Fred Blystone and I birded Craney Island and Dutch Gap yesterday.
We did not linger at Craney very long -- cold north wind blowing against us
on the west side of the island left our eyes, binocs, and scopes gritted
with sand. Brrrr. Tears on scopes are no fun.
Also, half of the perimeter road is closed. Because of construction and
heavier than normal truck traffic, visitors are not allowed past the halfway
mark on the north perimeter or on the east perimeter road. The Corps of
Engineers has created four Visitor Parking spots (marked by signs and
gravel) near the water. Three are on the west perimeter road and one on the
open section of the north perimeter road. Much safer parking for birders and
not likely to get stuck!
Highlights at Craney: Northern Harrier; Canvasback in the white caps; Bald
Eagle flying over. Also about two dozen Sanderlings were flying around,
landing, and feeding in the surf.
Then we drove up to Dutch Gap, hoping to find the American Bittern and a
warmer birding spot inland. Succeeded in finding a warmer spot but did not
see the bittern, despite just about burning up our eyeballs trying. The
complete list of 24 species from Dutch Gap (via eBird) is below. The
highlight was an Osprey flying overhead. I saw it once and Fred saw it
twice, the second time with a fish! Of course, any day you see Wood Ducks in
sunshine is a highlight!
Caveat -- we spent most of the time looking at the marsh and walking around
the parking lot and visitor center. We did not look over the James River or
explore in any detail.
Dutch Gap is what we call a "high value" birding spot, meaning you can see
quite a few species in a small, safe space. Yea!!
On the way back to Williamsburg, we drove along the entrance roads to
Shirley Plantation to see what was in the fields and ponds. Many Canada
Geese and a pleasant surprise -- about a dozen Eastern Meadowlarks that gave
us great views and songs. In eBird, I've marked "Charles City Co Shirley
Plantation" as a birding Hot Spot.
Happy Birding!
Shirley Devan
Williamsburg Bird Club
cell: 757-813-1322
-----Original Message-----
From: do-not-reply@xxxxxxxxx [mailto:do-not-reply@xxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 6:43 PM
To: sedevan52@xxxxxxx
Subject: eBird Report - Henricus - Dutch Gap Conservation Area , 1/10/07
Location: Henricus - Dutch Gap Conservation Area
Observation date: 1/10/07
Notes: Fred Blystone and I. Fred and I both saw the Osprey. Temp about
43. Windy. Did not see American Bittern as reported.
Number of species: 24
Canada Goose X
Wood Duck X
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Northern Pintail X
Ring-necked Duck X
Great Blue Heron X
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Osprey X
Bald Eagle X
Belted Kingfisher X
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker X
Carolina Chickadee X
Carolina Wren X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
Northern Mockingbird X
Field Sparrow X
Song Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2 (http://www.ebird.org)
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