VA BIRDers,
Here is a brief report on the Wreck Island Field Trip; held today due to bad
weather yesterday. The weather was still poor - the winds were ca. 20 knots
NE and made passage to Wreck Is. impossible for our hosts, Dot Fields of
Natural Heritage VDGIF and Richard Ayers the Eastern Shorekeeper. So
instead, we focused on the marshes outside of Oyster, which was still a
challenge given the wind! The species list is below:
Brant 40
C. Goose 2
Am. Black Duck 3
Surf Scoter 20
Black Scoter 2
Long-tailed Duck 1
Bufflehead 7
Hooded Merganser 3
Common Merganser 20
Red-breasted Merganser 30
Common Loon 20 - lots of these today, clearly on the move!
Horned Grebe 3
DC Cormorant 100
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 22
Snowy Egret 1
Tricolored Heron 2
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 4
Bald Eagle 1, adult over a mile from the mainland
Peregrine Falcons, 2, near hacking tower
Black-bellied Plover 20
American Oystercatcher 8
Greater Yellowlegs 8
Willet 15
Marbled Godwit 1
Ruddy Turnstone 20
Semipalmated Sandpiper 7, all pretty much dull brown gray
Western Sandpiper 2, after much thought the color and pattering of these
birds were more consistent with Western then Semi - bright rufous caps
contrasting with lightly patterned nape, bright rufous patch under and
behind the eye, rufous band on wings, thick mesh of broad speckling on
breast on white background. I find the presence of this species to be
surprising - they were with a few dozen Dunlin on the mudbanks of a gut we
motored thru.
WESE (Western/Semipalmated) Sandpipers - a flock of a dozen plus dull
colored peeps passed us at one point
Dunlin 250, defacto the most common bird out there
Short-billed Dowitcher 7
Laughing Gull 10
Ring-billed Gull 2
Herring Gull 150
Great Black-backed Gull 36
Forster's Tern 8
Some sparrows at the hacking tower - we did not stop to look, but shape
suggests Seaside Sparrows.
Before the boat trip, Molly and Peter Ross and I visited Ramp Road at the
Eastern Shore of VA NWR. Highlight was an American Bittern vocalizing in
the weeds near the marsh (the tide was very high). Also noted a few
Gadwall, two dozen Green-winged Teal, some Red-breasted Mergansers, a
calling Northern Bobwhite, 15 Common Loons, Snowy Egret, 2 Glossy Ibis, a
Belted Kingfisher, many Marsh Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, Seaside and Swamp
Sparrows.
After the boat trip, we all visited the Savage Neck Natural area where both
Dot and Richard described some of their recent activities. On the drive
over there plus the short walk we took into the Natural Area we spotted
Eastern Meadowlark, American Kestrels and, over the bay, Northern Gannets.
Savage added Hairy WP, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Pine Warblers, Palm Warbler
and Field Sparrow.
We left for home via the CBBT - island one produced a single Purple
Sandpiper, more RB Mergansers, 5 Long-tailed Ducks and over 50 Northern
Gannets.
Kurt Gaskill
