[va-bird] Frigatebird, Ruff and Purple Gallinule: quite a weekend!

I went to Chincoteague this weekend, to help Val Kitchens with the NVBC 
spring trip there (23 participants). On the way down, I stopped at the 
gallinule 
site, and revisited in on the way back, also looking in at the CBBT islands.
I'll start with the MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD, since that report has not yet 
appeared on VA-BIRD. As I was heading for the lookout point on Island #2, at 
about 2 pm today (Sunday, May 23), I was amazed to find a frigatebird crossing 
my 
front. It was a juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird, with white head and belly 
patch. It sauntered around for a while, only a hundred feet up and having to 
flap its wings quite a lot. After about 10 minutes it seemed to head off 
towards 
Island #1. We went over there, but could find no sign of the bird. (It is 
worth mentioning that the channel between Islands #1 and 2 was chock full of 
fishing craft, presumably what attracted the bird there.) [Also seeing the 
bird: 
Joseph and Gwen Gantt; Marv and Mary Kaye Rubin. Gwen took a couple of photos.]

Nothing else of much interest on CBBT, hardly surprising at that time of day: 
a couple of female Common Yellowthroats (Islands #4 and 2), a female Magnolia 
Warbler (Island #3) and a handful of Purple Sandpipers on each island.

The major find of the Chincoteague trip (from Friday at 3 pm through Saxis at 
11 am today) was the RUFF which has already been posted on VA-BIRD. As we 
were scanning Swan's Cove shorebirds (5 pm Friday), Mary Kaye Rubin drew my 
attention to a 'very red, odd looking' bird. It was quite distant, but stood 
out. 
At first view, I had no idea what it was, though was able to rule out all the 
commonly expected species in all plumages before the group wanted to move on. 
After the group had completed the Wildlife Trail drive and disbursed for an 
early dinner, Joseph and Gwen Gantt and I made a second circuit to nail the 
bird's ID. By then, I had been thinking over the possibilities and structural 
considerations had led me to believe it was probably a Ruff, though the 
coloring 
(heavily rufous head and neck) was not one I associated with Ruff. When we 
returned to the bird it was still distant, but -- head/neck coloration apart -- 
it 
was possible to conform the ID as Ruff, especially after it flew a short 
distance and one was able to see the trademark white U on the upper tail 
coverts 
(shown in Sibley but not in National Geographic). The bird landed very near 
where the trail was ahead of us. We were then able to have views at 25 feet. 
Photos were taken. [I do not have a web site for this, but anyone interested in 
seeing these photos should contact me off VA-BIRD and I will send them on.] On 
Saturday afternoon, the NVBC group returned to the area and the bird was 
luckily 
still there. Though the bird was still distant, most of the group was able to 
note the main ID features. [From the blotchy black breast markings, which 
continued up the front neck, and the dark bill, my presumption is that this was 
an adult female, though I have never seen one before with such deep rufous head 
and neck coloring. I would welcome comments on this from anyone else who sees 
this bird.]

The rest of the Chincoteague/Saxis trip was quite productive, with 103 
species (not bad in view of the paucity of vireos, warblers, tanagers, thrushes 
and 
sparrows!). A full list is at the end of this posting.

My visit to the PURPLE GALLINULE site was only partly successful, but I 
believe the bird may still have been there as late as 5.30 pm today. When I 
first 
arrived (Friday, about noon and short of time), I watched unsuccessfully for 
half an hour and was about to abandon the search. But I then heard it 
'singing', 
very loud indeed. But then total silence (and no appearance) during the 
additional 15 minutes that I waited. This was enough to make me try again on 
the 
return trip this afternoon (with Joseph and Gwen Gantt and Marv and Mary Kaye 
Rubin). This time, no sighting and no loud calling. However, we walked behind 
the marsh (there is a bicycle trail leading off the Parkway that conveniently 
does that), when we could hear (for a few moments) a series of sharp 'keek' 
notes, rather like a Common Moorhen often does, but quite different from 
anything 
the King Rail does. [Vocalizations were checked against the Stokes' CD.]

