[va-bird] birds at Craney Island, Portsmouth

I stopped briefly at Craney Island off River Shore Road in Portsmouth this 
afternoon.

The visiting hours at the Craney Island office are different from what I 
remember.  Now the hours are 7:00 am to 3:30 pm on Mondays through Thursdays 
and 7:00 am to 2:00 pm on Fridays.

The only shorebird I saw was a Willet.  The west side of the north 
impoundment held about 16 Caspian Terns, 4 Gull-billed Terns, and a few 
Great Black-backed Gulls.  I saw 2 Black Ducks and a female Mallard with one 
duckling in the south impoundment.  There was a female Mallard with a flock 
of ducklings off the beach on the west side of Craney, along with Brown 
Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, Osprey, many Barn Swallows, a Great 
Egret, and some Boat-tailed Grackles.  I thought that there would be a few 
more shorebirds.  A heat wave at the horizon prevented a thorough study of 
distant mudflats.  I ended up looking at butterflies -- mostly species of 
Whites or Yellows.  I saw a few others that I was unable to ID.  Later, I 
will look at a field guide.  In any case, it was nice to get out and feed 
the mosquitos.  ;)


Elisa Enders
Portsmouth, VA

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