The White-winged Tern appears to persist at Chincoteague yet another day,
though it is maddeningly infrequent in its visits to Swan Cove, the only site
at which it has been seen. It appeared at 1:00 p.m. today, seen by Michael
Landon and Nick Block, Illinois birders who are currently living between Cape
May and Wilmington. It was present only for a little while and fed only on
the far side of the Cove, as usual. I missed seeing (and photographing) it
today, but I did see the pale ad. Black Tern that's molting P7, a bird that
apparently caused momentary confusion at Swan Cove yesterday when it crossed
paths with the White-winged Tern. That adult bird in active wing molt had
not been present on Friday, evidence of some turnover here (or at least of
another bird not detected earlier). At least one juv. Black Tern is still
present there, along with 2 adults; but the visits to the Cove are not as
frequent as on Friday, when up to 7 were present at once.
Best birds noted were Olive-sided Flycatcher on the Woodland Trail, Wilson's
Phalarope at Swan Cove, and 1200 Black Skimmers flushed by a Peregrine off
the west end of the Cove, a high number. It was marvelous to bird the refuge
by bicycle, which I highly recommend (take water and bug spray, which I
didn't!).
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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.
