A quick trip to Craney Island, Portsmouth, yesterday found just a dozen
species of shorebird, but among these were four species not found on a recent
trip
to Chincoteague. In addition to the counts (and estimates) below, there were
some 3000+ peep (probably mostly Semi and Western Sandpipers) off in the
distance that could not be scoped, either because they were too far away or
because of active heavy equipment on one of the crossdikes. Despite a good
canvas
of the area, no Red-necked or Little Stints could be found; I suspect that we
have just a week's window or so before adults of these vagrants molt out of
the last bits of distinctive breeding plumage and become almost impossible to
pick out. (Virginia still has no record of Little Stint, but a Red-necked
Stint was at Craney 22-25 July 1994, found by Fenton Day.) Craney is the best
I've seen it in some time for peep, but it's drying very, very quickly, so
unless it rains soon, it may not be ideal for much longer. An adult Peregrine
Falcon at the West Norfolk Bridge was a nice end to the trip.
Location: Craney Island Disposal Area
Observation date: 7/27/06
Number of species: 25
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 3
Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus 2
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 2
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 1
Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus 12
Black-necked Stilt - Himantopus mexicanus 3
American Avocet - Recurvirostra americana 14
Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca 5
Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes 67
Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius 15
Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres 1
Sanderling - Calidris alba 16
Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla 7000
Western Sandpiper - Calidris mauri 1000
Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla 400
White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis 1
Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus 38
Short-billed Dowitcher - Limnodromus griseus 89
Red-necked Phalarope - Phalaropus lobatus 1
Laughing Gull - Larus atricilla 25
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis 2
Herring Gull - Larus argentatus 2
Great Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus 2
Royal Tern - Sterna maxima 25
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2 (http://www.ebird.org)
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
