Several species of waterfowl frolicked in the lake at Airlie Gardens as a kingfisher zipped by on a warm November day. Nearby, some turtles sunning themselves on an old stump took no notice of the aerial noisemaker.
Even a few roseate spoonbills were hanging around in the majestic oaks that line the shores of the 10-acre centerpiece of the New Hanover County gardens near Wrightsville Beach.
“They really should be on their way back to Florida by now,” said Janine Powell, the gardens’ director of donor relations, of the pink wading birds with the funny-shaped beak that belies their name…