A quick check of Cheriton, Simpkins, and the Cape Charles beachfront this
morning 0630-0800 revealed a few birds brought in on the cold front of last
night. At the town jetty, a juvenile Clapper Rail was walking along the
boardwalk
just after dawn, along with a half-dozen Seaside Sparrows in juvenal plumage.
The rail eventually flew into the dune grass, where it will probably spend
the day. Redstarts and Yellow Warblers were flying northward, calling, in
small
numbers. (Sunset Beach and the CBBT were probably pretty good today, but I
didn't have a chance to get down that far.) At Cheriton, a Black-billed Cuckoo
flushed from a grove on the nw. side of town. At Simpkins, fields held
pretty much the same complement of shorebirds as in past days (could not locate
the
Buff-breasted Sandpiper), but there is much more water in the fields than
yesterday morning, the result of two huge downpours yesterday afternoon and
evening. Gull-billed Terns with young are a little more conspicuous over
fields
than in past weeks.
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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