[va-bird] Craney Island, CBBT, Eastern Shore

[Susan Heath <sheath@xxxxxxx>]

VA Birders,

On Saturday, Greg and I spent the day with Larry Lynch, Lauren Scott, 
Fenton Day, and Ann (don't remember her last name!) doing some birding 
on the shore.  We started the day at Craney Island where we found the 
Snow Bunting flock consisting of 23 individuals along the perimeter 
road.  Other birds there included Dunlin, Sanderling, Killdeer, Greater 
Scaup, Canvasback, Red-breasted Merganser, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Surf 
Scoter, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, and the usual gulls.

We then moved on to the CBBT where the word of the day was SCOTER.  
There were 10's of thousands of scoter everywhere as far as the eye 
could see.  It was really a sight.  They were mostly Surf, but perhaps 
as many as 1/4 were Black, and every now and then we caught sight of 
some White-winged flying by.  At one point we were standing on Island 4 
and a tanker came through the channel which put all the scoters up.  It 
was incredible as they flew and flew and flew.  Fenton Day remarked 
several times that it seemed like we were watching a wildlife show on 
TV.  Incredible!  Other birds on the islands were on #1 a single Brant, 
female Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Ducks, and a Harbor Seal, #2 Great 
Cormorant, Purple Sandpiper, Lesser and Greater Scaup, #3 oddly some 
Black Ducks in with the scaup and scoters, #4 6 Common Eiders (3 of each 
sex), a male Harlequin Duck, the scoters of course, two American Wigeon 
foraging on the rocks, and another Harbor Seal.  We did not see the King 
Eider but we heard later from an NC couple that they saw two of them on 
island 2 after we left.

 From there we moved on to the Eastern Shore.  The pond at Eastern Shore 
of VA NWR had Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Black Duck, American 
Wigeon, Gadwall, Hooded Merganser, a Snowy Egret and three juvenile 
White Ibis.  On the way in, we spotted a woodcock sitting on the side of 
the road in full view.  On the way out, we found a House Wren near the 
photography blind.  Kiptopeke had NO loons (none on the CBBT either) but 
the roadside under the pine trees was covered with foraging Fox 
Sparrows.  Along Arlington road we spotted a Peregrine Falcon zooming by 
and Custis Tomb had more Dunlin, a couple Lesser Yellowlegs, and a lone 
Redhead on the pond there.  We checked out Oyster and found a large 
flock of Brant but the tide was too high at that point for shorebirds.  
Magotha road yielded Eastern Meadowlarks and three Virginia Rails.  
After dinner at Stingray's we stopped at Eastern Shore of VA NWR again 
and heard at least two Great Horned Owls before we got too cold to stand 
out anymore.  A fine day of birding on the shore!

Sue


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[va-bird] Craney Island, CBBT, Eastern Shore