Birding adventure

My parents have come down to visit for a little while so we decided to take them to Pea Island NWR. On our way down we made a small side trip. Terry had checked Rare Bird Alert for North Carolina and found that there was a Swainson's Hawk hanging around. We turned down the road and within five minutes we felt we had spotted it. After several minutes of observation we were positive. It was really cool to be able to just find it. We wandered a little further down the road and saw some Common Snipes and Lesser Yellowlegs. From there we continued on to Pea Island. It was very different from when we were there a couple of months ago, but just as fun. Along with birds -- Tri-colored Heron, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovlers, Green-winged Teals, etc....-- we also saw lots of turtles, a beaver, otter and raccoon. It was perfect weather and just a good time all around.