Our second day there was really amazing. Other than my fail at photography. Yes, on a family vacation I have other things to do than sit for 40 minutes to get a single shot of a bird, but I really was off my game. I reviewed my camera setting on pictures that I thought I had got and they were fine, yet most are unusable.
And by not being there with either permission or permits to go off-trali, I couldn't get very close to the good birds, so what I do have are shots of birds far away and just not enough time or lens length to capture what I could see would be good shots.
That said, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is well worth a visit! If you are a birder, with binoculars and/or a scope, you will see quite a lot of good birds. The middle of summer is not best, but what a nice place to bird. If you are a photographer, bring a BIG lens, as there are not many trails and they don't go real close to the best spots for the birds.
So, how about an American Avocet. This bird is not just quite pretty, but has the interesting bit that its bill turns upward at the end instead of straight or downward like most birds. This is reflected in its Latin name, Recurvirostra americana (roughly translated from Latin as the "bent backwards beak").
And by not being there with either permission or permits to go off-trali, I couldn't get very close to the good birds, so what I do have are shots of birds far away and just not enough time or lens length to capture what I could see would be good shots.
That said, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is well worth a visit! If you are a birder, with binoculars and/or a scope, you will see quite a lot of good birds. The middle of summer is not best, but what a nice place to bird. If you are a photographer, bring a BIG lens, as there are not many trails and they don't go real close to the best spots for the birds.
So, how about an American Avocet. This bird is not just quite pretty, but has the interesting bit that its bill turns upward at the end instead of straight or downward like most birds. This is reflected in its Latin name, Recurvirostra americana (roughly translated from Latin as the "bent backwards beak").
American avocet at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
And there were some red-wing blackbirds around
red-wing blackbird calling
Pea Island coast. Looking out into the Atlantic Ocean
But wait, do you want to swim here? Something like six shark attacks in the last six weeks...
And here is one scary fin just outside of the surf
And it seems there are least four!!! But these are porpoises, not sharks, so relax
Hitting the water in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Sharks staying away and all limbs were accounted for. This was not assured given the spate of shark attacks in NC lately
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