I'm never absolutely certain of my gull IDs, but I'm writing this one up, and it's a lifer: Lesser Black-Backed Gull (Larus fuscus), seen on the beach in Kill Devil Hills.

posted: 6:08:10 PM  

The motto of Hyde County on its welcome signs is "The Road Less Traveled," and I can attest to that. U.S. 264 leads from U.S. 64 near Manteo to Mattamuskeet NWR, which is in Hyde. On its way it skirts Alligator River NWR in western Dare County, and this stretch of road is the most unpeopled, lonely, drowse-inducing patch of asphalt in the East. It's designated a scenic byway, and it's certainly green enough, but the only wildlife to be seen are several flocks of American Robins. (Susan and I drove this road a decade ago, and the summertime windshield kill of insects was something to see.) Southbound U.S. 264, as if to dispel the tedium, swings in a big 135° loop and actually heads northwest for a spell. It's not surprising that the Navy and Air Force have land staked out nearby for use as practice bombing ranges. This flat-flat (imagine the Great Plains with poor drainage—there's even a nearby hamlet named Nebraska), boggy terrain has a name: pocosin.

The town of Engelhard breaks up the turfy sameness of the drive. The first building you see is an abandoned roadhouse signed E&J Millennium Club.

posted: 6:08:09 PM