Mattamuskeet NWR

I think it was writing about how I get sea sick that made me wake up Saturday morning at 06:30 with Vertigo!! OH boy everything was spinning...I dragged myself out of the motel, no way I wanted to pay for another day so up and out I went barely able to stand up straight..I headed East on 264 slowlyyyy from Wilson I didn't get far till I Had to stop.  I found Goose Creek State Park that sits on the northern shore of the Pamlico River ... the sign said sites 1 & 4 are open (small 13 site primitive campground)...so I parked in 4 got in my bed and fell instantly asleep.  Awoke 2 hrs later feeling much better! Got up stirred around had some lunch and then drove up to the Ranger station to pay...

Them..."Site 4 is reserved"

Me..."Sign says its open"

Them..."Oh it must have been reserved last night, and the Ranger didn't mark it as Reserved"

(the online reserve thing won't allow a reservation unless its 24 hrs in advance, so there is no way it could have been reserved the prior night it had to have been done 24 hrs ago) 

Me ..."so I will take #1 then"

Them..."sorry someone just came in and took #1"

Me..."So you got nothing"

Them..."we're sorry"

This reservation system, for me personally is a PIA--can't they keep at least half for walk ins? So its like this: if I screw up and don't reserve, Im screwed, If they screw up and don't mark it as reserved,  Im still screwed..either way Im screwed?

I was feeling too poorly to argue so I left.  Glad I took this photo of the campsite when I woke up... it was a pretty site...

site #4 Goose Creek CG

LOTS of red headed woodpeckers this one surprised me, not a great focus but look at the perfection of red, white, and black.  

red headed wood pecker

So getting sick sort of messed things up, I had to rearrange some plans, I ended up not going to Pungo Unit of Pocosin NWR, or Alligator NWR Must go back as Black bear and Red Wolf are in those refuges!!
Mattamuskeet NWR was not too far up the road, I thought I had a 45 min drive from the motel I was wrong!! I had mis-calculated and it took me an hour and 45 mins to get there from the motel, and counting the 2 hrs I stopped and slept, and all the other messing around I got there at 3 pm. Mattamuskeet is located on Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula in Hyde County, NC.  Mattamuskeet Lake is NC's largest lake and located in the NWR.  Hwy 94 divides the lake into 2 bodies of water.

On the Wildlife Drive, which is only a couple miles, it was windy! Some Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Glossy Ibis, White Ibis, Little Blue Heron, and Canada Goose,  all present  in the canals  and in the mud.

Great Egret

                                        snowy egret, little blue heron, glossy ibis, female grackle

Snowy Egret 

                                                                       Immature Whiter Ibis 

 Fosters Tern, Red Winged Blackbirds, Eastern Kingbird, lots of common and boat tailed Grackles, and Osprey, are a few more of the birds I saw and was able to catch a shot of...

                                                                             Foster's Tern  

                                                                      Red Winged Blackbird

                                                                               
                                                                               

                                                                               Osprey 

DEER 

The wind got worse so I headed north on 94 to find Pettigrew State Park and hope for a camp site! Found a note on the board, site #10 and 12 are open SO I took site 10...

                                                              more on that in next post!

PEACE

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

Green River and Lake Adger

A wrap up of the Blue Ridge Mountain Spring trip--

I had a morning hike after breakfast  Monday, I knew I had to be home in time to feed my dogs so didn't mess around much I had the van ready to roll by 11:30 check out is noon. Like the day before most of the birds were up high and I couldn't see them! Could hear plenty tho...one chickadee photo not much to show for all my phishing..

Black Capped chickadee

I took this weird pano of the van, I kinda like the way it looks, like it belongs in a cartoon strip or something...a guy asked what does the Dixxeland Express mean, after viewing my front plate, so I thought about it and then said "It means it's my way out of DixxeLand" he didnt like my answer, and replied Whaaaat? I explained its my escape mobile....he liked that better..

