Just back from a week in Duck, Outer Banks. I'll start by saying that we've been going to the Outer Banks since the early 70's and you REALLY DON'T want to hear me whine about how much has changed (and not for the better) because we already spend way too much time doing that while we're there. Ha ha.

In spite of that, the ocean is still great and nothing beats an oceanfront house and birding OBX in Spring migration. (Except we liked the Sea Oatel in Nagshead way back when...but it's torn down now...no don't start.)

Our week got off to a lively start with 2 tornadoes touching down in Currituck County Sunday night. We've been to OBX many times in May before, so, believe it or not, this was not new territory. (We once had our car windows broken by a water spout...)

But things got raucous enough, and the TV was shouting "The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning for Dare County, Curritcuk County..." often enough, that we carried a flashlight and candle down to the windowless bathroom and were ready to haul in a mattress too. We spent about 45 minutes Seriously regretting we hadn't grabbed a bottle of wine too.

Monday and Tuesday were SO WINDY that it was hard to stand up outside. In spite of that I poked around here and there and walked inland trails a bit. I endured the wind to bird the sound, and even sat on the beach like a crazy woman. I even did a little shopping (well, I bought fudge) to appease my fellow travelers.

With bad weather in May comes great birds, and I am an obsessive bird watcher. Sadly, my sister who I usually bird with was sitting home with her two broken legs, so I was on my own with a husband and others bored out of their minds with me.

I racked up 62 species at Pea Island in a couple of hours on Wednesday morning. Nice close up sightings of Black Necked Stilt and a particularly show-offy Black Bellied Plover. Other exciting things - Skimmers, White Eyed Vireo, Peregrine Falcon, four Red Knot(!).

With bad weather one always hopes to find a pelagic bird (these are birds who essentially spend their entire lives at sea, only coming to shore in VERY remote places for nesting) or two blown in. And not to be disappointed there was a nice group of Greater Shearwaters fishing off the beach on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. It is especially nice to have seen those birds because I have always been too scared of sea sickness to go out on the Gulf Stream boat tour.

I suppose because of the storm, there was a large movement of shorebirds migrating through on Wednesday, which tapered off a lot on Thursday. Large groups of Sanderlings, Semipalms and Least Sandpipers, Whimbrel, Whillet, Semipalmated Plover, one Wilson Plover (nice!), one White-rumped Sandpiper, Dowitcher and Dunlin, and several Ruddy Turnstone moved on down the beach or flew by.

Also saw Gannett out at sea (nice!) and the usual nice selection of Terns, Pelicans, etc.

Overall fewer Osprey than usual, and MANY fewer songbirds on the land. The development and feral cat problem out there has just completely obliterated many of the songbirds that used to be common. (Bobwhite, Cuckoo, Chuck-will's Widow, etc.)

Overall I had 88 birds on my list for the week, which isn't bad because I skipped several of my usual hot spots (Elizabethan Gardens and Fort Raleigh, under Oregon Inlet bridge, Nagshead Woods). Sadly, I didn't get to Alligator River Refuge either. I REALLY missed my birding buddy.

Two notable meals at some little place in Corolla (remember when Corolla was just sand dunes sound to sea?...it was so beautiful...they've saved nothing...oh no don't start) called North Beach Raw Bar in Tim Buck II and one very good meal at Rundown Cafe in Kitty Hawk.

Sorry this is not a very interesting trip report for normal people, but I thought I'd throw it out there. (Plus I'm super happy about those Shearwaters...)