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A close relative of the Mallard, the Black Duck is better adapted to wooded country. With the clearing of forest, it has steadily lost ground to spreading populations of Mallards. The American Black Duck is one of the few waterfowl species that breeds in North Carolina. In its stronghold along the Atlantic Coast it is a hardy bird, wintering farther north than most dabbling ducks. It is among the few dabblers to prosper in tidewater areas; pairs and small parties of Black Ducks are often seen flying over the salt marsh, their white wing linings flashing in bright contrast to their dark bodies.

A very large, unmistakable shorebird of Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches, the American Oystercatcher is one of the few that remains in the state to breed. Oystercatchers not only nest on open sand flats in the general neighborhood with Piping and Wilson's plovers and various terns, but they also breed in more sheltered sandy spots within tidal marshes. As with nearly all birds that nest on the ground on coastal sand flats, nesting populations are declining in the face of increased human visitation to beaches and increased numbers of mammalian predators. Forage mainly where there are oysters, such as on exposed sand bars and mudflats during low tides.

A tiny marsh bird, no bigger than a sparrow, Black Rails nest and overwinter in North Carolina. Extremely secretive, it walks or runs through the marsh and is rarely seen in flight. In very dense cover, it may get around by using the runways made by mice. The distinctive short song of the Black Rail is given mostly late at night, so the bird may go unnoticed in some areas. Fairly common at a few coastal points, its status inland in the east is rather mysterious.

Fluttering over meadows and hayfields in summer, the male Bobolink delivers a bubbling, tinkling song which, loosely interpreted, gives the species its name. The male is unmistakable in spring finery, but before fall migration he molts into a striped, brown appearance like that of the female. In recent decades it has started to nest in the mountains of North Carolina, despite a global decline in its population. Bobolinks travel in flocks in both spring and fall migration, which occurs across the state. In summer in North Carolina, Bobolinks nest in somewhat extensive meadows, typically with no woody vegetation; these meadows are often mowed once or twice in summer, and thus some contact with the owners of the meadows by conservationists might be critical to maintain the small nesting population in the state.

A small nuthatch of the southeastern pine forests. Found in pairs or family groups all year, it is often heard before it is seen; the birds call to each other constantly as they busily clamber about on the branches. It occurs in North Carolina throughout the Coastal Plain, essentially throughout the Piedmont, and in a few of the southern mountain counties, at lower elevations (as a recent colonizer). Favored habitats are mature and open Longleaf Pine stands, such as savannas, flatwoods, and drier sandhills; however, they also are at least locally common in open Loblolly, Shortleaf, and Pond Pine stands, less so in Virginia Pine. In the Piedmont, the birds are not numerous in mature Loblolly Pine stands, but favor thinned or more open pine stands, such as in residential areas, golf courses, margins of lakes and ponds, and edges. Mountain populations are in open Shortleaf Pine stands, for the most part. In the winter, as with other nuthatches, most are found with chickadees, titmice, warblers, Brown Creepers, and Downy Woodpeckers in mixed-species flocks.

An unmistakable bird of coastal waters. Groups of Brown Pelicans fly low over the waves in single file, flapping and gliding in unison. Their feeding behavior is spectacular, as they plunge headlong into the water in pursuit of fish. The current abundance of this species in the United States represents a success story for conservationists, who succeeded in halting the use of DDT and other persistent pesticides here; as recently as the early 1970s, the Brown Pelican was seriously endangered. Continued management of coastal estuarine islands, often with dredged sand deposited for colonial nesting waterbirds, has helped the pelican spread as a breeder.

The sky-blue upperparts of the male Cerulean Warbler are difficult to observe in summer: At that season, the birds stay high in the tops of leafy trees in the eastern United States and extreme southern Canada. The bird itself has become harder to observe in recent decades, as its numbers have decreased in parts of its range. It nests in mature deciduous forests in the northeastern quadrant of the country, but mainly to the north and west of North Carolina. In our state, nesting occurs mainly in the mountains, and along the Roanoke River. It does migrate through the remainder of the state, but as it is a rare bird, it is a red-letter find for most observers. Breeding habitat in the mountains is quite specific -- mature deciduous forest on steep slopes.

