Common Loons at Wrightsville Beach

Hi Birders,
just upload a short video of a pair of common loons foraging a Wrightsville beach's Bank Channel.  The loon's migrate from the New England area to the southeastern North Carolina.  I observed 15 pairs of Common Loon birding trip last week behind Masonboro Island.  Interestingly, the loons will change their diets from freshwater fish in summer to saline fish species in winter. 

Enjoy

Channeled Whelk ,A North Carolina Favorite

Dear Birders,

Found this Channeled Whelk after hurricane Irene on Topsail Island, after a day of birding the southend.

This whelk is a voracious predator endemic to North Carolina,Florida. Found in the intertidal zone, and known to be nocturnal predator of clams. Notice the beautiful whorls and the smooth texture of the shell. 

Wrightsville Beach Jellies

Here you are seeing the moon jelly fish and the cabbage jelly.  Very different species occupying the same water column.  The moon jelly has stinging tentacles while the Cabbage is relatively harmless.  The tide is going out  and the jellies got stranded on the soundside of Wrightsville Beach.

Cypress Dome

In downtown Wilmington lies a Cypress Dome ecosystem named Grennfield Lake. Adjacent Cypress forests have fallen to development and saltwater intrusion.  The lake has a 80 acre preserve of Bald and Mixed pond Cypress trees.  Here I viewed a Blue Heron sub adult sun bathing on a limb of the cypress. Enjoy
  Keep Birding

Downy Woodpecker at Feeder

Hi Birders,

today a Downy Woodpecker showed up at my feeder. Amazingly, I was able to get close enough to use my iphone to capture this image attached.  The photo truly captures the Downy's tiny bill,evolved to glean insects from the bark. 

Shorebird Profile: Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)

Hey Birders!  This may be a longer post, but I wanted to share some of Capt. Joe's research writing about the Black Skimmer.  Below is a paper Joe wrote last week for his class at UNCW.

Enjoy and see you on the water!
Newman

Joseph Abbate

Barrier Island Ecology

Shorebird Profile

Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)

Shorebirds contain 18 families and 300 species worldwide, and 7 families occur in North Carolina. Shorebirds main order is charadriiformes.  Charadriiformes species are grouped into four main families due to structural characteristics like skull formation, vertebral column, and syrinx( vocal chords). The four distinct suborders include: Charadrii (plovers, oystercatchers), Scolopaci (sandpipers, willets, curlew), Alcidi (puffins ,auks) and Lari (gulls, terns, skimmers, auks). Shorebirds species diversity, coastal adaptations, and colonial breeding grounds near human inhabitance make them a valuable species for conservation research.  This manuscript will explore the life history of one species of shorebird, the Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger ), current conservation status, and highlight a North Carolina conservation program .

Three species of skimmer occur world wide, the African (Rynchops flavirostris) the Indian (Rynchops albicollis), and the Black (Rynchops niger). The Black Skimmer has three subspecies occurring in North and South America. R. n. niger breeds on the Atlantic coast of North America, and from Southern California to Ecuador. R. n. cinerescens is larger, breeds in Northern Venezuela to the Amazon Basin. R. n. intercedens occurs on the rest of the Atlantic coast of South America south to central Argentina. The two southern races, R. n.cinerescens, and R.intercedens nest primarily on inland river bars, and inhabit mostly freshwater environments, while R.niger is restricted to coastal barrier islands, and salt marsh estuaries.

Skimmers of the Atlantic coast stage for migration on sand bars and beaches until till mid –December, and winter on the gulf coast of Florida. Southern skimmer populations migrate to Caribbean, and coastal beaches of Central and South America in winter and return to breeding grounds in late March.

Atlantic skimmers arrive on breeding grounds during late April early May. Skimmers nest in a colonial breeding fashion, with multiple scrape nests per pair located within less than a meter from one another.  The nest site selection predominately occurs on the beach face adjacent to the primary dune, and at the foot of dune slacks. The skimmers usually intermingle breeding grounds with several tern sp. seemingly for added early defense mechanisms against predation. Furthermore, Gill (1994) explains that a benefit of breeding in a colony is greater predator detection, and removal.

