The ninth annual Chesapeake Bay Christmas Bird Count will be held on 26
December 2002, during daylight hours. The count begins on the northernmost
island (Island 4) at 0700. The CBC takes in only the northern pair of
islands around the Chesapeake Channel There is fee of $5, which is paid to
the National Audubon Society, for participants who wish to be included on the
count roster and archive.
A letter of permission is required for participation in the CBC (one letter
for each vehicle), a participants must have on their person a driver's
license (for each member of party), and registration papers for all vehicles
participating are also required. The driver's letter, ID, and registration
must be presented to CBBT security authorities at the toll plaza before
paying the toll ($10). Unattended vehicles can no longer be left on
nonpublic islands to "pool" birders between islands, so one must carpool
either at the toll plaza or on the southernmost island (Island 1, South
Thimble Island). To obtain a letter of permission, telephone 757-331-2960.
They can fax you a letter as well as mailing one (mail service will probably
not arrive in time for the CBC). The CBBT has a website: http://cbbt.com ;
with more information.
Highly recommended for this CBC are warm clothes (e.g., silk longjohns,
another polypro or better overlayer of longjohns, pile or wool pants, heavy
shirt and wool sweater, down vest, and esp. outer layer for both legs and
torso that's wind/waterproof, woolen socks, warm boots), scope and tripod,
binoculars, packed lunch, and a thermos with hot drink (no consumption of
alcoholic beverages, though!).
Count period for this count runs from today (23 December) through Sunday 29
December, and I'd love to hear reports from birders who are out there on
these days. Even seemingly common birds, especially ducks and passerines,
can be missed in the 10 hours of counting on the CBC day, and it's nice to be
able to add "count week" birds for such species. Last year, Mitchell Byrd
and others discovered a Black-headed Gull out here, the first for the count,
within count period.
For an account of last year's CBC here, see:
http://sterling-inn.com/Dec01.html. For a history of past counts, see ;
http://sterling-inn.com/cbbtcbc.html. For gull fans, the CBC has recorded 16 ;
species (of18 documented from the CBBT, 20 from Virginia) in the past 8
count-week periods. We hope to be able to add a new subspecies this year, if
the Mew Gull can be refound.
Best wishes for a happy holiday to all,
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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