Many serious birders occasionally will take an offshore birding trip in hopes of seeing some open-sea birds that are rarely seen from land. I’ve been on about a dozen such trips over the years out of Hatteras, Virginia Beach and Morehead City. The trips are not cheap, the drive is long and weather is always a concern. Recently, I have preferred boat trips on Lake Norman, the “inland sea.” During the right times of year some interesting birds can be found, some of them real rarities.
Last Sunday, I was able to grab a seat with 10 other area birders on a boat headed out onto the lake. A rare Sabine’s gull had been found earlier in the day and the large group was eager to try to relocate it.
The trip had a promising start when some white diving birds were spied off in the distance. We motored over to the area along Davidson Creek and soon were surrounded with a mixed flock of about 40 common, Forster’s and black terns – species you often see along the coast, but ones that also show up on large lakes in the fall. A particularly cooperative group sat tight on the water while we approached.
Continued: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/09/27/3560084/rare-sabines-gulls-sighted-at.html
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