Portsmouth Island Christmas Bird Count records 78 species
By Peter Vankevich
The Portsmouth Island Christmas Bird Count took place this year after having been canceled in 2023 and 2024 due to access issues from Ocracoke.
It didn’t look good again in December as Captain Donald Austin, due to a late notice work-related conflict, was unable to ferry the observers over from Ocracoke in his skiff on the scheduled Dec. 30 date. He could, however, take folks over on Thursday, New Year’s Day. That could work because the Ocracoke count, which runs in tandem, would take place on Dec. 31.
This is a reason why the count is RSVP. After some rapid texting and phone calls to those who had signed up, the date was changed.
Then on Wednesday, Captain Austin said the high wind forecast was not conducive to crossing the inlet the next day. Friday would be better.
More furious texting and phone calls. There would be enough observers; 15 of them would be able to available on Jan. 2 and the count was on. But not one of them for some health issues, was the count’s compiler, Peter Vankevich.
It was worth the wait.
Approaching the island, two observers jumped off the boat and waded to the beach popular with shell collectors. This area has experienced a lot of erosion over the past year.
The others debarked at the Haulover Dock. Two teams covered the village and a third headed to the berms and a once bare salt flat that is now covered with smooth cordgrass and other plants that tolerate high salt concentrations.
The village, battered by hurricanes over the many years, is maintained by the National Park Service’s Cape Lookout National Seashore. Only 20 structures remain: family homes, a Methodist church, schoolhouse, post office and the life-saving station.
Founded in 1753 as a lightering hub. Villagers used their smaller boats to transport goods across the Pamlico Sound to the mainland from the large ships arriving from Europe and the Caribbean.
Its peak was around 1860 with one source citing a population of 865 residents.
The Civil War caused a mass exodus and it never recovered. By 1956, only 17 residents remained and continued to diminish. Elma Dixon and Marion Babb left in 1971 after the death of Henry Pigott. They were the final residents.
There is an appeal for visiting the island in the winter when the skies can be stark and the sounds are of the wind and not vehicles and other sounds one hears in urban settings.
“Birding on Portsmouth Island is a unique experience,” commented Hal Broadfoot of Fayetteville, who has participated in every one of these counts, which began in 1988.
“It is isolated and quiet. It offers the chance to bird while walking through a coastal ghost town. Sometimes you’ll see a Peregrine Falcon or an Orange-crowned Warbler, but you’ll always have a good day.”
“I liked how Captain Donald Austin slowed the skiff to let us watch and photograph a pod of dolphins in the inlet,” said Denny Dobbin, who has houses on Ocracoke and Chapel Hill and has participated in the count for a dozen years. “We used to be able to walk from the Village to the beach but there was way too much water this year. It covered the trail through the flats between them, so we couldn’t cross on foot. It was deep enough that even a 4-wheeler would get stuck.”
For Sara Hassatt, who also has homes on Ocracoke and on the mainland, this was her second year participating in this count and her husband Tom’s first.
“We were thrilled to be able to go to Portsmouth this year,” she said. “I enjoyed being with more experienced birders and learning to identifying new species. I added 17 birds to my life list.”
The village, with its open mowed areas, standing trees and bushes makes it a nice wintering grounds for the birds of prey that feed on smaller birds and there were plenty present: Northern Harrier (15), Sharp-shinned Hawk (3), Cooper’s Hawk (3), Bald Eagle (3) and the most unusual were three Red-tailed Hawks, common on the mainland, but not on barrier islands. There were no Peregrine Falcons, but they have been seen on 20 of these counts over the years. Hanging around all day were Turkey Vultures (6).
By far, the most common wintering land bird is the Yellow-rumped Warbler and this year 1,150 were tallied. These birds shift their summer diet of primarily insects to berries in the winter, enabling them to thrive on barrier islands like Portsmouth and Ocracoke which have plentiful bayberry, wax myrtle, juniper and poison ivy.
Portsmouth Island is well-known as a North Carolina wintering ground for American Oystercatchers and 11 individuals were recorded.
Christmas Bird Counts, begun in 1900 by ornithologist Frank Chapman of the National Audubon Society, are considered to be the longest-running citizen science project. They include species and the number of individuals observed which help show trends in bird populations, migrations trends and environmental impacts. The first year had 25 counts and they have grown to 2,600 and 80,000 volunteers.
In North Carolina, there are 53 counts. The Portsmouth count complements the Ocracoke count, offering comparative insights into how birds use these adjacent but ecologically distinct islands.
Researching these counts can begin here: https://www.audubon.org/community-science/christmas-bird-count
Since its beginning in 1988, 161 species have been recorded for the Portsmouth count and 181 for Ocracoke.
Here is the list of the 78 species for Jan. 2, 2026
Gadwall 13
American Black Duck 26
Mallard 10
Black Scoter 20
Bufflehead 6
Hooded Merganser 62
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Ruddy Duck 1
Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 10
Northern Gannet 131
Double-crested Cormorant 4,208
Brown Pelican 39
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 4
Great Egret 15
Snowy Egret 7
Little Blue Heron 2
Tricolored Heron 16
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
White Ibis 44
Turkey Vulture 6
Northern Harrier 15
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
Cooper’s Hawk 3
Bald Eagle 3
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Oystercatcher 11
Black-bellied Plover 7
Killdeer 4
Greater Yellowlegs 13
Willet 27
Lesser Yellowlegs 4
Ruddy Turnstone 4
Red Knot 15
Sanderling 147
Dunlin 10
Western Sandpiper 2
Bonaparte’s Gull 1
Laughing Gull 5
Ring-billed Gull 161
Herring Gull 99
Lesser Black-backed Gull 7
Great Black-backed Gull 19
Forster’s Tern 19
Royal Tern 29
Belted Kingfisher 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Northern Flicker 15
American Kestrel 3
Merlin 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 1
Fish Crow 1
House Wren 3
Winter Wren 1
Marsh Wren 2
Carolina Wren 16
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Hermit Thrush 6
American Robin 8
Gray Catbird 26
Northern Mockingbird 14
European Starling 32
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 7
Common Yellowthroat 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler, 1,150
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 7
Swamp Sparrow 12
Eastern Towhee 19
Northern Cardinal 3
Eastern Meadowlark 3
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
Purple Finch 1
