Yesterday afternoon Sharon and I decided to head over to the Eastern
Shore to look for some shorebirds. We had some nice finds including a
lifer for Sharon.
At Island #1 at the CBBT we saw a merganser out at the tip of the
island. It was really pale and ragged with the wings looking very
stubby. We were leaning towards a female Red-Breasted and then I checked
eBird this morning and a female Red-Breasted has been reported there
over the last month so seem like she is still there. Perhaps she is in
the process of molting and that is giving her the stubby-winged look?
Other highlights include 30 Willits and 26 Whimbrels at Willis Wharf
along with 4 Purple Martins, a Green Heron and a pair of Black Skimmers
that landed on the mud right in front of the observation deck.
At Brownsville Seaside Farm we saw a Bald Eagle being mobbed by several
crows, saw at least 3 Common Yellowthroats performing (they would fly up
high while singing and then dive down into the grass), 3 Glossy Ibis
flying in the distance and heard at least one Bobwhite.
And then we ended the day at the boat launch at Wise Point at dusk. When
we arrived there was a Prairie Warbler singing across from the kayak
launch. While looking for the Prairie, we had three Hummingbirds fly in
about ten feet in front of us to feed on some honeysuckle. We also had 3
more Skimmers go by on the creek at the boat ramp feeding. Plus the
quintfector of herons: Great Blue, Tri-colored, Green, Great Egret and
Snowy Egret.And then the final topper was a common Nighthawk (Sharon's
life bird) feeding across the creek from us.
Photos of the merganser at at
http://www.pbase.com/gbheron/ebird_record&page=2
Good birding,
Bryan
