July 1, 2, 15, 16, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30
August 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20
Duration: 11
hour Trips
Price: $120 Per Trip
Per Person
Departs: Hatteras
Landing Marina 0600
August 4, 11, 18: nine hour trips; $100/person; from HLM departing at 0730
These are more generally oriented natural history trips, but they will also visit the same Gulf Stream water where we go birding.
*Note - Prices have increased slightly due to the rising cost of fuel.
Summer is typically a time of lower diversity than spring, but have have seen as many as 15 species of pelagic seabirds on a trip in early August! The weather is generally calmer with very few cancellations. The dynamic nature of the Gulf Stream means two days in the same area can yield quite different results. We sometimes see huge flocks of shearwaters in summer, and after photographing North America's first Cape Verde Shearwater on August 15, 2004, you can be assured that we will give these flocks some close scrutiny. Trips in July and early August can be quite good for storm-petrels with moderate to large numbers of Band-rumped Storm-Petrels and smaller numbers of Leach's Storm- Petrel. On August 8, 1998, we photographed a Swinhoe's Storm-Petrel off Hatteras. There are now a number of records of this Indo-Pacific species for the eastern North Atlantic so it could well occur again. In past years, tropicbirds, mostly White-tails, have been seen almost regularly with an apparent peak in late July. In 2003 and 2004 there was a considerable influx of Red-billed Tropicbirds into these waters. Black-capped Petrels are sometimes found in large numbers, and there is always a chance for Trinidade (Herald) Petrel. Bridled and Sooty Terns reach peak abundance in late August and September. White-faced Storm-Petrel has occurred in July, but may be slightly more likely in late August, and the best bet for them are specially directed search trips. Masked Booby is rare but possible on any trip. We have seen several Fea's Petrels on summer trips, especially in July, and this is a good time to search for Bermuda Petrel, one of the rarest birds in the world (total population estimated at less than 300 individuals) because all of them will be at sea, away from the nesting grounds. To see bird lists from previous Summer trips, Click Here.
If you are planning to do any land birding in coastal North Carolina, we strongly recommend purchasing a copy of John Fussell’s excellent book A Birder’s Guide to the North Carolina Coast. This book is an indispensable reference for birding the Outer Banks, and provides some of the most detailed information ever to be found in a birding guide. It is available in many bookstores and also can be ordered from the American Birding Association’s sales office by calling 1-800-634-7736, or by FAX, 1-800-590-2473. The ABA also has a web site - http://www.AmericanBirding.org. It can also be ordered from Allen Hale at Buteo Books (800-722-2460); http://www.ButeoBooks.com.
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Copyright 2005
Last modified: January 01, 2008