Hello all
Sorry for the late post but my email has been down since the 13th . Just got it
back on line late last night . Well anyway Pat & I started out early Monday
morning with one major delay at the first rest stop before getting to Richmond
off of I 64 . It seems that an elderly lady was having a problem with her sugar
& as being an EMT working for our local hospital in Medical Transport , I had
to stay with this person until the local rescue squad came to take over . Well
we finally reach the CBBT around 9:30 am to 10 am .
With a light drizzle of rain the first Island had only a few Ruddy Turnstones
& Sanderlings plus the usual Gull species. Island 2 & 3 has the same as the
first but on Island 3 the extras were Great Cormorant & Black -- Crowned Night
Heron . Island 4 the same but had 1 Great Cormorant . After getting off the
CBBT we stopped by the pond on Ramp Rd. this was around 12:30 & the only thing
around the pond was those little West Nile Virus factories . As I was heading
back to the car I did hear a couple of Clapper Rails fussing . Onto
Chincoteague via Rt. 600 ! After passing where the Eurasian -- Collared Dove
nested near Rt . 645 & 600 we did see one feeding in a yard about a quarter of
a mile north of 645 . ( a new Va. bird for Pat & I ) . By now it was a steady
rain & the rest of the trip was uneventful except for 3 Wild Turkeys that we
saw in a field next to a wooded area ( we were about a couple of miles away
from Willis Warf ) . Willis Warf had nothing , tides were in .
Finally we reached Chincoteague around 4:30 . After getting a room -- it was
off to the Refuge ! It had stopped raining & there were hundreds of shorebirds
with the most beening Pectoral Sandpipers 350 to 400 + . Lots of peeps most of
which were Semipalmated Sandpipers & Least Sandpipers about 250 to 300 + of
each . Semipalmated Plovers were everywhere I looked . Trying to find that
special bird was impossible because of the millions of little West Nile
factories were out in force , bug spray did not keep them at bay . So all of my
birding had to be done from the car . Toms Cove had about 150 to 200 Black
Skimmers with a hand full of Forster's Tern . There were a few Great , Snowy &
Cattle Egrets with a couple of Imm. Little Blues & Brown Pelicans flying all
about . As darkness fell we were driving the wildlife loop for the last time &
in the beetle damaged area a Great Horned Owl landed in one of the dead snags
giving us good looks . What a way to end a day .
On Tuesday morning we had a good north wind which kept the skeeters at bay so
we took a walk on the trail at Toms Cove . Here we had Black Skimmer , a few
Common Yellowthroats , Magnolia Warbler , House Finch , Savannah Sparrow . In
shorebirds we had about 40 Willet's , 25+ Red Knot's & 1 Marbled Godwit with a
good assortment of peeps . Also we found about 20 Black Duck , 15 Mallards & 5
Green--winged Teal . That afternoon we drove the wildlife loop . I tried to
check out the flats from the platform in the beetle damaged area again but the
little West Nile factories were over whelming . We called it a night .
On Wednesday morning we started to head home . Doing a straight shot we arrived
at the CBBT & on Island 4 we had the 2 Great Cormorant's with a few Ruddy
Turnstones & Sanderling's . Island 3 had the same but it also had 2 Common
Yellowthroats , 1 Palm Warbler & 1 Chat . Island 2 had a fly over
Sharp--shinned , Osprey & a Turkey Vulture . Warblers were 1 Black -- throated
Blue , 2 Nashville , 1 Palm & 4 Common Yellowthroats . One lone Cedar Waxwing &
1 Spotted Sandpiper. Island 1 had the usual with 2 Common Yellowthroats & 1
Philadelphia Vireo . All in all we netted only 88 species of birds , it would
of been a lot more if it was not for those little West Nile Virus factories
which forced Pat & me to bird from the car ! Happy birding to all .
Pat & Allen Larner
Staunton
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