Sorry for the somewhat inflammatory subject line, but I haven't seen
shorebirding of such high calibre at Chincoteague in years, and I just had to
get your
attention.
I've noted reports of multiple Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Little
Stint, and Ruff to our north (and 2 Curlew Sandpipers to our south, in NC), and
with only a week before the adult stints fade toward basic plumage (and become
essentially impossible to pick out), I decided to focus on trying to find one
of these species at Chincoteague. In fact, I couldn't find anything
especially Eurasian in birding from 1:25 to 6:30 p.m. yesterday 22 July, but
I'm sure
that something fascinating lurks in the flocks of thousands of shorebirds in
Snow Goose Pool (yes - Snow Goose Pool! - after 3:00 p.m., you can bird from
your car, with the a/c on, Vivaldi on the 8-track, and a limeade at the ready).
Before noting the breakdown of shorebirds below, I should mention that Rob
and Ann Simpson reported 2 Ruffs (no age or sex given) and one Baird's
Sandpiper
(no age given) on the tally sheet at the old Visitor Center last Saturday 19
July. This would be an extraordinarily early Baird's, I think, as Virginia
doesn't get much in the way of adult Baird's, and the juvenile shorebirds have
yet to materialize down our way; in fact, I think the Baird's would be rarer
than the Ruffs in this context, so if anyone refinds the Baird's, do snap a
photo or digiscope it for posterity! (Juv. Baird's seem to appear no earlier
than
the second week of August here.) As far as I could tell, adult shorebirds
are the ones on the refuge at the moment (locally breeding Piping Plover,
American Oystercatcher, and Willet excepted). I did not see any juvenal
plumages
among the Least Sandpipers or Lesser Yellowlegs yesterday, though I looked
carefully at most of them.
The numbers below represent counts or estimates made from observations in
Swan Cove and Snow Goose Pool only; there are probably thousands of shorebirds
more on the Wash Flats, but time was limited, and I could not get out there.
Estimates were difficult, as the birds were disrupted by a storm squall at 4:15
and by Bald Eagles on several occasions. Water conditions in Snow Goose Pool
are optimal for a wide variety of wading birds just at the moment, and in
addition to the shorebirds, there were 350+ Glossy Ibis (I did not scan for
White-faced), 500 Snowy Egrets & Little Blue Herons (probably 60% Snowy or so;
I
didn't have time to separate out each young Little Blue), 60 Great Egrets, and
a
few each of Great Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, and Green Heron. I watched a
Glossy Ibis eat a small snake here, quite a sight. There must be ample prey
just
now. It was almost "Chincoteague like in the old days"!
Whimbrel 10
Short-billed Dowithcher 3200+
Most of these are in Snow Goose Pool. Many of these birds show fully
red-knot-red underparts (as in the "hendersoni" subspecies), while some others
are obvious "griseus". A good number of individuals, however, show
intermediate
characters, either because of more advanced molt or because they are
"intergrades". Claudia Wilds noted that "almost all southbound migrants,
virtually
all in full alternate plumage, in the first half of July are 'hendersoni'; the
two races are usually fairly evenly balanced for the next four weeks, by which
time almost all adults have nearly completed their molt into basic plumage and
are identifiable only to the species level, even when seen well.' I did not
knowingly see or hear a Long-billed Dowitcher, but mid-July arrivals of adults
are typical in Delaware, and we should expect one soon (Claudia Wilds's
earliest date for the species was 21 July). There are so many close birds to
study
that a diligent observer could surely find a few Long-billeds.
Stilt Sandpiper 72+
I was most impressed by the numbers of these -- 72 in the first open
stretch of the Wildlife Loop, 20 on the last open stretch (which could have
been
from the other side; birds were moving around quite a bit). Also impressive
was the high "definitive alternate" ("breeding") plumage of many adults --
simply a gorgeous bird. Stilt Sandpipers have a relatively low total world
population, and it has been ages since I've seen this many in Virginia in one
spot.
Claudia Wilds's highest count, of 820, came from 1980 in early/mid-August, I
think.
Pectoral Sandpiper 62+
Most of these were in the grassy areas on the last leg of the Wildlife
Loop; this also seemed to me to be the best habitat for Ruff (several of which
are just to the north of Virginia now, including in Delaware). Indeed, a large
Pec gave me a start on several occasions -- the shape and foraging behavior
can look rather Ruff-like for a moment!
Western Sandpiper 265+
Including some utterly beautiful adults with most of alternate plumage
intact. Probably I missed a fair number of Westerns with shorter bills and put
them down as Semipalmateds.
Semipalmated Sandpiper 400+
Least Sandpiper 240+
White-rumped Sandpiper 6 [5 of these in Swan Cove; somewhat early]
unidentified peep 500+
Lesser Yellowlegs 450+
Greater Yellowlegs 19 (includes one on Chincoteague Causeway)
Dunlin 1
This bird looked for all the world like the subspecies "schinzii" that I
just studied in Iceland last week (many 100s there). There are a lot of
subspecies of Dunlin, though, and I'm not really sure how to clinch this one.
Summer Dunlin are generally considered quite rare (Wilds found very few here),
and
most Dunlin don't show up in Virginia until 1 September.
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Sanderling 2 [Swan Cove]
Semipalmated Plover 130+
Also enjoyed were Least Terns (about 40), Black Skimmers (120), Gull-billed
Tern (1 juv.), Forster's Terns (30), Common Terns (4), and Royal Terns (2) on
the refuge and near it. The birding is, in short, delightful at Chincoteague
right now, and I think that if a good number of birders come down and pick
through the masses of birds with a spotting scope, a few Eurasian species will
surely turn up. Even without a rarity, though, these adult shorebirds are a
real
treat in themselves. Hopefully, water conditions will keep these large
numbers of birds around for the weeks to come -- the first few juveniles (of
Lesser
Yellowlegs and Least Sandpiper, sometimes Spotted Sandpiper) start to arrive
next week -- and this is the time for the first appearances of Hudsonian
Godwit.
Locally, the first landbird migrants are turning up -- a Bank Swallow at
"Marina Villages" on the 20th, two Yellow Warblers on Randolph Avenue in a
neighbor's garden, both in Cape Charles -- so fall isn't far behind.
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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