Hatteras Pelagic and Latta Plantation - October 16th - 17th, 2004

When my mother and sister asked if I would jojn them in Charlotte, NC to surprise my brother on his 40th birthday, I readily agreed, but not without wincing at the thought of an extra trip during a year when I would already be traveling so frequently. However, when I continued to miss Brown-headed Nuthatch, I realized that Charlotte would be a final opportunity for it. As the year continued to unfold, I also realized it would be my last good chance for American Woodcock and a good chance to get a better look at Field Sparrow, which I had only glimpsed quickly during my Nebraska fiasco. Then, while birding Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia, Giff Beaton informed me that they would still be running pelagic trips out of Hatteras in October and that I could pick up three new birds, Cory's and Audubon's Shearwater and Black-capped Petrel, with relative ease. Charlotte was starting to look like a great birding trip.

Complications arose, however, when I realized the pelagic trip with Brian Patteson on the Miss Hatteras, would be on a Saturday, the day after my brother's actual birthday and the day on which the actual party was scheduled. Mapquest gave me quite a shock when it informed me that the drive from Charlotte to Hatteras would take a whopping eight hours, not the four or five I had assumed. Then I learned that all of the car rental agencies had sold out in Charlotte as this was "race weekend" for the NASCAR circuit. The stars were not aligning for me. I finally found a car at the Concord Regional Airport not far from where my brother lived. Then, I negotiated with my mother, sister, and sister-in-law to leave after a family dinner on Friday. They were patient and supportive, if not completely understanding. Lastly, I convinced myself that I was doing the right thing, that my brother would understand, and that I could survive a nine hour pelagic after little sleep.

I departed Harvey's Restaurant northeast of Charlotte at 8 PM feeling very tired from the outset. A heavy pasta dinner hadn't exactly charged my batteries. Fortunately, I fell into a driving rhythm and as the miles and hours ticked away I seemed to become more alert. I pulled into rest area just north of Hatteras after 3 PM, slept for an hour, drove the final few miles to Oden Dock, slept for a few more hours, and was awakened by the sound of birders congregating in the dark. I stepped out of the car to a harsh wind and heard Brian announcing to the group that it was too windy to go out. We could go get breakfast across the street and meet back at the dock at 7:30 for a final decision. Unless the wind subsided considerably, we weren't going anywhere. I faced the prospect of having made the entire trip for nothing.

But luck was on our side and by 7:30, the winds had calmed just enough for us to "give it a shot." The first hour at sea was rough, but I was actually too exhausted to notice. I slept soundly until the first bird was called over the intercom. "Cory's Shearwater at one o'clock!" My mind still foggy, I raced to eleven o'clock, realized my mistake, raced back to the other side, and missed the bird. There'd be plenty of those I was told, and there were. I did not miss the second bird, nor the several hundred that came afterward.

Top and bottom and views of Cory's Shearwater.

Likewise, I missed the first Audubon's Shearwater and the first Black-capped Petrel, but not the many that followed. We also saw numerous Wilson's Storm-pretrels, although I had seen them already off the coast of Maine. The most notable bird of the trip was a Clay-clored Sparrow out in the open sea that landed on one of the rails for a few seconds before resuming its search for land. We also had a Peregrine Falcon well out to sea. I joked that I had brought some pine branches to try and attract a Brown-headed Nuthatch and recieved the obligatory polite chuckles. For a few seconds I thought I might get a bonus bird when someone called out a possible Tropicbird on the water but it was another Black-capped Petrel.

We returned to dock just after 4 PM, and I made my way to the home of an Army pal who lived in Greenville where I ate my first real meal since the night before. They tried desparately to get me to stay the night and though I was insane for heading back to Charlotte, but I knew I had to keep the adrenaline flowing or I would collapse. I left Greenville after midnight and made it back to Charlotte by 8 AM, with numerous quick naps along the way. After shuttling my sister and brother-in-law to the airport, I was ready for some sleep. My plan was to go to Pee Dee National Wildlife refuge in the morning to get the Nuthatch and hopefully Woodcock. I was surprised when my mother suggested we go to nearby Latta Plantation with my niece to get some fresh air.

No sooner did we step out of the car at the visitor center parking lot than I heard nuthatches in the adjacent pine trees. I got several good looks at the brown head (the most noticable difference between Brown-headed and Pygmy Nuthatches). The visitor center attendant said that the nuthatches often came down into the garden feeders, but a quick vigil produced only one, and I wasn't able to get any pictures of the bird.

I ended my North Carolina trip with a visit to Pee Dee NWR, which, unfortunately, did not produce any new birds. Still, four birds this late in the year was nothing to sneeze at. And, I managed not to strain family relations too badly. In fact, even my brother had taken in interest in my search for the "Brown-nutted Wood Chucker" as he called it.