Hello, Virginia birders:
'Sorry this is a somewhat late report. I've had too many irons in the
fire lately and hardly seem to have the time to do any birding, let
alone write a report about it!
Mike Iwanik and I spent over 3 hours at Craney Island in Portsmouth on
Sunday morning. The weather conditions were surprisingly ideal. It was
overcast with no glare and a breeze off the river kept the mosquitoes at
bay. Not too hot, either. The shorebirds and shorebird habitat are the
best I've seen at Craney in a long time. Our frequent rains are keeping
extensive areas of mud flats at just the right depth to attract and hold
hundreds of birds. Major concentrations of waders were in 3 separate
areas: the NE corner of the middle impoundment adjoining the SE corner
of the upper impoundment; the whole west side of the upper impoundment;
and the NW corner of the lower impoundment. In addition, the entire
width of Craney across the north end between the dike and the road looks
like it has been groomed to attract "grasspipers." The weedy grasses are
thick, mowed short and laced with wet spots. We didn't see anything
using these grasslands but Killdeer, but I think the potential for
Baird's, Buff-breasted and Upland Sandpipers is good, along with
American Golden Plovers, once late August and September arrive.
Probably the best sighting we had Sunday was a trio of Wilson's
Phalaropes, in very drab juvenal plumage. Hundreds of Short-billed
Dowitchers were scattered over all the suitable mud. No Long-billed, yet
and no Godwits, either. A few Stilt Sandpipers were in with the
Dowitchers, along with several Western Sandpipers and a few Leasts. We
saw and heard at least a dozen White-rumped Sandpipers and I expect
their numbers will continue to build in the next couple of weeks. As
usual, the predominant peep at Craney is the Semipalmated Sandpiper
right now and there are probably close to 2000 of them. Both Yellowlegs
are in good supply, with Lessers being more numerous. A few Willets were
there, too. We were unable to find either Black-necked Stilts or
American Avocets. Plenty of Semipalmated Plovers were mixed in, as well
as a few Black-bellied Plovers. Two large roosting groups of terns
included a hundred or more Caspians and about half that amount of
Royals. Single Gull-billed Terns were at two locations and a trio of
Black Terns was feeding over the northern impoundment, always a treat to
see.
Good birding!
David L. Hughes
Portsmouth, VA
raresteaks@xxxxxxx
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