Taken by Will Cook (except for the miscellaneous section) using a Nikon CoolPix 995. The digiscoped shots were taken through a Kowa TSN-824 with 20-60x zoom. All shots were hand held until I built a simple but effective adapter out of a spice jar lid in January 2004.
Note: This page has moved - please visit the new home of North Carolina Bird Photos
Digiscoped:
Snow and Ross's Geese (Chen caerulescens and C. rossii). Lake Mattamuskeet, Hyde Co., NC, 11/15/03.
Ross's Goose with Snow Geese (Chen rossii and C. caerulescens). Southport, Brunswick Co., NC, 1/9/02.
Ross's Goose (Chen rossii). First record for Orange Co., NC 2/2/03.
Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii minima). Three at Lake Mattamuskeet, Hyde Co., NC 12/29/04. 
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor). Still somewhat rare in NC. Pea Island NWR, Dare Co., NC 11/5/04.
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus). Abundant at Pea Island NWR, Dare Co., NC 11/5/04.
American Wigeon (Anas americana). An aberrant bird at Pea Island NWR, Dare Co., NC 10/17/03.
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis). Bad photo documenting two at Jordan Lake, Chatham Co., NC 1/2/05
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos). Large flock at Pea Island NWR, Dare Co., NC 11/4/04.
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo). Adult and immature at Wrightsville Beach, New Hanover Co., NC 1/8/05.
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus). The first record for the Christmas Bird Count at Mattamuskeet NWR, Hyde Co., NC, 12/29/2001.
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi). The first NC record, Nags Head, Dare Co., NC, 7/9/02
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Adult Eastern with no trace of a belly band. Hyde Co., NC, 1/25/02.
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperi). Immature in Durham Co., NC, 11/11/2001.
Merlin (Falco columbarius). Pea Island NWR, Dare Co., NC 10/19/03 
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana). South Pond, Pea Island NWR, Dare Co., NC 10/19/03.
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus). Snoozing in the waves at Pea Island NWR, Dare Co., NC 11/6/04.
Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima). Flock of 12 resting on a buoy at Fort Macon, Carteret Co., NC, 3/12/03.
Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus). Lake Mattamuskeet, Hyde Co., NC, 1/25/02
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus). Jordan Lake, Chatham Co., NC 2/17/04.
Thick-billed Murre (Uria lomvia). Fort Macon, Carteret Co., NC, 3/12/03.
Common Ground-Dove (Columbina passerina). Carteret Co., NC, 12/26/03.
Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca). The bird at Bald Head Island (Brunswick Co., NC), 11/27/01.
Barred Owl (Strix varia). Fort Caswell, Brunswick Co., NC, 1/5/02.
Calliope Hummingbird (Stellula calliope). North Carolina's first adult male, Orange Co., NC, 11/10/02.
Gray Flycatcher (Empidonax wrightii). First North Carolina record, Chatham Co., NC.
Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens). Alligator River NWR, Dare Co., NC, 12/28/01.
Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus). Pea Island NWR, Dare Co., NC 11/3/01. The bird that showed up for the Wings Over Water festival.
Western Kingbird at Lake Mattamuskeet, Hyde Co., NC 1/18/03. This bird was hunting from the causeway road in the middle of the lake.
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon). Oregon Inlet, Dare Co., NC 1/26/02. 
Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker (Colaptes auratus auratus), Carroll Co., VA 10/7/01. This bird was in dim light, so I upped the ISO to 800 so I could get an image. It isn't pretty, but demonstrates the capability of the high ISO setting to help document rarities (let's pretend this was an Ivory-billed, say). Shot through a double paned window, handheld, 1/60 sec, f 3.8, about 40x.
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis), Orange Co., NC 9/30/2001. My first attempt - hand held camera to scope, about 50x. Bad lighting; foreground brightened some in Photoshop.
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba). First North Carolina record, Falls Lake, Wake Co., NC 10/22/02.
Audubon's Warbler (Dendroica (coronata) auduboni). Chapel Hill, NC 1/18/05.
Ipswich Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis princeps). Oregon Inlet, Dare Co., NC 1/26/02.
Harris's Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula). Winnabow, Brunswick Co., NC 4/25/04.
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys). Immature, Pea Island NWR, Dare Co., NC 11/7/04.
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) at Elizabeth City, Pasquotank Co., NC 2/14/03.
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) at Cape Hatteras, Dare Co., NC, 10/18/03.
Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis). 'Stumpy' the tailless Shiny at Pea Island NWR, Dare Co., NC 11/7/04.
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula). Chapel Hill, NC 1/18/05.
Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) at Ocracoke, Hyde Co., NC 1/17/04.
The term "digiscoping" refers to taking a digital photograph through a spotting scope. For more information, see Stéphane Moniotte's web site. Also, I conducted a couple of tests of the power of the digiscoping technique.
Not digiscoped:
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) - Biology Dept. parking lot, Duke University, Durham, NC 12/22/03.
Swallow-tailed Kites (Elanoides forficatus) near the Cape Fear River, Columbus and Bladen Cos., NC, 7/19/03.
Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) - Guilford Co., NC 3/2005.
Killdeer eggs in the "nest" - Flat River impoundment, Falls Lake, Durham Co., NC, 4/13/03.
Carolina Parakeet and Passenger Pigeon from the Duke University collection, 1/15/03.
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) - Chapel Hill, NC 4/10/05. The first bird photo taken with my Nikon CoolPix 8800. 
Unusual Specimens at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 9/6/01.
Miscellaneous: (photos of rare or unusual birds in NC taken by miscellaneous people)
Red-tailed Hawk - Near albino in Raleigh by Barbara and Chuck Gaul, 11/12/00.
Golden Eagle - Juvenile in Southport, NC, 11/19/02, by Tom Vaught.
Iceland Gull - Photographed 4/28/02 aboard the Cedar Island-Ocracoke ferry by Helmut Mueller.
Barred Owl - A very pale individual in Chapel Hill, 2/7/02.
Barred Owl - A fluffy baby owl on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill. Kirsten Snyder, 5/31/04
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) - Raleigh, 1/8/03. Hit a window in downtown Raleigh, now in the hands of the American Wildlife Refuge.
Western Kingbird - Alligator River NWR, Dare Co. Photo by Van Atkins, 1/26/02.
Scissor-tailed Flycatchers - Breeding in Monroe, NC. Photo by Mary Welty, 7/15/00.
Pacific-slope Flycatcher at Jordan Lake, NC. Photos, vocalizations, and description of the first North Carolina record of this bird, seen January 15-22, 2000. Photos by Derb Carter.
Green-tailed Towhee - The first NC record, found at Southport, NC on 1/5/02 by Greg Massey. Photo by Van Atkins, 2/1/02.
Outside links:
Vermilion Flycatcher in Goldsboro, NC, seen 11/20-12/2/00.
Green-breasted Mango in Concord, NC, which came to a feeder 11/12-12/6/00.
Durham Mystery Sparrow. Photos and discussion of the melanistic and erythristic bird that had many experts baffled.
Comments? Questions? E-mail me at cwcook@duke.edu
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Revised 4/28/2005 cwcook@duke.edu
