Labor Day Weekend is always busy at the beach with everyone trying to grab the last summer tan or snare that last Red Drum before settling in to school and fall routines. July and August for Glyn and I have been a blur of moving from a big two-story house into a smaller by half patio home. We immediately began to add a patio and have been subcontracting the concrete and fence work, so my photo blog has been much neglected. We decided to take a couple of days to do something other than re-arrange furniture, so we joined the throng at Atlantic Beach where I could visit one of my favorite birding spots at Fort Macon State Park. Late Friday afternoon we had an early dinner (if you don’t go early, you will wait in line) at Amos Mosquitos , one of our favorite restaurants at the beach. Their seafood is always great, but be careful of the hot jalapeño brittle bread they serve pre-meal. The seasoning varies from hot to blazing, and you can leave the beach with an inside and out sunburn! We finished dinner around 6:45 and headed on down the couple of miles to Fort macon. The park closes at 8 PM, so I would have only an hour to walk the Coues Trail.I am usually on this trail in the mornings and had not been here this late in the day, so i wasn’t sure what to expect. I headed directly to the freshwater pond area where there always seems to be bird activity. There was nothing but the distant sound of Laughing Gulls. I waited and watched for about fifteen minutes as the sun disappeared and the light began to dwindle. At 7:20, two White Ibis flew in to the dead trees in the middle of the pond, followed by a graceful Great Egret. Then they were all around, and for the next twenty minutes, these beautiful wading birds put on a show as they landed in the pond and the surrounding Red Cedars--this is their nightly roost! I took as many photos as I could, not easily choosing where to point the lens next--then it was 10 minutes until 8 and we had to be out of the park by 8, so I reluctantly hustled to the car and we made the gate in time.If you have never seen these birds flow into a roosting area, this is an easily accessible site and I highly recommend it! You need to be there about one hour before dark. Below are a few of the photos I was able to get.
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