I got a call last night from Bill Moskoff, Chicago-area birder, who just
looked at his slides from ca. 13 August at Chincoteague (Swan Cove, I think)
and
discovered an adult Heermann's Gull sitting among the Laughing Gulls, or so I
understand it. Bill is sending photos here for confirmation, but others have
already looked at the photographs and said that the bird appears to be an adult
Heermann's (I will post otherwise if I think it's not a Heermann's on seeing
the images). I have not had any reports of this bird other than last night's
call.
Other local birds: 2 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, lovely birds, were found by
Paul Bedell near the intersection of Arlington Rd and Wheat Ln this morning
(Wheat Ln is halfway between Custis Tomb Rd and Capeville Rd), on the backside
of
a large potato field, along with 7 Upland Sandpipers, which were very
confiding. Also here were ca. 14 Least Sandpipers, ca. 30 Semipalmated
Plovers, 3
Black-bellied Plovers, 2 Pectoral Sandpipers, 2 Killdeer, 1 Gull-billed Terns
(morning only), and many Laughing Gulls. This is very close to Sting-Ray's
Restaurant.
Two other adult Gull-billed Terns were in nearby fields, and an adult fed a
juvenile near Honeysuckle Ln's southern end in Fairview, where 4 Pectoral
Sandpipers were also present. This is only the third juvenile Gull-billed I've
seen in the county this year.
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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