Well, after photographing the sunrise and taking my last shots of Cape Hatteras light, I went back to the motel to find Pat and have breakfast. That done, we were ready to leave Hatteras Island and charge into our second day on the Outer Banks.
But we soon learned that we had to conform to someone else's timetable. That wasn't hard. Pat had not gotten up as early as I had, but he had gotten up early as well. (In fact, he walked to the beach while I was gone, but his camera was in my pickup so he's got no documentation. That's his story and he sticking with it.) Waiting for the ferry would provide us with an opportunity to nap.
We were the first customers at Hatteras Landing and parked at the head of the line. We were scrutinized - at least I was - by the local security guru acting, I'm sure, on orders from Homeland Security. I didn't mind, except for the slightly rude comment he made about my drivers license picture. We both managed to snooze a bit while we were waiting, but it was such a beautiful day I wandered around taking pictures as well. While I was setting up this first one, I was verbally accosted by a security minion, "STEP BACK BEHIND THE YELLOW LINE, Sir." I kept my mouth shut as I stepped back across the unnoticed line, but I was thinking, "Relax, lady, this is a camera not an RPG."
I'm glad they're concerned about security, but that struck me as a bit much. . .
As Gillian will tell you - she and I took the initial peek at my pictures the following week in Atlanta - I took an inordinate number of bird pictures on this trip. I love the pelicans, and some of the seagulls look great, but anyone who's ever watched Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds can get a little nervous when they start congregating in ever larger groups.
We tried for a while to figure out what this building was, a private home or maybe a bed and breakfast? It had a great location on the point overlooking the landing and, though it didn't really put me off, I'd have to say the architecture is. . . unconstrained. I'd assumed that lovely bird showing off its wingspan was a pelican until I got the pictures loaded on my computer and saw it was a goose. Not a Canada goose with a white chin, but a goose nonetheless.
Eventually, we boarded "the free ferry" and left Hatteras Island for a 45 minute voyage to Ocracoke Island. Lots of birds, of course, but I shot several pictures of this group on Buoy 24 as we passed. What interested me was that, for the whole time I was watching, that one bird hovered over the others in the vain hope that they'd make room for him (or her). When you consider all the open space on the rest of the rail, you've got to wonder what was so interesting to them on the SRO side of the buoy.
I'm not sure who the folks in the speedboat were but, with Alfred Hitchcock already on my mind, I think they were tempting fate.
I figure this is the avian version of the Hatteras to Ocracoke Air Races. I don't know if they have air races here, but maybe I ought to consider it. . .
Here's our opposite number, the northbound Ocracoke to Hatteras ferry, Cape Point. I wonder where all her obligatory birds are. The only one I see is one of our southbound birds.
Having transited Hatteras Inlet we were overtaken by these two low-flying pelicans as we prepared to turn into the north landing on Ocracoke. I wonder what they're expecting to find on Ocracoke that they couldn't have found on Hatteras. . .
This diptych was kind of an experiment. I saw one on Laurel Daniels oil painting blog the day I was sorting through my Ocracoke pictures and decided I should try one. I don't know what the diptych rules are, so I made up my own: both pictures should be able to stand alone and/or be displayed together. This view of Silver Lake harbor and Ocracoke Light qualifies, I think. (It was easy though; they're both from the same picture.)
About the Buoy 24 birds and the reason they're all on one side: I'm surprised the family air-traffic controller hasn't ventured a credible solution.
ReplyDeleteSo, in the absence thereof, here is an obvious and pretty damn ironclad one. The gulls face into the wind so they can take off more easily (just like the airplanes on those aircraft carriers you used to float around on). Said birds are on the upwind side of the buoy so as not to have their view or forward flight path obstructed by the bouy's sensor and upwind rail. That could be both a needlessly dicey flight risk and a buzz kill for a terrific view needlessly hindered.
They were certainly facing into the wind and, no doubt, more comfortable arrayed thus. I was thinking, however, more about the hovering latecomer who chose to maintain his hover rather than land in a port crosswind on the rail then crowd in after-the-fact. He would have had a better view of the passing ferry (and its zany passengers)that way, and lunch as well (if they were waiting for the munchies that ferry would churn up).
ReplyDeleteI think he was too insecure to nudge anybody. I think this insecurity was due, in part, to physical dexterity issues. This being the case, nothing but a perfectly into-the-wind perch would calm his nerves, in regard to his next take-off. Thus, his only hope was for his compatriots to accommodate him. If not, he must either leave the group, or fall out of the sky, dead of exhaustion. The animal world is full of such stark realities. I learned that from Marlin Perkins.
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