Oct. 5, Sat. I lead another boat trip with 13 persons on the 'Safari',
this one goes down the Machipongo River, across Hog I. Bay and out to the
inlet between Hog & Cobb Islands with these highlights: 105
oystercatchers, 2 Piping Plovers, 65 Brant, 1 Common Loon, 15 Short-billed
Dowitchers, 1 Sandwich Tern, 3 peregrines, 55 Sanderlings, 105 Brown
Pelicans, 75 Black-bellied Plovers, plus an imm. Bald Eagle that robbed an
Osprey of its fish. This is a most congenial group, mostly Shore folks,
including the school superintendent for Northampton County and 2 M.D.'s who
work in the Nassawadox area. On our return 65 Ruddy Turnstones are on the
boat dock. Tide is very high and the inlet choppy from the distant
influence of Hurricane Kyle. The hawk flight at K.S.P.: 67 peregrines,
29 Merlins, 171 kestrels, 30 Ospreys, 1 Bald Eagle, 4 harriers, 41
sharpies, 11 Cooper's = 354 total. Talk with Emily Grey, Ellen Lawler, and
other exhibitors at the E.S.B.F. Jeri Howe throws a beet stew dinner at
her trailer in K.S.P., very good, but I also enjoyed the chili in previous
years at her annual party.
Oct. 6, Sun. A good flight for the last day of the E.S.B.F. with 1,103
raptors: 95 peregrines, 136 Merlins, 365 kestrels, 139 Ospreys, 11 Bald
Eagles, 37 harriers, 179 sharpies, 80 Cooper's, 1 Red-shouldered, 35
Broad-wingeds & 4 Red-taileds. Also, 347 flickers, 30 sapsuckers, a
Scarlet Tanager, Red-headed Woodpecker and 8 rough-winged swallows. Clay &
Pat Sutton spend much of the day on the hawkwatch platform and it is nice
to get to talk with them some. Cheering news: Bob Ake's festival walk at
Wise Point finds 8 Brown-headed Nuthatches in an area where the Christmas
count has missed them several times recently. Hal & Lynn leave our
campsite but I have a nice new neighbor, Joan Cordle.
Oct. 7, Mon. 26 peregrines, 42 Merlins, 52 kestrels, 48 Ospreys, 2 Bald
Eagles, 14 harriers, 97 sharpies, 38 Cooper's, 1 Red-shouldered, 8
Broad-wingeds, 1 Red-tailed, and 1 SWAINSON'S I am happy to report that I
spotted. This is Todd Day's 328th species in Virginia this year. 329
total raptors. FISH STORY: An Osprey flies over with a large fish, held
vertically. Bob Anderson notices it drop the fish when it lands on a pole.
He searches for the fish and finds it, still alive, after the Osprey flies
off. There are talon marks on the head. It is a 16.5" Channel Bass,
weighs 707 grams. Marty Daniels, Bob and I eat it this evening at Marty's
campsite. As chance would have it, here are the 3 of us c. 140 years after
the fact, drawn together by a common interest in hawks, James Chesnut, one
of Marty's ancestors, having delivered surrender terms to federal officer
Robert Anderson at Fort Sumter with Lewis Armistead soon to be a major
figure in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, all of these men destined to
become generals. The South has risen again, already, however briefly, at
the Kiptopeke hawkwatch. I wonder what Lewis A. would think, me being a
liberal Democrat.
Oct. 8, Tue. A section of Dan Cristol's William and Mary ornithology class
visits K.S.P., a good flight day here. Dan saw a Horned Lark, unusual
there, and a big Loggerhead Turtle on the C.B.B.T. plus 35 White Ibises
over Fisherman's Island. Zach Smith is impressive today spotting a
Sandhill Crane and a juv. Golden Eagle, both seen by many of us. A
peregrine makes impressive stoops at the multitudes of Tree Swallows.
Pretty good hawk flight: 6 peregrines, 29 Merlins, 155 kestrels, 73
Ospreys, 4 Bald Eagles, 23 harriers, 377 sharpies, 132 Cooper's, 3
Red-shouldereds, 39 Broad-wingeds, 1 Red-tailed, and the Golden = 843
total. Bob Anderson's leaves a bottle of red wine for Liz's birthday and
then treats ME to dinner at Sting-Ray's. Chez Ray (a.k.a. Chez Exxon) has
slipped some since Ray Haynie's retirement but is still THE place to eat.
