| Coastal Plain |
Very rare visitor, with four spring and 10+ fall reports, all from the coast, plus one in winter. The spring reports are: 1, Portsmouth Island, 8-9 May 1992* [Chat 57:58 link]; 2, Portsmouth Island, 23 Apr - 9 May 1993* [Chat 58:63 link]; 1 photographed at Frisco (Dare), 8 Apr 2016* [Chat 80:115-116 link]; and 1 photographed at the eastern end of Shackleford Banks (Carteret) on 23 Apr 2018 (likely a bird that overwintered there). Fall reports are all of singles at Pea Island on 22 Jul 1998 [Chat 63:39 link], 31 Aug - 1 Sep 1971, 21 Sep 1975, and 14 Oct 1974; one photographed at Portsmouth Island, 22 Sep - 10 Oct 1982* [Chat 47:71-72 link]; one photographed at the eastern end of Shackleford Banks (Carteret), 2 Oct - 15 Nov 2016* [Chat 81:13-14 link]; and undoubtedly the same bird returning to the last site from 24 Sep - 8 Oct 2017 [Chat 82:32 link]. This latter bird returned for at least a third fall season, being seen beginning 10 Nov 2018, being joined by a second bird on 18 Nov 2018 [Chat 83:25 link]. One of these two birds remained for the entire winter of 2018-19, being noted there specifically on 12 Jan, 10 Feb, and 23 Mar 2019 [Chat 83:59 link]. One of these birds again returned for the fall 2019 season, seen there 30 Sep 2019, 24 Jan 2020, and 11 Mar 2020. Again, one of these birds returned in fall 2020, first seen on 13 Sep, and remaining at least to 23 Apr 2021 -- a fifth consecutive year a single bird, or the species, has been found there! This Shackleford Banks bird returned for a sixth (!) winter, first noted on 19 Sep 2021. It has since been seen a few times in fall/winter 2022-23 and in fall 2023 -- for apparently an 8th straight winter! However, this birds was seen there on 4-5 Dec 2023, missed on all winter trips, but was re-found there on 14 Apr 2024. Though perhaps none of these reports is suspect, as most were reported by experienced birders, documentation of several have been sparse, and the NC BRC has reviewed/accepted only about five of these. |