I planned to stop at a couple places on the way home in Polk County, the Green River Gamelands and the Adger Lake which is right next to the gameland.  The Green River flows through the game lands and the road follows the river to the lake...the upper part of the road is SOMETHING else tho!

This is Green River Cove Road in NC east of I-26.  Talk about a hair pin?? It was a series of hairpins for 3 miles!! I put my van in 1st gear so as to not wear out my new front brakes!!  I had to blow my horn on a couple of turns I could not see if anyone was on the way up and I did encounter 2 cars coming up.  

Hairpins

Finally when the road straightened out I found the river...

The clouds had come over and it chilled off....once again birds were scarce, so I kept driving...came across one Wild Turkey moving fast to clear the highway...

When I arrived at the lake there was a parking area and boat launch sign said Lake Adger Marina, but I saw no buildings of any kind, a few slips most empty some with pontoons.  

You can see how the day had turned grey and chilly and the wind was gusting again not as bad as earlier in the weekend but not comfortable either....I found this gazebo and had a spot of "tea"as they say under the willows.  Those concrete tables--one was off balance it threatened to fall over the other the benches were so short the table was up to my chin...very odd...

I scanned the far bank area of the lake and spotted a couple of Greater Yellowlegs, got one horrible fuzzy shot cause they were just too far away...then a Great  Blue Heron flew by 

On the way out near the reeds and cat tails I spotted a couple of Red Winged Blackbirds...

male 

female 

Some barn swallows were up on the power line preening, 

....I set my GPS, Wilma to Home and off we went...took only 3 hrs for her to announce "you have arrived to Home" 

Had a great trip, arrived to a wonderful greeting by my dogs who missed me as much as I did them!!

I am planning some day trips hope the weather will be more co-operative so I can spot more spring birds!

Time...Well Spent

PEACE

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

Pea Island

We drove on Monday, did the Beach on Tuesday, and the Hatteras Lighthouse and Pea Island Refuge on Wednesday.  I told you about the light house.  Pea Island has the potential to be a good birding area but we hit it at just the wrong time,  the hottest part of the day...AND  if you're going there leave your pet some where cause they don't allow dogs on the trails.  So we had to cut it very short as Casey was with us....I left ALL the windows open  in the van and put my battery fan on for Casey...he was fine when we returned but we did a very fast look around... so that translates to us not seeing much of nothing!! They do get Black Necked Stilts but we saw none in our fast walk around. 

Not many birds were out in the open a few Least terns, lots of Red Winged Blackbirds, and a few Egrets..

 fritillary and brown pelican 

This cute snapping turtle poked his head up to have a good look at us..

Eastern Towhee and Eastern Meadowlark were around...

The trail has this cool living arch over it  in several spots...

and there is quite an accumulation of sand dunes along the road

Thursday we broke camp and this was our last day of touring the Outer Banks we had a couple more stops in mind before heading to cooler climes for the duration of the weekend. 

more on next post...

PEACE

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

Oak Grove Visit!

A spot I always visit when I'm at sister's home is Oak Grove Lake...The dam broke about 18 months ago so the bird-life has not returned to full occupancy but some have returned...its always a great spot to see babies in various stages of infancy!

Other Birds who love the water are around....like this Red Winged Blackbird.

and the belted kingfisher

 this fishing line scares me.... hope he never gets entangled in it...

Eastern Bluebirds are always around catching flies....

and ah......Got Worms? This Grackle does,,,,he has a mouth full!!

Lovely  wild daisies in full bloom...

and I can never pass a thistle by without getting a photo, such a beautiful plant...

Its only a 1/4 mile around this small lake but there is so much to see...these mallards look so perfect...

I have not looked this fellow up...but he sure is pretty look at those green eyes!!

I heard this call unfamiliar to me...then I saw this Pied Billed Grebe floating around in the reeds I think a nest was nearby...I tried to get his call but he clammed up when I turned the video on...

Such a cool encounter...he had his eye on me the whole time!!

another great day in nature!!

PEACE

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