Here is the full NVBC Chincoteague/Saxis species list:

Common Loon (1)
Northern Gannet (couple)
Double-crested Cormorant (numerous)
Great Blue Heron (7, all immatures)
Great Egret (abundant)

Snowy Egret (abundant)
Little Blue Heron (several)
Tricolored Heron (several)
Cattle Egret (3, in breeding plumage)
Green Heron (6)

Black-crowned Night-Heron (1 adult)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (2 pairs attending nests)
Glossy Ibis (lots)
Canada Goose (abundant)
American Black Duck (several)

Mallard (several)
Gadwall (6)
Surf Scoter (1 pair)
Black Vulture (a few)
Turkey Vulture (several)

Osprey (lots)
Bald Eagle (two adults)
Northern Harrier (one immature or female)
Northern Bobwhite (3 pairs seen, more calling)
Clapper Rail (2 seen, more calling)

Black-bellied Plover (lots)
Semipalmated Plover (abundant)
Piping Plover (at least 3)
Killdeer (lots)
American Oystercatcher (lots)

Black-necked Stilt (1)
Lesser Yellowlegs (lots)
Greater Yellowlegs (lots)
Solitary Sandpiper (1)
Willet (abundant)

Spotted Sandpiper (1)
Whimbrel (5)
Ruddy Turnstone (lots)
Sanderling (25)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (abundant)

Least Sandpiper (abundant)
Dunlin (abundant)
Ruff (1)
Short-billed Dowitcher (abundant)
[NOTE: NO White-rumped, Pectoral or Stilt S/P located]

Laughing Gull (abundant)
Ring-billed Gull (several)
Herring Gull (abundant)
Great Black-backed Gull (several)
Gull-billed Tern (3)

Royal Tern (10)
Common Tern (several)
Forster's Tern (abundant)
Least Tern (at least 20)
Black Skimmer (at least 20)

Feral Pigeon (lots around the town, one actually in NWR)
Mourning Dove (several)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (couple heard, none seen)
Great Horned Owl (juvenile, still with lots of white, sitting with a kill)
Chuck-will's-widow (heard)

Chimney Swift (one small group)
Belted Kingfisher (1)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1)
Red-headed Woodpecker (3)
Northern Flicker (8)

Eastern Wood-Pewee (heard)
Great Crested Flycatcher (common on Woodland Trail)
Eastern Kingbird (common)
Purple Martin (several)
Tree Swallow (lots)

Barn Swallow (abundant)
Blue Jay (several, Woodland Trail only)
American Crow (several)
Fish Crow (lots)
Brown-headed Nuthatch (6)

Carolina Wren (couple, Woodland Trail only)
House Wren (several, Woodland Trail only)
Marsh Wren (many singing at Saxis, a few seen displaying)
Eastern Bluebird (6)
American Robin (lots)

Gray Catbird (1)
Northern Mockingbird (several)
Brown Thrasher (3)
European Starling (several)
White-eyed Vireo (couple heard)

Red-eyed Vireo (couple heard, Woodland Trail only)
Northern Parula Warbler (one seen)
Pine Warbler (couple seen, many calling)
Common Yellowthroat (couple seen, many calling)
Yellow-breasted Chat (one seen, both mornings, singing from high perch and 
making display flight)

Northern Cardinal (lots)
Indigo Bunting (couple)
Eastern Towhee (couple)
Seaside Sparrow (lots at Saxis)
Song Sparrow (couple)

House Finch (in town)
American Goldfinch (several)
Red-winged Blackbird (abundant)
Eastern Meadowlark (6)
Boat-tailed Grackle (lots)

Common Grackle (abundant)
Brown-headed Cowbird (too many)
Orchard Oriole (2)
House Sparrow (in town)

Stephen Eccles


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