TRAVELING AMERICA BIRD BY BIRD

There I was, standing on a sliver of land that extends beyond the Pamlico Sound, in North Carolina. To my back was the Atlantic Ocean and a cold, wintry wind that blasted through my coat. In front of me were the freshwater ponds that dotted Pea Island. These ponds provide relief to countless waterfowl moving south for the winter.

Overhead, hundreds of redhead ducks circled the sky in preparation for a synchronized landing. The unrelenting wind stole the heat from my body as I gazed out into the ponds, identifying the many species of birds that found refuge there: tundra swan, canvasback duck, pied-billed