The attendence of members on our Hatteras/Outer Banks field this past weekend was rather poor. Intitially, 6 signed up to go. Then, before the deadline to send in reservation money for the pelagic trip, two dropped out for financial reasons. Eventually, one more had to drop out due to a serious family health situation. Thus, three of us were left....and we went! When we arrived in Buxton in the afternoon, it was a bit windy but OK. After getting settled we did a little birding. On Saturday we were up early for our all day pelagic trip. It was windy when we set sail, and eventually the winds produced 8-12 foot waves with heavy rain falling at times. We did see some good birds, however, and returned to shore with a decent list. On Sunday, I had to leave early due to a health problem in my own family, but we birded until noon on Pea Island. Lois Cox and Wilma Boy stayed on until Tuesday. Here is the list from our abbreviated and poorly attended trip, which includes birds going to and coming back from Hatteras: (app. means approximate number due to the possibility of repetitive sightings) Pied-billed Grebe, Black-capped Petrel (20+), Cory's Shearwater (app. 10), Audubon's Shearwater ( app. 3), Wilson's Storm-Petrel (app. 10), Brown Pelican (at least 100), Double-crested Cormorants (many), Anhinga (1), Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis (several), Mute Swan (4), Snow Goose (1), Canada Goose, American Black Duck, Mallard, Northern Pintail (at least 1000), American Wigeon, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, American Coot, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, American Avocet (11), Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Pomarine Jaeger (1), Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, Common Tern, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe (1 possible at sea), Tree Swallow (many), Blue Jay, American Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, European Starling, Northern Parula, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Rufous-sided Towhee, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Boat-tailed Grackle and House Sparrow. We also were graced with visits by Spotted Dolphins (the deep sea version of the porpoise) and Mahi Mahi (caught by the ship's captain) a spectacularly beautiful fish with a back of briliant blue changing to lime green and then yellow as you scanned torward its belly and gracefully streamlined. At the Gulf Stream we encountered Sargassum Weed floating, and the samples brought on board harbored tiny Sargassum Fish. A great experience in spite of the heavy seas! John Moyle Glen Alpine Road Kingsport, Sullivan County ************** New MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination. Dining, Movies, Events, News & more. Try it out (http://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000002)