VA BIRDers,
I arrived late at Chincoteague Friday June 3 so I went straight to the
beach. Highlights were a few sandpipers near the parking lot - Semipalmated
Plover, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, and a White-rumped
Sandpiper. The big pond near the road held a Common Loon. The beach held a
few Willets, many Ruddy Turnstones and few Sanderlings. The sun was setting
and the terns were coming in - over a dozen Least Terns were quickly
spotted. Scanning the surf also netted a Wilson's Storm-Petrel.
After a bit of seafood, I traveled to Saxis for some nocturnal birding.
Nothing flying over. The first rail I heard was a Black Rail. All told I
tallied 3 Black Rails and a dozen-plus Virginia's plus a few Clappers. A
half dozen Marsh Wrens and Seaside Sparrows completed the picture. If
you're going to visit, take the landing road past the trees (I think it's
called Hummock Rd) and listen to the west for one of the Black Rails - very
loud, and quite repetitive. You can also drive slowly along Saxis Road and
listen. This is harder as there is often traffic even late at night.
Parker's Marsh this morning was great - the sun was out, the wind kept the
flies down, and the birds were active. We used the boat to get to many hard
to reach places and spent a couple of hours walking in the marsh in various
locations. Highlight was a male Northern Harrier carrying food to a distant
location (the other marsh to the north about 1 mile). Lots of Seaside
Sparrows, including begging juvies, Clapper and Virginia Rails, and a nest
full of Boat-tailed Grackles. We also encountered Tri-colored Herons,
Glossy Ibis, and some peep migrants including White-rumped Sandpiper, and a
Black Skimmer hanging out with a pair of American Oystercatchers on a sand
bar. Richard Ayers floated the boat real close to the birds and we had
spectacular looks at the group; as we watched them these two Sanderlings
kept moving around and between them! Non-bird animal of the day was a water
snake next to the boat - very colorful with a banded appearance. Wish I
knew snake ID's!
Kurt Gaskill
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