YES!! and oh nooooo...

I want to choke my own self!! Remember when I changed the Pixel Size in my camera to help with the data usage? Well I forgot to turn it back to full size today when I left home for my 3 day trip!! Therefore my first day photos stink!!

Had a one hr delay due to roadworker's picking up lane closure cones!! UGHHH

SO did the traffic!! The first leg of this trip was to head straight up I-77 north and then go west on I-40 and exit onto Sharon School Road, and onto the Lookout Shoals Lake and the Boat Access area just around Statesville, NC. 

I needed to walk around the edge of the lake on a very overused and abused trail 

littered with trash and illegal firepits...did see this one pretty flower..reminds me of a Cherokee Rose but Im not certain on that ID. 

Watched this man try out his home made paddle board---he fell into the water at least 6 times while I watched...but I couldn't get him actually falling Darn it! 

I scared a few black vultures....up into the trees, they were picking through all the trash...

SO I kept going to the spot I was looking for...here across this lake

I put this red arrow to show you the area of my interest! I know its FAR...MAN I wanted a kayak and a scope so much today...only a short paddle would have gotten me closer..to this graffiti covered rock!!

No...I didnt drive up here to see Natalie's name in white paint look to the right and just above the line of the graffiti, can you see it?  Okay enough of this mystery hunt n seek its a RARE BIRD!

 

The BROWN BOOBY! It may not be rare where you are but this one is over 200 miles inland on this ledge in this lake in central NC!  And check out the white "thing" just above this booby to the right? That appeared when I went back to the car to get my tripod, I hadn't figured out why my camera was doing such a bad job zooming in on the bird normally it can do much better.... thought of the photo size thing LATER..aww (my foot won't reach or I would kick my own **s)

Here is the first photo heavy crop...see no other white bird looking object..

but then look when I got back what is that???

I have been checking the reports every day on ebird hoping he would keep hanging till I could get there and he did!!  SO Happy cause the only hope I'd have of seeing this bird would be a Pelagic trip which I can NOT do I get sea sick just thinking of going on a ship in the Ocean...have found that out a few times.

The bird did not dive while I was watching it did move around and change positions a few times...

SCORE! I'm really happy I was able to find it and I got a good look at it via my binoculars!!  So I left the area on I-40 only this time traveling east and I drove as long as I could to make it almost to the coast of NC...

I didn't camp tonight as major rain has been moving in and out and all around

the sky this afternoon, right before the bottom fell out! 

So I'm moteling in Wilson, NC and I have FREE WiFi  I could have uploaded the largest photos EVER...grrrrrr 

Tomorrow I have about a 45 min drive to get me to Lake Mattamuskeet, Alligator NWR, and Pocosin Lakes NWR, I hope there is something there, winter is the time to visit  for waterfowl, but I went to FL on my winter trip so I hope to see some shorebirds maybe...either way its always fun to get out and see what I can find!! Oh, and I have already put the pixels back up in the camera! 

AND I'm watching my favorite TV show (I can no longer get on the antenna)

 Ancient Aliens!!
 LOVE Giorgo Tsoukalos (soo-ka-los) ...not quite as attractive as the Brown Booby tho!!!

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.