 Individual male skimmer excavates a “Scrape Depression” in the sand where the female will lay a 4-5 egg clutch. The eggs of the skimmer are cryptically colored to blend in with the sand/shell grains on the beach aiding in predator avoidance. In addition, skimmers, unlike most shorebirds, have a unique ability to renest or double brood if encountered with sudden nest destruction. For example, if high tide washes out the nest, the skimmers will automatically begin copulation and renest. Nest sight selection depends on the availability of high quality beach sand, sparse vegetation, and lack of human presence. Studies have proven that colonies less subject to human fiction yield higher fledging ratio per season ( Gochfeld,1978). Moreover, (Gochfeld,1977), indicates that pre-laying skimmers may abandon a colony that is frequently disturbed.  Incubation is shared by both adults and lasts for approximately 22 days.  Black Skimmer has precocial chick development, where within hours after hatching, the fledgling has the ability to move and receive food from parent.

Black Skimmers usually are recorded foraging at dawn/dusk at low tide (Erwin, 1977). Nocturnal foraging is common with this species, and places them apart from most shorebird species. (Rojas et al. 1997) ascertained that the skimmer had a 5:1 rod /cone ratio when compared to Ibis with a 3:1 rod/cone ratio. The study suggests that skimmer having almost double the rod concentration in the retina when compared to other birds is better equipped for foraging in low light regimes, as well as complete darkness. In addition, the study pointed out the reason for the small pupil when compared to other shorebirds is because of the tactile feeding mechanism of the R.niger compressed mandible. Furthermore, the author strongly inferring that Skimmer’s detect prey by beak feel and not by sight hence the smaller size pupil. Moreover, the skimmer is the only bird to close its pupil into the form of a vertical slit under changes in light. This compression of the pupil during low and high light is similar to the change in a feline pupil under changing light conditions. Research has also suggested that the constriction of the pupil serves to both enhance light absorption for nocturnal foraging and protects the pupil during bright light exposure (Rojas et al.1997). Skimmers obtain prey by immersing the lower bladelike mandible in the water while cruising along mud flats, marsh edges, and tidal creeks.  The Skimmers beak closure depends on a tactile stimulus. Similar to the trigger hairs on a Venus Fly Trap, the skimmers beak shuts upon touching anything encountered while skimming for prey.  Erwin (1974) found during observations that skimmers capture prey items every 5 minutes during foraging missions. The common prey items captured by skimmers consist of planktonic fish species (minnows, killifish and herring) in the upper water column.

Skimmer populations in the early 1800’s were impacted largely by the “egging” industry. Commercial egg production operations raided skimmer nesting colonies harvesting eggs by the bushel. In addition, the gregarious nature of the skimmer during breeding made them a prime target for market hunting of the in the early 1900’s.

Today, the Black skimmer’s specialized beak and eye structure, unorthodox foraging style, and reproductive modes make them a species of concern within its entire range. The states of New Jersey, as well as the state of Florida, have classified the Black Skimmer as endangered. North Carolina classifies them as species of concern, and has developed a new conservation program to manage all breeding areas throughout the NC coast

 North Carolina Wildlife Resources and Audubon Society understanding the current national decline in the Black Skimmer populations created a conservation program named the Important Bird Areas of North Carolina (IBA’s).  IBA’s main objective is to protect and preserve habitat where high species diversity and richness is present. The program begins with the employment of seasonal Warden/Biologist assigned to each coastal IBA area. The biologist facilitates both management objects and guided environmental outreach daily. The warden’s shorebird management duties consist of nest and fledging monitoring, roping off nesting areas, predator trapping and managing people and dogs near the perimeter of the skimmer colony. Environmental education is conducted in schools and at the breeding colony. The goal of the education is to inform the public about shorebirds and suggest strategies on how people can reduce their impact on the breeding colony at the beach. Locally, in New Hanover County, two Black Skimmer IBA’s exist. One on the south end of Wrightsville Beach, and the other on the south end of Hutaff Island, each located adjacent to inlet waterways.  Both areas are about 3 acres in size and comprise all of the breeding Skimmers in the Cape Fear Region.

The Black Skimmer story in Carolina is a positive one, however, globally, the viability of this population for the future is in question.

