[va-bird] Eastern Shore on Saturday


Saturday's trip to First Landing State Park and the Eastern Shore provided a 
day of good birding for four of us, Terry Jenkins, Bob Odear, Robert Odear, and 
myself, Sheila Scoville. Highlights:   First Landing (joined by Aaron Decker) 
we saw , in close succession, Swainson's and Gray Cheeked Thrushes.   On the 
lower Eastern Shore, the Ramp Road Pond was populated with an assortment of 
shorebirds, most interestingly, a Wilson's Plover that was easily compared to 
the more numerous Semipalmated Plovers.  Later at Chincoteague, after viewing a 
Piping Plover, we sorted through the 1000+ shorebirds on the Wildlife Loop.  We 
were able to get good comparisons between the Stilt Sandpipers  and the more 
numerous Dowitchers.  In addition to plentiful Semipalmated Sandpipers, we 
found several White-rumped Sandpipers.  The best bird of the day was spotted by 
Bob Odear, a Mottled Duck that was in the same flats with the shorebirds.  We 
had an unobstructed view in good light and readily saw a bird resembling a 
female mallard with an entirely unstreaked throat, (warm buffy color) an orange 
bill and blue speculum with no visible white margins.  

Yours truly, Sheila Scoville


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