| General Comments |
Casual visitor, so far only in the Coastal Plain in fall and winter, except for a Piedmont record in winter 2025-26. There are four accepted records of this Western species, with two of them found near Lake Mattamuskeet (Hyde), separated by about 9 years and 10 miles. One freshly road-killed individual was found on 6 Nov 1998*; the specimen is preserved at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences [Chat 65:108-112 link], [Chat 65:85 link]. The second bird was found on the Lake Mattamuskeet CBC on 29 Dec 2007, and was relocated by several observers and photographed on 1 Jan 2008* [Chat 73:2 link]. The third was a sight record in Manteo, (Dare), on 11-12 Oct 2012* [Chat 77:6-10 link], [Chat 77:33 link]. The fourth was one photographed and seen by many people at Duck (Dare) from 3 Dec 2020 - 30 Jan 2021* [Chat 85:75 link]. Photographs of the Mattamuskeet 2007-08 bird and the Duck 2020-21 bird are posted on the Carolina Bird Club Photo Gallery. One photographed at Lake Norman (Mecklenburg) on 1-2 Dec 2025 and again on 18 Jan 2026 [Chat 90:66 link] has yet to be reviewed by the NC BRC; this is the first record away from the coast. Another was well photographed in the inner Coastal Plain at Old Waynesborough Park (Wayne) from 27 Dec 2025 - 22 Jan 2026 [Chat 90:66 link]; it also has yet to be reviewed by the NC BRC. Photos of each of these 2025-26 records are also on the Photo Gallery. |
