she used to laugh at bird 

 names like yellow-bellied 

 sapsucker. horned grebe 

 and red-footed booby. 



"My parents began 

 birding when I left the 

 nest," she recalls. "On 

 a visit home in 1956, 

 they invited me on an 

 excursion. Once I heard 

 a pileated woodpecker, 

 I was hooked, and the 

 rest is history." 



Moore is an avid 

 birder. Of the more 

 than 800 known North 

 American birds, she has 

 chalked up 530 on her life 

 list. "And, I have not ever visited Florida or 

 Alaska," she is quick to say. 



Before moving to the Outer Banks in the 

 1980s, Moore belonged to the Montgomery 

 County Bird Club in Maryland. Once here, 

 she began participating in bird walks at Cape 

 Hatteras National Seashore and Pea Island 

 National Wildlife Refuge to learn about the 

 avian populations. 



Like Davis, Moore generously shares 

 her passion with others at WOW — and every 

 other chance she gets. On Tuesdays, she and 

 members of the Cape Hatteras Bird Club head 

 out to survey bird populations at Cape Hatteras 

 Point. She also helps lead a Friday morning 

 walk at Pea Island. 



Outer Banks photographer Michael 

 Halminski says coastal North Carolina is a 

 paradise for nature photography. "When I 

 moved to Hatteras Island in 1973, photography 

 was just a hobby for me. I was inspired at once 

 by the raw nature of the island. With hardly 

 a dollar in my pocket, I worked odd jobs to 

 save for a 400-mm telephoto lens for shooting 

 birds," he recalls. 



Some of the rarest birds he has seen on 

 the Outer Banks include a migrating scarlet 

 tanager and some piping plovers. His favorite 

 birds to watch and photograph are wild ducks 

 that winter here. "Their shyness makes them a 

 huge challenge to approach and photograph," 

 he explains. 



Early on, Halminski honed his skills by 

 imitating techniques of local waterfowl hunters. 



10 SPRING 2005 



"Over the years, I have employed camouflage 

 and blinds to get close. Birds that are busy 

 feeding often are easily approached. Nesting 

 sites are another opportunity for photography, 

 but deserve utmost care for the birds' well- 

 being," he says. 



"No photograph is worth risking the 

 welfare of the subject." 



7olhw that bWd 



Bonnie Strawser, wildlife interpretive 

 specialist at the Alligator River/Pea Island 

 National Wildlife Refuge and WOW organizer, 

 claims not to be a bird expert. "I love birds. I 

 love to watch them. But. I don't always know 

 their names." 



Nevertheless, she understands why so 

 many people are passionate about birding. "I 

 fell in love with pintail ducks while banding 

 them. Their feather coloration is indescribable," 

 she says. 



Many of the more than a million people 

 who visit Pea Island each year do so to bird 

 watch. 



"I know people who literally will go to 

 great lengths to respond to a rare bird alert," 

 Strawser says. "One gentleman from California 

 journeyed to Pea Island for three consecutive 

 years in order to see the curlew sandpiper that 

 had been spotted in South Pond." 



To her knowledge, he missed the elusive 

 bird each time. She suspects a "near miss" 

 won't deter him from answering the call of the 



wild again and 

 again until he can 

 check the bird off 

 his life list. 



Local birders 

 turn their passion 

 into tangible support 

 of refuges, state and 

 national parks and 

 nature preserves, 

 Strawser points out. 



At Pea Island, for example, volunteers 

 built a fully accessible, half-mile nature trail 

 along North Pond, complete with overlooks, 

 towers and spotting scopes. They also conduct 

 interpretive programs and assist with biological 

 work. 



Nationally, volunteers play a significant 

 role as "citizen scientists" by participating each 

 year in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count and 

 Cornell's Great Backyard Bird Count. 



Volunteers also are the driving force 

 behind Wings Over Water festivals. "It's 

 a community effort that was launched in 

 1997," Strawser says. "The festival is a way to 

 celebrate the natural resources we are blessed 

 with — and to bolster the local economies 

 during the tourism shoulder season on the Outer 

 Banks." 



Since then, dozens of dedicated volunteers 

 have led fall birding field trips, paddling and 

 natural history tours — from Mackay Island to 

 Ocracoke, and inland to Alligator River and 

 Mattamuskeet National Wildlife 

 refuges. 



Organizers are 

 planning a spring version 

 for the first time. The 2005 

 Spring Wings, May 12-15, 

 will include butterfly and 

 wildflower excursions. Spring 

 Wings details are posted at 

 www. wingsoverwater.org. 



