Southern New England Outdoor and Nature Site: Birding the Outer Banks

Lifer- Carolina Chickadee

In terms of photos, I could break this up into a bunch of posts but in order to actually give a lot of info, it makes more sense to keep it all in one place. There are three major birding areas on the Outer Banks. From the southernmost at Cape Hatteras to the northern Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge it is close to two hour drive depending on traffic. We will start our tour in the south and work our way north.

Hatteras Area

The southern part of the Outer Banks is the town of Hatteras. There are other small tourist towns on the coast wherever the National Seashore isn't protected. In the town of Buxton is the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The area around the lighthouse is good birding.

There is a small pond just outside the campground road that is great for birds. I got my lifer Gull Billed Tern there one day, and my lifer Cinnamon Teal there the next. After I left Carlos, Scott, and Wayne had two Black Necked Stilts. The point is you should check it multiple times.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

If you park at the small pond there is a sand trail right behind you. It is a tough walk over open sand. However, to your right will be a large salt pond that is likely to have all kids of gulls. Though when I was there all he had was Least Terns. At the end of the trail you come out to the ocean. You have very good shot at seeing a jaeger or shearwater from land at this spot. While I was there multiple Royal Terns were loafing with a lone Brown Pelican to my left in a protected area.

Our friend Phil found a White Winged Dove in the campground. You can drive into the campground without hassle from guards since it is a first come first serve campground. It is very large and has a manicured lawn. All of the campground is bordered by trees along the side. Though we didn't find the dove, we did see multiple Boat Tailed Grackles and a White Ibis.

Further back north along the lighthouse road is Buxton Woods. Admittedly, while I was there in the heat of the day I didn't see much. But it has obvious potential. I went back at dark and heard Chuck Wills Widow the two nights I tried for it.

Pea Island NWR

About an hour north of Hatteras (or if you were coming south, just after you cross Oregon Inlet) you come to Pea Island. Most of the refuge is protected so you probably can't spend a full day there. Also, there isn't any shade, so you probably wouldn't want to. The first area to bird is at the Visitor Center. If you park there and walk by the tiny pond behind the restroom you have trail. The pond has turtles that have obviously been habituated to getting fed. You walk under a small canopy of overhanging vines. In front of you, you will see an observation tower a few hundred yards away.

Walking down this path you have a deeper area to your left and saltmarsh to your right. There are bushes for passerines. The saltmarsh has wading as well as shorebirds. I saw a young eagle being attacked by grackles. There will be fishing Least Terns.

The Observation Tower is supposedly the best place in NC to see migrating birds in the fall. After a cold front it is possible to record one hundred species from the tower. From the tower you can turn north and walk along the back side of North Pond. I turned around and went back to my car to reach that trail from the other end.

A mile or two north of the Visitor Center is a small parking area for a few cars. From the road driving north you can see a wooden boardwalk, that is when you know you are close. You can't see the boardwalk from the parking area because of the sand dunes. Like the first birding area, there is only one trail and it takes you into the marsh. If you follow it long enough you will eventually reach the observation tower.

This area was my favorite part of Pea Island. From this trail I saw Clapper Rail, Tricolored Heron, Skimmers, Black Crowned Night Heron, Pelican, Boat Tailed Grackle and many other species. There were shorebirds in the pond and flats. My main goal was Black Necked Stilt which I know are there but I never found. I turned around at about a mile and a half.

Prothornotary Warbler

Alligator River NWR

Of the three places I birded Alligator dwarfs the other two combined. From Oregon Inlet it is about a 30 minute drive.

As you have seen from other posts it is crawling with bears. There are also alligators. Special to the refuge is a small population of very endangered Red Wolves. However, the managers of the refuge have really let that species down and their already miniscule numbers are plummeting.

First some logistics. If you buy the "Birds of North Carolina" book it is outdated. The public access at the southern end of the refuge is restricted and not very good. Roads that were open to the public are now part of the Air Force bombing range. Bottom line, stay at the north end.

You can get a map from multiple spots at the beginning of roads. Be careful and stay on the gravel roads after a rain. Some of the roads are clay dirt and turn to mud after a rain making them impassable. None of the roads are paved.

If you go down Milltail Creek Rd you go through farm fields that have Bobwhite, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, and Meadowlarks. You will pass a nice Purple Martin colony near the road. Once you go past the fields you will have a swamp. Hearing Prothornotary Warblers is easy . They are in every wet area and the dominant species. In the canal along the side of the road I saw baby alligators.

Yellow Billed Cuckoo

A little further west down Rt 64 you come to Buffalo City Rd. This is where I had all pictures of one bear. I saw another big male on this road. Same as Milltail Creek the road will be loaded with Prothornotary. I also saw my first Carolina Chickadees and Brown Headed Nuthatch, and a Red Headed Woodpecker on this road.

If you follow this road to the end you come to a boat ramp heavily used by commercial kayak rental companies. There are also a couple of trails. The first short one behind the outhouse goes to a pond. Scan the pond for gators. I saw an adult swimming around.

The much longer trail that goes over the bridge is mostly a boardwalk through the swamp. Again, Prothornotary are everywhere. I also saw more Carolina Chickadees and Brown Headed Nutchatch. Along with my new lifers were Common Yellowthroats, Great Crested Flycatcher, Carolina Wren and a few other common species. The trail is a mile long and much of it is boardwalk. You should also hear Pileated Woodpeckers from it. If you hear what you think are Virginia Rails calling everywhere, that is the sound of Cricket Frogs. Oh ya, I had to walk around bear poop.

I drove down many of the dirt roads on the refuge map. My favorite was Sawyer Lake Rd. That is where I saw the majority of bears. Still, there were plenty of birds on that road too, but nothing new for the refuge. Another good road is River Road. It is a mile long and dead ends. I saw a bear, Blue Grosbeak pair, heard quails, and saw an Indigo Bunting from River Road.

To sum up-

The book I mentioned "Birds of North Carolina" was invaluable to my research. However, unless they updated it, the public access to the south end of Alligator River is wrong. I ended up seeing 68 species from land (not including my pelagic). I think this is a fairly low number considering the different habitats I was in. Still, I got four land lifers (Bobwhite, Gull Billed Tern, Carolina Chickadee, Brown Headed Nuthatch, Cinnamon Teal ) from the Outer Banks. I missed Swainson's Warbler but got the teal in trade. I really wanted to see a Black Necked Stilt which would have been a life photo but it was not to be. Instead I saw a Clapper Rail in the open and a couple Tricolored Herons.

I tried to give as much info as I could at exact locations and roads. I also tried to summarize and keep it brief. If anyone has any specific questions feel free to ask in the comments or on Facebook. I will answer them to the best of my ability.

A few more photos below