The only swift occurring regularly in the east. It once nested in hollow trees, but today it nearly always nests in chimneys or other structures. Because the bird can be easily captured and banded in such situations, it has been studied much more thoroughly than other North American swifts. In late summer, hundreds or even thousands of individuals may roost in one large chimney, gathering in spectacular flocks overhead near dusk. In recent years, swifts have been roosting in the Historic Davie Poplar Tree on UNC’s campus.

A strikingly patterned warbler of leafy second growth and swamp edges. Once common in the northeast, it has been declining recently in southern parts of its breeding range. As it disappears, its close relative, the Blue-winged Warbler has been advancing north. The two species interbreed, creating distinctive hybrid types known as 'Brewster's' and 'Lawrence's' warblers. The species nests mainly north of the range of the Blue-winged, or higher in elevation in the Appalachians than the Blue-winged. Golden-wings have mostly declined in our mountains to an "uncommon" status, from "locally fairly common" a decade or two ago. Breeding habitat of the species in the mountains is overgrown fields and clearcuts, brushy areas in wide powerline clearings, shrubby bogs, and wooded borders; usually small trees, especially Black Locusts, are needed for singing perches for the males.

Our smallest tern. Often seen flying low over the water, with quick deep wingbeats and shrill cries. Usually hovers before plunging into water for tiny prey; does more hovering than most terns. Populations are endangered in many areas because of human impacts on nesting areas, especially competition for use of beaches. In North Carolina, the species forages over the inshore ocean and in sounds/estuaries, rarely at fresh or brackish water. Least Terns are rarely found inland in the state, usually only during or after storms; there are no mountain records. They also depart the state fairly early in fall, with only a few late fall records.

A small plover with a very short bill. Its pale back matches the white sand beaches and alkali flats that it inhabits. While many shorebirds have wide distributions, this one is a North American specialty, barely extending into Mexico in winter. Many of its nesting areas are subject to human disturbance or other threats, and it is now considered an endangered or threatened species in all parts of its range. The species has essentially the same habitats in the state as the Wilson's Plover; it breeds on sand flats, mainly near inlets or overwash areas, and it forages mostly on sand flats and on sandy shores, though usually not at the ocean edge. It very rarely is seen inland (almost always on mudflats at reservoirs), even though some birds from the interior certainly migrate over the mountains, Piedmont, and inland parts of the Coastal Plain.

Once fairly common in the southeastern United States, this bird is now rare, local, and considered an endangered species. It requires precise conditions within mature pine forest, a habitat that is now scarce. Lives in isolated clans, each clan an extended family group, with one pair of adults assisted in their nesting by up to four additional birds. The red cockade for which the bird is named, a small patch of feathers behind the eye of the male, is usually hard to see in the field. Because of its need for heavily managed areas with frequent burning, nearly all remaining colonies are on conservation/managed lands; in some managed areas, such as at Fort Bragg, the species appears to be increasing in the past decade.

Nesting on Arctic tundra and migrating long distances to favored wintering areas, this native swan was less affected by human settlement than was the Trumpeter Swan. The only common swan in eastern North America, the Tundra Swan (formerly named the Whistling Swan) has greatly increased as a winter resident in the state, including at our Outer Banks sanctuary, since about 1990. Tundra Swans roost on lakes, impoundments, and sounds; they forage in shallow water of lakes and sounds, and also in plowed fields and short grass areas. Despite it nesting in Arctic tundra regions, its migration to the Atlantic coastal areas occurs to our north, and then southward down the coast; it is quite scarce in the Piedmont and mountains, as well as in the inner portions of the Coastal Plain.

Seemingly not as shy as the other brown thrushes, not as bold as the Robin, the Wood Thrush seems intermediate between those two related groups. It sometimes nests in suburbs and city parks, and it is still common in many eastern woodlands, where its flutelike songs add music to summer mornings. It nests in all 100 counties in the state; sadly, however, it has been on a moderate decline across its range in the past one or two decades. Formerly considered "common" across the state, and one of the several most numerous breeders in hardwood forests, including wooded residential areas, it is now best called only "fairly common". Breeding habitat in the state must contain a moderate scatter of saplings or small trees, shrubs, and a rich herb layer; the canopy is typically hardwoods, but it can also be a mix of pines and hardwoods and occasionally just pines and other conifers (such as a mature pine stand but with moderate understory growth of hardwood trees).