Page:Auk Volume 37-1920.djvu/683

Vol. XXXVIII 1920 Fleisher, Birds of S. E. North Carolina. 56o NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA. BY EDWARD FLEISHER During the week beginning April 13, 1919, 1 visited that section of North Carolina lying between Wilmington and the mouth of the Cape Fear River, thirty miles to the south. Throughout this region the soil is sandy, with here and there muddy bottoms in which grow the great bald cypresses and live oaks with their draperies of Tillandsia "moss." The coastal region at the mouth of Cape Fear River, and, more particularly, Smith's Island, approach the sub-tropical in both climate and flora. Here such trees as the cabbage palmetto, the magnolia and the prickly ash are found. Many of the Smith's Island palmettos, however, were killed or injured in the cold winter of 1917-1918. Smith's Island, off the mouth of the Cape Fear River, is roughly in the shape of an arrow, the point of which, Cape Fear, is the southernmost point of North Carolina and at about the latitude of Atlanta, Ga. The flanks of the arrow consist of sandy beaches of a total length of about fifteen miles. In the central part are extensive grassy marshes bordered by dense woods. One end of the beach terminates in a narrow spit of sand separating the ocean from Buzzard's Bay. It is here that the sea birds formerly nested, though I doubt whether they still do so in large numbers, as herds of semi-wild cattle wander over the island and their tracks can be seen in the sand. On the east side of Cape Fear the sea is gradually cutting into the woods, and the shore presents a wild aspect. The beach is covered with a tangled mass of prostrate and semi-prostrate trees, and the breakers seethe about those still standing. Here and there, lagoons of salt water are bordered and dotted with gaunt trees. It was on top of one of these trees that I discovered a Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja), a thorough surprise and the best find of the trip. I had the bird under observation for only two or three minutes, though of course there was no mistaking him after the