[va-bird] Smith I. MD/VA pelicans & terns July 23
- From: "Harry Armistead" <harryarmistead@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 19:27:43 +0000
Virginians, Trying to get back in the loop for Virginia and hope to improve
the format of my postings, so please be patient. For the archival record,
here is a late posting from the Smith Island, MD, area, which extends south
into VA a few miles.-Harry Armistead.
From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> >To: Harry Armistead
Subject: pelicans &terns July 23 >Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 11:18:06 -0400
OnJuly 22, 2002, at Skimmer Island, Ocean City, MD, Dave Brinker, John
Weske et al. banded 117 Royal Tern chicks. Earlier this season they tagged
567 there, so the grand total is 684. This is the royals' northernmost
colony. No sign of any Sandwich Terns nesting there. >>Earlier, also on
July22, John et al. revisited Fisherman's I. N.W.R., VA, >finding only 3 new
royals to band there beyond the 1,600 they had marked >earlier this month.
Asis often the case they found dead chicks banded >earlier this year, 14,
most if not all probably R.I.P. due to gull >predation. >>On July 23,
Tuesday, I accompanied John and Dave, who were returning to the >Fox
Islands,close to Crisfield, MD, but in VA, for mopping up operations. >We
corralled and banded 77 royal chicks, that, added to the 897 caught in
earlyJuly, make 974 for Little Fox Island. Also present were 200 or so
pairs of Laughing Gulls (lots of chicks plus still a few nests with eggs),
afew Forster's Tern young, 4 Willets, 4 American Oystercatchers, and a few
pairs of Black Skimmers, incl. large but still downy young. There are
stillc. 45 royal nests each with their single egg. Great Fox Island, just
across the way, is a Chesapeake Bay Foundation site, a marvelous old hunt
club atop pilings. Unfortunately the C.B.F. this year has trapped mucho
raccoons there. I think this is a new situation. Coons could really wreak
havoc with the nesting birds on Little Fox. This year there seem to be
fewer skimmers and Forster's, more laughers at the Foxes. The other
numbersI am reporting here and elsewhere are about normal, at least for
recent years, though the Fisherman I. royals are up a little. >>Then we
wentover to a Brown Pelican colony not yet visited this year, a >sub-colony
of the huge South Marsh Pt. complex, in VA, but really an >extension of
SmithIsland, MD. This sub-colony is much smaller than in >some recent years
and we banded just 11 pelican chicks. Dave needed 23 to >make it 1,000 for
this year at South Marsh so he is still shy a dozen >birds, something John
Weske and I may remedy in another visit planned in 3 >weeks or so. While
herewe saw some migrating shorebirds (4 Lesser >Yellowlegs, 7 Short-billed
Dowitchers &9 Least Sandpipers), 4 Willets, a >good total of 44
oystercatchers, 1 Yellow-crowned and 4 Black-crowned Night >Herons, a
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, 15 Black Skimmers, and 3 black >ducks plus a
Saltmarsh Skipper. Seeing these remote places again made my >2:30 A.M.
Philadelphia wakeup call well worth the effort. >>Recent omissions. In my
report from this area for July 18 I failed to note >the 2 ad. and 1 imm.
BaldEagle seen in MD at the little Hog Neck hammock, >where there is a nest.
These were the first eagles I've ever seen on the >Bay islands south of
SouthMarsh Island but are hardly surprising since for >several years they
have also nested in the Glenn L. Martin N.W.R. on >northern Smith Island at
Cherry Island. Also in my report from Elliott >Island for July 21 I forgot
tolist 2 other surprising misses: Red-eyed >Vireo and Common Moorhen. >>"You
might be a redneck if you are amazed at how clean the rest rooms are >in gas
stations." I am beyond being amazed by THAT but I am impressed with >some of
the new stations. The mega Wawas, some with 20 or more "service >bays", are
great for birders with their free ATM's and touch screens for >ordering
(every other place puts too much oil on my Italian hoagies no >matter how I
emphasize that I JUST WANT A LITTLE). The Exxon in n. >Salisbury is
spotless,has a fast food restaurant right in the lobby, and a >TV screen
withCNN lights up on the pump while you pump gas. Some of these >places have
free air. Whoop-dee-doo. And ... considering the nature of >the beast, the
rest rooms actually ARE quite clean with oldies piped in >there and
throughout the rest of the facility. >>Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E.
Durham St., Philadelphia, PA >19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Please, any off-list
replies to: >harryarmistead@xxxxxxxxxxx
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