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Village Craftsmen 
 170
Howard Street
PO Box
248
Ocracoke Island,
NC 27960
252-928-5541
info@villagecraftsmen.com
Ocracoke Newsletter
February 28, 2009
Christmas Bird Count on Portsmouth Island, 2008
Text and Photos by Lou Ann Homan
It is dark and chilly in the cottage when the alarm clock goes off. It
is still vacation and I want to decline this invitation for early
rising, but then I remember that today is the Christmas bird count. I
put the coffee on and eat a bowl of cereal sitting near
the hearth to gather enough heat for the day.
I wear layer upon layer of warm clothes, pack a lunch from the leftover
Christmas ham, put my movie star sunglasses in my pocket along with a
candy bar. Last of all I put on two pair of socks and my Ocracoke
commercial fisherman boots. With my camera slung over my shoulder I
head out in the early morning dawn. Rudy Austin’s boat will leave
promptly at 7:45, and I don’t want to be late.
A small number of folks have already gathered carrying supplies for the day: binoculars, small birding telescopes, bird
books, notebooks, bottles of water, and lunches placed in tidy Eddie
Bauer knapsacks. I have no binoculars, no telescope, and my lunch is in
a plastic bag. Nevertheless, I am cheery and ready for this bird count.
I have counted birds in Indiana
for the Christmas count many times. When the boys were young at the
farm we used to divide it up in parcels and I would send them out with
pencils and paper. Now, today, I shall do the counting of the birds far
out to sea.
Rudy starts the
engine of his small craft and we huddle in the bright morning sunlight
under the spell of the salty spray. Within twenty minutes the small
historic island of Portsmouth comes
into view. I have only been on this island once before, in the middle
of the summer full of heat and mosquitoes. It is so different today in
the middle of winter. It is delightful…cool, refreshing and so
quiet. Portsmouth
used to be a bustling sea village with a population of 685 in 1860.
During the Civil War many of the folks left for the mainland and did
not return. As years went by time took its toll with hurricanes and
other economic problems that usually consume a small village. The last
person moved off the island in 1971. Today it is owned by the National
Park Service as part of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Others would
just call it a ghost island.
Welcome Sign in Portsmouth Village:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
We divide up into groups of birders. I decide to make
my own group and bid them farewell. Besides without
binoculars……
I abandon the birds for a day of history. I walk from historic house to
house peeking in windows, looking at cisterns, opening gates. My walk
takes me through marshes and clumps of trees, and at every turn of my
walk there is the bluest of blue Pamlico Sound. I peek in the old post office, the U.S. Life-Saving Service Station, the Dixon and
Bragg homes. The Methodist church is decorated with wreaths and the
door is open. It is cool and dim inside, but complete with pews, an
organ, and gas lanterns. There never was running water or electricity
in this magical place.
Portsmouth Island Life Saving Station:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Portsmouth Island Methodist Church:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
I see a small sign that signals the graves of two sailors down a long
pathway strewn with juniper trees and white pines. The wind whistles as
I find the old graves. Both men were captains, and died in their 30s. I
sit in the dappled sun and shadow and read the inscription for William
Hilzey who died October 4, 1821:
Far from my native land
My spirit wings its flight
To dwell at God’s right hand
With angels fair and bright
Portsmouth Island Graves:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Portsmouth Island Tombstone:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
I pull out my ham sandwich to eat while I sit at
Captain Hilzey’s grave. Just as I reach for my candy bar a small
meadowlark sings sweetly overhead.
Yaupons in Winter:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
I photograph, nap in the warm sunshine, and walk for miles.
Portsmouth Island Path:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
As the sun crawls across the sky I realize Rudy will be by to pick us
up. I find my way back to the dock and see him waiting. The real
birders begin to show up. I am curious about their findings. I make a
list: pelicans, great black back gulls, herring gulls, ring
billed gulls, piping plovers, sanderlings, dunlins, reddish egret,
merlins, kestrels, and a tri-colored heron. “How did you
do?” they ask me.
“Oh,” I reply, “I saw a meadowlark.”
I smile as we climb down into the boat and head back to Ocracoke. It has been a great day for birding.
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