VA BIRDers,
Following up on Stephen's wonderful report, let me note a few additions that
Sherman Suter and I observed late today and include some notes I made earlier
this week.
Currently, 9 species of shorebirds are on the Hunting Creek mudflats. Counts
are down slightly for many of these from high counts noted just 2-3 days ago.
These birds are all adults.
Semipalmated Plover 1 (seen at noon today, present for several days)
Killdeer 45
Greater Yellowlegs 4 today (8 is high this week)
Lesser Yellowlegs 22 today (28 earlier)
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1 (5 earlier)
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5 (9 earlier)
Least Sandpiper 12 (26 earlier)
Pectoral Sandpiper 3
Also noted were Great Blue Heron and Great Egret.
We are currently awaiting the first big shorebird push, usually containing
the first Westerns, White-rumpeds, Stilts, dows, etc. to the DC area. This
should happen anytime in the next 10 days. Cross your fingers!
Also, larid numbers are increasing:
Boneparte's Gull 1 (basic, noted Thursday, on time)
Laughing Gull 69
Ring-billed Gull 775
Herring Gull 1
Greater Black-backed Gull 4
Caspian Tern 6
Common Tern 1 (non-breeding adult plumage, usually found during tern peak)
Forster's Tern 118
Big larids numbers are down compared to this time last year. We are
currently into the (first) peak period of Forster's Tern migration. Caspian
Tern
numbers are down from this time last year perhaps due to weather-related
breeding
delays.
Also noted was an American Black Duck and Fred Bogar tells me of 4 Am Coots
this morning near the Stone Bridge.
Kurt Gaskill
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