Dear All
I did a little gentle birding 29th Dec to 1st Jan on Chincoteague and
Assateague. It was my first time on these islands and aside from it being a
very pleasant way to pass the time there were no birds that I thought were of
any great note. However, on seeing a few subsequent postings there were a very
few things that I thought might be worth passing on:
29th Dec
North east end of Chinoteague
- Feeding flock of 80+ Yellow-rumped Warblers, 8 Brown-headed Nuthatches, 4
Golden-crowned Kinglets and 2 Carolina Chickadees
- Main channel to the north held 150 Buffleheads, 6 Common Loon and 2 Horned
Grebes
Assateague
- 1 Screech Owl calling in the pines adjacent to the main information center
30th December
N end of Ch'teague
- 3 N. Harrier, 5 Bald Eagles, 1 Sharpie, 1 Woodcock
Assateague
- Notable increase in Snow Geese (most gone the next day) - ca. 3,500
- 1 Black-crowned Night Heron, 4 Forster's Terns, 2 Peregrines, 3 N Harriers
- 1 Pine Warbler (amongst swarms of Yellow-rumps)
31st Dec
Chincoteague, Main Street
- 1 Snowy Egret and 2 Tricolored Herons (Ad & imm) in a reed-fringed muddy pool
adjacent to the road
- 1 Sharpie
1st Jan
Assateague
- Large bird party around main center including 4 Brown-headed Nuthatch and a
Catbird
- Small group of Snow Geese including a number with metal leg bands and one
carrying a large yellow neck collar marked "KR34" (any advice as to whom I
should pass this info to please?)
- 1 Merlin along the beach
(- I met a birding colleague who had seen 2 Ipswich Sparrows to the south of
the main beach car park)
Chincoteague, Main Street
- 5 Snowy Egrets roosting over high tide
- 1 Am Oystercatcher on the mud adjacent to the causeway
What a very pleasant place to see in the New Year.
Cheers
Gary Allport
gallport@xxxxxxxxxxx
