras, North Carolina.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

Plus other Diving Ducks and Dabbling Ducks, as well as Swans, Geese, Cormorants and Anhingas, Loons, a couple of Grebes, Alcids (this is where my heart starts to go pit-a-pat), Tubenoses (love that term), one species of Frigatebird, a Gannet and two Boobies, Pelicans, Skuas and Jaegers (more pit-a-patting), Gulls, Black Skimmer, and Terns.

Ducks 231

Ducks Groups Species North America 231

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2021

By their very name, most would assume you can’t spot Snow Geese in Florida. The Sunshine State isn’t known for its massive snow drifts, nor for the massive flocks of Snow Geese that grace states like Texas and New Mexico every winter. Two Blue Morph Snow Geese feed at the edge of the marsh. I love Snow Geese.

Geese 167

Geese Florida Tampa New Mexico 167