Today's winds along the Virginia coast were from the southeast, and the
forecast calls for 15-knot east winds for the next two days. This might be a
good time to check along the oceanfront at Virginia Beach, Back Bay, False
Cape, and Chincoteague for small flights of shearwaters, which were observed
a week ago from North Carolina's beaches (Coquina, Nags Head, Pea Island)
during similar winds. Sooty Shearwater and Wilson's Storm-Petrel
predominated, but one birder, stationed in an oceanfront room there at the
Comfort Inn/Whalebone Jct., saw Manx and Cory's from his room as well.
Greater Shearwaters have started coming through in numbers offshore, so one
would expect a few of those if the wind reaches high enough velocity. The
spring's flight of Pomarine Jaegers has been the best recorded off North
Carolina, and it seems to be about 3 weeks later than normal, so it's worth
watching for Poms from the beaches as well. Best times to seawatch seem to
be between early morning and noon, but flights can continue all day.
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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