Well, I've certainly waited long enough to post my Isabel experiences. I
hope everyone is doing well & I wish everyone the best.
OK, On Thursday I scanned the river off & on all day from my kitchen deck
door, which faces SW. Even during the height of our winds, which were the
worst when they were NE, Brian Patteson & I were able to open the deck door
and scope without getting wet. (Once the hurricane moved north enough to
push the high pressure out of here and the winds shifted east and continuing
around to SE, the winds actually fell out for us.)
I noted large movements of Laughing Gulls, Caspian Terns, Royal Terns, and
Forster's Terns. The Forster's had been scarce in my part of the river for
the past week, maybe 2 or 3 daily. During and after the hurricane those
numbers pushed up to 50+.
Well, in the late afternoon we spotted two Black Skimmers blowing by,
followed by a small flight of Common Terns. Then we noted a dark-backed
tern with the commons. Bridled Tern! Good yard bird by any means!
Well, I got some video and we spotted it a couple of more times as it and
the commons looped around the little bay behind my house. Then it was gone.
The commons continued their roundtrips until dark but no other "storm" birds
were to be seen.
The next day was uneventful, except for the 20 some trees to cut up & haul
away. What was maddening was while hauling branches across my field on the
FOLLOWING Day (Saturday) I found a dead Bridled Tern. It had been
decapitated, the feet bitten off, and the wings ripped off the body. I
searched around and found the head and parts of the wings. It was a
juvenile, judging by the white spotting on the back. This was NOT the bird
we viewed on Thursday, which was an adult. So that adds up to two (2)
Bridleds here on the Nansemond River in Suffolk.
I just wish I had seen it out in the field before whatever critter found it
and turned it into a "not-so-pretty" specimen.
Well, that is a lot of words to report 2 Bridled Terns, but that is all I
have. The Bridled Tern brings my yard list up to 176. Being as busy as I
have been lately it is the only list I have time to mess with any more. But
I tell you, after seeing all of the destruction, I would be much happier
back at 175 and no Hurricane Isabel!
Good Birding.
Les Willis
Suffolk, VA
leswillis@xxxxxxxxxxxx
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
