North Carolina Pelagics & Pineywoods

After breakfast, we'll make our way south through North Carolina's famous Outer Banks toward Hatteras Island. We'll spend much of the day birding this remarkable chain of barrier islands, with potential stops at locations such as Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Bodie Island and Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
We'll search beaches, saltmarshes, impoundments and other coastal habitats for birds such as American Oystercatcher, Black Skimmer, Least, Gull-billed and Royal Terns, Wilson's Plover and Seaside Sparrow, along with a variety of herons, egrets, shorebirds and other coastal species. By late afternoon we'll continue to Hatteras, where we'll have dinner and turn in early in preparation for our first pelagic adventure. Night in Hatteras.

Today is the first of our two back-to-back pelagic trips! We'll be up before dawn and make the short trip to the docks, where we'll board the Stormy Petrel II for a full day exploring the productive waters off Cape Hatteras.

Here the warm Gulf Stream meets cooler continental-shelf waters, creating one of the premier locations for pelagic birding in North America. Black-capped Petrel, Cory's and Sargasso Shearwaters and Wilson's Storm-Petrel are among the species we hope to encounter, while Band-rumped Storm-Petrel is another important target.

These waters are also famous for producing exciting rarities and you never know what might show up. Past trips have encountered species such as Trindade and Fea's Petrels, South Polar Skua, tropicbirds and Brown and Masked Boobies. After a full day offshore, we'll return to Hatteras in the late afternoon, enjoy dinner and get some well-earned rest before doing it all again tomorrow! Night in Hatteras.

We'll return to the Gulf Stream today for our second full day offshore. Conditions on the ocean can change dramatically from one day to the next, and changes in wind, currents and water temperature can bring a very different selection of seabirds within reach.
We'll have another opportunity to search for the regular Gulf Stream specialties while keeping a constant watch for something unexpected. Marine mammals are another highlight of these trips, with Short-finned Pilot Whale, Atlantic Spotted Dolphin and Common Bottlenose Dolphin among the species we may encounter.
Having two consecutive days offshore greatly increases our chances of experiencing the diversity and unpredictability that make Cape Hatteras pelagic birding so exciting. We'll return to the docks in the late afternoon and celebrate our adventures over dinner. Night in Hatteras.

After two early starts, we'll enjoy a somewhat more relaxed morning before beginning our journey south. We'll take the vehicle ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island and continue across this beautiful barrier island before boarding the longer ferry across Pamlico Sound toward Cedar Island.

The journey itself offers excellent opportunities for wildlife watching. We'll keep an eye out for Royal and Sandwich Terns, Brown Pelicans, American Oystercatchers and other coastal birds, as well as Bottlenose Dolphins. Time and ferry schedules permitting, we'll make additional birding stops along the way.

After reaching Cedar Island, we'll continue to the Morehead City/Atlantic Beach area, our base for exploring the forests of North Carolina's Coastal Plain. Night in Morehead City/Atlantic Beach.

Today we'll explore the diverse habitats of Croatan National Forest. Extensive longleaf-pine forests, pocosins, wetlands and hardwoods support a distinctive community of southeastern birds.

Our primary targets in the open pinewoods will include Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman's Sparrow and Brown-headed Nuthatch. As we explore other habitats, we'll search for species such as Swainson's, Prothonotary, Worm-eating and Kentucky Warblers, Acadian Flycatcher, Northern Bobwhite, Blue Grosbeak and Painted Bunting.

We'll spend the day moving between habitats according to bird activity and our success with the various specialties. If conditions and group energy allow, we may head out again after dinner to listen and look for nocturnal species such as Chuck-will's-widow and Eastern Screech-Owl. Night in Morehead City/Atlantic Beach.

We'll have one final morning to enjoy the birdlife of North Carolina's Coastal Plain. Depending on our successes the previous day, we may return to Croatan National Forest for another opportunity to find any elusive Pineywoods specialties, or visit Fort Macon State Park and nearby coastal habitats for a change of scenery and a final selection of coastal birds.

Later in the morning, we'll begin our drive north to Norfolk, birding opportunistically along the way as time permits. We'll gather that evening for a final dinner and recap some of the highlights of our week—from southeastern pinewoods to the deep waters of the Gulf Stream. Night in Norfolk.