1. Cape Charles, Virginia, Christmas Bird Count cumulative list
It has been years since I totalled this up. The count was started in 1965
by my old high school friend, Will Russell, the founder and director of the
tour company WINGS.
The cumulative list stands, somewhat shakily, at 254 species but only a few
of these are suspect enough to warrant review. The Wood Thrush and
Swainson's Thrush certainly do. I do not remember how compelling the
details for these were. They were probably O.K. otherwise they would not
have made the final cut. My own feeling is that the prejudice against
winter records of non-Hermit thrush species, even stronger than that
opposed to winter reports of Broad-winged Hawks, is overdone. There ARE
occasional winter records of these thrushes although they are extremely
rare. Broad-winged Hawk has not been reported on this Christmas count,
although a Veery was once which I did reject.
If I remember correctly the observer of the Bachman's Sparrow has since
recanted on this. The immature Egyptian Vulture, well seen by 3
experienced observers, I did some research on. Richard Ryan, an authority
on captive birds and their likelihood of escaping, wrote me that this bird
probably was an escape from the New Jersey theme park Great Adventure.
However, raptor expert Bill Clark thought it likely enough so that he gave
it passing mention in the 2nd edition of the Peterson field guide to U. S.
raptors. At the time I did NOT include it when I submitted the count
results that year.
The Common Cuckoo (!!! DO I have your attention now?) was reported in 1965
by an experienced Englishman with a doctorate in ornithology. I have his
description in my files and it's pretty good. However, this species does
bear more than a passing resemblance to a small accipiter.
One of the most unusual birds ever seen on the count was a Philadelphia
Vireo, which was well-described and well-seen by a person who had netted,
banded, and made study skins of the species.
My own most compelling memory of this count was a Northern Goshawk we saw
one year on Smith Island carrying a Tricolored Heron. We flushed it 7 or 8
times as we walked south on the barrier beach strip on a day when virtually
everything was coated with ice glowing neon in the bright sun. Several
times we flushed the gos with the heron, which we eventually found with its
breast meat and entrails eaten out.
The Cape Charles count has recorded 12 species of gulls, 27 shorebirds, 16
raptors (counting the 3 vultures), 35 waterfowl, 12 heron-ibis types, 16
warblers, and 17 sparrows (not counting junco or towhee). I have included
Monk Parakeet on the list, another possible bone of contention, as are the
Ring-necked Pheasants, which now seem to be extirpated. One year someone
flushed a couple of Ruffed Grouse, obviously released birds.
Even if you throw out (which may not be necessary in all these cases) the
vulture, cuckoo, sparrow, the 2 thrushes, grouse, and parakeet the
cumulative total is 247.
There are numerous unrecorded species likely to eventually be seen here
including a couple of grebes, Sandhill Crane, several gulls, any swallow
other than Tree, Snowy Owl, a non-Dovelie-Razorbill alcid, perhaps an
additional hummingbird, or, less likely, some off-the-wall flycatcher or
longspur.
2. METROSEXUAL ACCIPITRINE AMAZONS. Most of my time at home in
Philadelphia is spent wishing I was on the Eastern Shore but there are
moments that make it worthwhile. Yesterday a monstrous adult female
Cooper's Hawk flew in and perched in our Swamp Magnolia scattering the
passerines and doves as well as isolating a Gray Squirrel (Brunswick stew,
anyone?) that had been feeding on sunflower seeds in the feeder 6 feet
farther out the branch. She looked, at a distance of 20 feet, as big as a
red-tail. She dwarfed the squirrel. After the squirrel, the hawk, and I
looked at each other for several minutes she slid off her perch and swept
very low across the neighbor's yard and sped away up the narrow slot
between the garages in the back area and some other houses. This morning
an adult female Sharp-shinned Hawk perched on our back fence, also about 20
feet from the window, then zipped, unsuccessfully, into the yew bush after
some sparrows, tail flared and wings spread, a really maneuverable,
impressive predator.
3. Earlier in my 2003 Christmas count narrative I had mentioned finding a
banded adult Great Black-backed Gull dead on the beach at Cape Point, Cape
Hatteras, this past Dec. 27. Since then I have found out it was banded as
a young bird "near" Block Island, Rhode Island, on June 11, 1997. I must
say the notice I got about this was sloppy, indicating only the year when
the dead bird ("GRT BLK-BACK GULL") was found and spelling my name Henery.
Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Please, any off-list replies to:
harryarmistead at hotmail dot com
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.
