VA Birders,
23 birders from the Northern Virginia Bird Club led by Val Kitchens and me
enjoyed a fine spring weekend at Chincoteague May 12-14. We tallied 108
species total. The trip began on Friday afternoon where we saw Northern
Bobwhites
calling and Black Skimmers skimming along the Wildlife Loop. We also saw a
pair of Gull-billed Terns and many shorebirds. Friday night we listened to
several and got a brief look at one Chuck-will's Widow near the parking lot
to the old visitor's center. On Saturday, we went to the beach and saw
several Piping Plovers on their nesting grounds. While there, we also caught
sight
of a Sooty Shearwater flying along the waves parallel to the beach. A
Whimbrel put on a good show for us too. We later took a bus ride on the
Washflats
where we saw more Gull-billed Terns, a nice Blue Grosbeak, and a small
flock of late staying Brant. On both Saturday and Sunday I led early morning
walks which yielded birds such as a Yellow-breasted Chat and Brown-headed
Nuthatches on the Woodland Trail. On Sunday we paid a visit to the Maddox
campground where we observed nesting Yellow-crowned Night-Herons. We then
arrived at
Saxis Marsh after spotting some Black-necked Stilts on the causeway outside
of Chincoteague. Saxis gave us many Seaside Sparrows and Marsh Wrens and a
ratty Red-tailed Hawk. For information on the Northern Virginia Bird Club, go
to _www.NVABC.org_ (http://www.NVABC.org)
I have posted some pictures from the trip at
_http://uberlarry.smugmug.com/gallery/1459377/1/69779298_ ;
(http://uberlarry.smugmug.com/gallery/1459377/1/69779298)
Here is the full list:
Common Loon
Sooty Shearwater
Brown Pelican
DC Cormorant
GB Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
LB Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
BC Night-Heron
YC Night-Heron
Brant
Canada Goose
Am Black Duck
Mallard
Gadwall
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Peregrine Falcon
No Bobwhite
Clapper Rail
Black-bellied Plover
SP Plover
Piping Plover
Killdeer
Am Oystercatcher
Black-necked Stilt
Gr Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary SP
Willet
Spotted SP
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Semipalm SP
Least SP
Dunlin
SB Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great BB Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Royal Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Least Tern
Black Skimmer
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chuck-will's Widow
Chimney Swift
RT Hummer
RB Woodpecker
No Flicker
E Wood-Peewee
GC Flycatcher
E Kingbird
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Blue Jay
Am Crow
Fish Crow
Car Chickadee
BH Nuthatch
Car Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
E Bluebird
Am Robin
Gray Catbird
No Mocker
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Euro Starling
RE Vireo
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
YB Chat
Scarlet Tanager
No Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Chipping Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
Song Sparrow
RW Blackbird
E Meadowlark
BT Grackle
Com Grackle
BH Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
House Finch
Am Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Larry Meade