It is always a treat to visit Mattamuskeet in the winter where concentrations of Canada and Snow Geese, Tundra Swan and ducks of many species are a delight to both birders and photographers. Did you know that Mattamuskeet means “dry dust,” recalling the days when the Mattamuskeet tribe of the Algonquin Indians hunted the forest that once grew where Mattamuskeet Lake now lies. Some say controlled fires burning deep into the peat soil formed the lake; others propose that Mattamuskeet and other nearby smaller lakes were scoured out by a shower of meteors that struck the Carolina coastal plain.
Our group of 32 were prepared for the 26-degree temperatures that greeted us before sunrise. By the time we boarded the Aurora ferry at 7:45 a.m., the sun was warming our backs and the mercury was climbing. On the ferry we were successful in seeing a group of six Surf Scoters, our target bird, as well as Bufflehead and lots of Cormorants and Ring-billed Gulls. It was great to see so many birders out of their cars and birding the ferry.
Hardees in Belhaven was a popular stop for those delicious biscuits, hot coffee and restroom. We filled the tables and enjoyed visiting and refueling for the birding to come. Our first stop at Mattamuskeet was the Cypress impoundment on the left with the bridge and gate. We heard but did not see Wood Ducks and Al Gamache located Blue-winged Teal, another target bird.
The causeway was disappointing in Tundra Swan numbers but Bald Eagles were abundant.
Many thanks to Charlie Thomas, Ken Lady, Al Gamache, Bob Murphy and Dick Barmore for bringing their scopes and showing our new birders the birds up close. Al was “cackling” over his discovery of the Cackling Goose, a western bird and rare for the Carolinas. It is small-bodied and looks very much like the Canada with a much smaller, stubbier bill. We saw it mixed in with the Canadas at the Charles Kuralt Trail Overlook on the causeway.
On Wildlife Drive to the headquarters, we observed numbers of Coot, Ruddy, Shoveler, Wigeon, Pintail, Gadwall, Black, Mallard, and Lesser Scaup. We saw several Nutria that were eating some kind of root. Joel got a photo which is attached.
We overflowed the picnic tables and split up between shade and sun. The “shared treats” were delicious and we had to sample all four tables. After lunch we drove down Canal Drive behind the headquarters and walked the trail and boardwalk, where we had Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Pine Warbler and a “suspicious Orange-crowned Warbler.” We didn’t get a look at the face but it “could have been,” says Al. The trail is just delightful and a “do not miss” target for next time.
There was only one dike we could walk at Lake Landing but it did produce Tundra Swans in flight and hundreds of Snow Geese, which flew up briefly and hunkered back down. It was dusk when we boarded the 5:30 Bayview ferry for the trip back over the Pamlico River. PCS Phosphate looked like a city all lit up, encapsulated with steam from the boilers.
Thanks to the drivers, Bill Schmidt with Delma Heine, Bobbie Marshall, Julia Tingle; Bob Miller with Jean Croughwell, Anne and Linda Parker; Charlie Thomas with Joel Arrington, John Alison and Liz Lathrop; Dick Baker with Judy Baker, Carole Jamerson and Gerda Lampe; Bob Murphy with Corin Murphy, Gail Young, Julie Anderson, Flo Heinhold and Al Gamache; Ken Lady with Sue Babcock, Keith and Carol Martin; Jim and Holly Powell; Evie Henderson and Frederick Cornue; Dick Barmore and Elizabeth White. Species recorded, 56.
- Liz Lathrop