References

Erwin, R.M. 1977. Black skimmer breeding ecology and behavior. Auk 94:709-717.
Gill.F.B,1995. Ornithology.W.H. Freeman and Company.
pp.384-385

Gochfeld,M. 1978. Colony and Nest Site Selection by Black Skimmers. Proceedings of the Colonial Water bird Group
Vol. 1, (1978), pp. 78-90

Luz Marina Rojas, Raymond McNeil, Thérése Cabana and Pierre Lachapelle. 1997. Diurnal and Nocturnal Visual Function in Two Tactile Foraging Water birds: The American White Ibis and the Black Skimmer. The Condor 99:191-200

Richard l. Zusi and David Bridge, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20560,received Dec 8 1990,accepted 21July 1981

http://myfwc.com/media/1351505/Black%20Skimmer%20Final%20BSR.pdf

Greenfield Lake Birding

NC Birders,
Today birded Greenfield Lake Downtown.  Highlights include Osprey,Little Blue Heron, and Northern Shoveler.  The majority of waterfowl species havn't arrived yet. However the Cypress Trees are in full fall color.

Happy Birding,

Joe

Black Skimmers of NC

NC Birders,
Today marked the first sighting of Common Loon, Northern Harrier, and the full colony of Black Skimmers inshore on Wrightsville Beach,NC. 2011 Breeding Black Skimmer summer colony consisted of approximate  about a 150 individuals,75 nests.  The picture posted will document a staging colony of 300 plus individuals.  This is an amazing assemblage of Black Skimmer abundance in the southeastern North Carolina.

CFN

First Birding Trip in Fall

Hello NC Birders,

Captain Joe will be offering a birding trip of Masonboro Island and Bradley Creek tomorrow leaving from Blockcade Runner at 11am.

Dont miss out on this two hour boat cruise of Wrightsville Beach and Beyond.

Weather looks great,see ya on the Water

Bald Eagle in the Intracoastal Water way

Today on our birding trip at 3:30pm,spotted a Bald Eagle perched hi on a pine tree near the dreadspoil island adjacent to Bradley Creek

The Fall birding is looking up.

Capt. Joe

Wrightsville Beach Scenic Tours: Wrightsville Beach Birding

Wrightsville Beach Scenic Tours: Wrightsville Beach Birding:

Just got this note from Captain Joe:

This morning birding tour we saw:

Forester tern
Caspian tern
sandwich tern
royal turn
Tri-colored heron
Juvenile little blue heron
Great egret
Black skimmer
Sanderling
Ruddy Turnstone
Snowy egret
Laughing gull
Herring gull
Black backed gull
Willet,
Osprey
Double crested cormorant
Kingfisher
Pelican
Fish crow
Great blue heron
Canada goose
Killdeer
Semi- palmated plover
Red winged blackbird
Boat tailed
American oyster catcher

I'll try to get more details. I want to know: Where did they go? How long did they stay out?

Holy cow! That's a ton of bird species!

Find out more about Fall Birding Tours in North Carolina's Cape Fear Coast here

Shorebirds Return to Wrightsville Beach

Greeting Birders,

The warm weather and currents have welcomed the least tern, black skimmer, royal and common terns back to their nesting home in Southeastern North Carolina. Southend of wrightsville is a busy place for public beach traffic and birds nesting,so this years management team has their work cut out. 

keep birding,
Capt Joe

2011 Southeast Birding Travels

My name is Joseph Abbate. I'm an avid birder residing in Wilmington NC.

My goals for this blog is to highlight bird diversity and conservation concerns in Southeastern North America.

In addition, the blog will provide info and content on birds of North America, and provide you with info on guided birding experiences in the southeastern US.  Furthermore, the birding blog main daily updates will revolve around 2 main habitats, Wrightsville Beach North Carolina, and Sanibel Island,Florida.  

Since I'm on the water most days, I plan to update this blog daily with species diversity and locations. I run daily birds guide services around Masonboro Island,NC, where I run tours with Wrightsville Beach Scenic Tours. 

Additional, I go on several major birding travels a year through out all states in the Southeast..
Currently, I'm siting in Cape Coral, just a couple of miles from Sanibel Island. The next update will be about this Sanibel travel.