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PARTICIPANTS NEEDED For Upcoming Pelagic Trips



Dear Carolinabirders,

Participation in our scheduled trips from Oregon Inlet (departing
Wanchese) and Hatteras on February 5(6) and 19(20) respectively is
abysmally low. WE DON'T YET HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO RUN THEM AND TIME IS
SHORT. If you would like to continue to have opportunities for seeing
pelagic birds from the Outer Banks in the future, I strongly suggest
signing up for one or both of these trips on the Miss Hatteras. Unlike
the pelagic trips that I do off VA. in winter, these Carolina trips are
not strongly supported by out of state birders, so we need a good
turnout by NC (&SC) birdwatchers to keep them running. While I know that
a lot of you saw the PUFFINS off Oregon Inlet at the CBC meeting on last
years trip, I know that there are still a lot of folks that didn't, and
I also recall that we didn't see a GREAT SKUA on that trip although
we've seen them on most of our trips down here in the last few years.
DOVEKIE is another species that we didn't see last winter that we have a
good chance at in February. Other species that we have seen in winter
with some regularity over the years include NORTHEREN FULMAR, MANX
SHEARWATER, RED PHALAROPE, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, and RAZORBILL. We've
also seen THICK-BILLED and COMMON MURRES on a few of our trips from
Virginia Beach, which, as the murre flies, is less than 100 miles away.
If we are really lucky, we could find a very rare vagrant like last
February's BLACK-BROWED ABLATROSS off Va. Beach. Lastly, if you are like
some of us, you might just come for the experience and the chance to
spend time with some birds that you will only encounter A FEW TIMES IN
YOUR LIFETIME.

Whatever your motivation is, and regardless of your experience or skill
at identifying seabirds, I hope that enough of you will join us, so that
we can run these trips. Each trip is $85 per person, and I will run them
as long as I don't take a loss (it helps here that I live in Hatteras).
SO PLEASE SIGN UP IF YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN SEEING THESE BIRDS AND
LEARNING ABOUT WINTER SEABIRD DISTRIBUTION OFF THE OUTER BANKS.

For more information, please check our website at
http://www.patteson.com/, e-mail me, or call me at (252) 986-1363.

Thanks,

Brian Patteson
Hatteras, NC
Brian@Patteson.com