Lots of teams of birders from Newport News, Williamsburg, Richmond, northern
Virginia, and Charlottesville are currently birding the Eastern Shore. Here
are a few of the more interesting finds so far (apologies for posting birds for
others, but I'm sure subsequent posts will elaborate further):
Red-necked Grebe: 1 adult paddling around on the north side of the Kiptopeke
docks (old ferry terminal), found by Sue Heath and Robin Diaz, seen an hour
later by Fenton Day, Chris Foster, and myself. Also there were 2 Horned
Grebes,
1 Common Goldeneye, and 6 Long-tailed Ducks, among many mergansers, loons,
scoters.
Northern Goshawk: 1 imm. male found by myself, chattering away and roosting
in the scrubby pine thicket east of the Kiptopeke parking lot. It perched for
great views, flushed (much like an owl), and ducked back into cover,
chattering away. I got Fenton, Sue, Chris, and Robin back to the park and
flushed the
bird, which coasted to a line of pines and perched for a bit before heading
out to the north. Absolutely wonderful bird.
Cackling Goose: 1 with Canadas and 5 hybrid Canada x domestic geese on
Crystal Lake in Cape Charles; lots of photos; also seen by most everyone
birding the
Shore today; a pretty darned clear Richardson's (hutchinsii).
Yellow-headed Blackbird: 1 male, 1 female mixed in with upwards of 2 million
blackbirds feeding between Kiptopeke Elementary and the corn fields west of
the highway nearby; I found these after sorting through the blackbirds for
about
2 hours, hoping to see Brewer's or Rusty! I don't know if folks have pursued
these yet; it is a little mind-numbing going through the flocks, even though
they're cooperative, and there are sundry odd birds - a Common Grackle with an
all-white head, a Red-winged Blackbird with a white tail, and probably 35
other blackbirds with stray white tail or wing feathers. When one gets past
the
poop on the windshield, the colors of these birds are incredibly beautiful and
make scanning through the flocks rather enjoyable (esp. when listening to,
say, Mozart or Car Talk on the radio). I'm sure I could have missed Rusties or
Brewer's mixed in (!), but I have yet to see Rusties feeding in cornfields on
the Eastern Shore!!
Virginia Rail: many (6++) at Magotha (Sue and Robin)
Orange-crowned Warbler: 1 at Magotha (Sue and Robin), 1 at Custis Tomb (me)
Vesper Sparrow: 1 near Custis Tomb on roadside (Sue and Robin)
Redhead: 12 at Custis Tomb (Costin Pond)
No one has seen Razorbill today. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird continues
flycatching and sipping nectar all through the day, seen by all. The Wilson's
Warbler hasn't yet appeared again, but it came late yesterday afternoon.
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, Virginia
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