Oct. 9, Wed. Peregrine 10, Merlin 8, kestrel 68, Osprey 36, Bald Eagle 2,
harrier 22, sharpie 550, Cooper's 94, Red-shouldered 2, Broad-winged 14,
Red-tailed 1 = total 807. One of the best sharpie days all fall. Heard a
Barn Owl scream 3 times in the campground. Visit Thelma Peterson in her
charming studio in Cheriton and buy Liz for her birthday today a large
china platter and bowl Thelma has decorated. Liz arrives at 9:30 P.M. in
the 'Red Knot'. At dusk Bob Anderson, Marty Daniels and I see 30 Snow and
1 Blue Goose flying northeast from my campsite.
Oct. 10, Thu. The other section of Dan's class visits K.S.P. Dine at Bob
& Joyce Ake's attractive house in Norfolk where the well-vegetated yard
adjoins a small estuary. Bob's yard list here is 160. On the way over Liz
& I see almost nothing on C.B.B.T. save a big moth & an imm. Great
Cormorant and some impressive ships steaming out the south channel. The
rains start. If I remember right, only 87 raptors counted today at K.S.P.
Oct. 11, Fri. Rain, 3-5 inches. Breakfast at Sting-Ray's with Mary &
Larry. 29 kestrels on the wires in the vicinity of K.S.P. Marty, Liz and
I drive around and see some sights, including the Cobb Island Life Saving
Station n. of Oyster, beautifully restored by the Nature Conservancy and
moved to the mainland from Cobb I., where it had been in a state of
deterioration. A trip to the Eastern Shore is worth it just to see this.
We found a young Box Turtle here. Thelma Peterson's painting of the
station hangs in our Rigby bedroom. Lunch at Willis Wharf in the old
building there. Tide there was 2 feet above normal, several inches over
the planks of the docks. Went to the Barrier Island Center at Machipongo,
which Thelma founded. A splendid place. I was moved to see a memorial
plaque there in honor of Lynwood Horner, our guide and boatman on the Cape
Charles Christmas Bird Count for most of the years from 1965 to 1999. One
of the rooms is dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Roy Bull. Roy set us up with
Lynwood in 1965, when Will Russell and I admired Roy's huge decoy
collection housed in a special building in his yard at Townsend. I will
ask the Barrier Island Center if they would like to have some of the huge
Finback Whale ribs and vertebral disks I keep out in our garage. Marty,
Liz & I have dinner at Sting-Ray's then Liz and I move into the K.S.P. yurt
to avoid the rains. The yurt is 7' high plus 4' more for the dome, 18' in
diameter, has beds, heat, electricity and air conditioning. Genghis Khan
never had it so good. No hawk count conducted today.
Oct. 12, Sat. Mitchell Byrd and Reese Lukei see 80 White Ibis at Wise
Point, incl. only 4 adults. A small flight: peregrine 22, Merlin 27,
kestrel 29, Osprey 39, Bald Eagle 3, harrier 5, sharpie 61, Cooper's 36,
Red-shouldered 1, Broad-winged 1, SWAINSON'S 1 = total 225. Bob Anderson,
Thuy Tran, Liz and I spend 2 hrs. this afternoon at Ramp Lane, ESVNWR,
where there seems to be a better hawk flight than at K.S.P (due to westerly
winds); we see 3 peregrines, 2 Bald Eagles, 300 Brown Pelicans (visible at
Fisherman's I.), 65 White Ibis (only 1 adult) and 95 Boat-tailed Grackles.
Later we dine together at Sting-Ray's. A Yellow-breasted Chat is, oddly,
at the feeder at K.S.P.
Oct. 13, Sun. Brian Taber has organized the annual Big Sit - birds seen
only from the K.S.P. hawkwatch platform. We get c. 63 species, a low
total, but including a Sandhill Crane, a Great Cormorant, some Surf
Scoters, and 40 pintails. Peregrine 9, Merlin 8, kestrel 119, Osprey 28,
Bald Eagle 4, harrier 3, sharpie 103, Cooper's 63, Red-shouldered 3,
Broad-winged 29, Red-tailed 1 = total 370. Best Monarch day with c. 120
counted.
Oct. 14, Mon., Columbus Day. We say our farewells and leave at 2 P.M. A
moderate hawk flight, mostly sharpies. A late Yellow-billed Cuckoo flies
across in front of the hawk trapping station. A Red-tailed Hawk divebombs
an imm. Bald Eagle, carrying a large Menhaden, right over the passerine
banding station. As of Oct. 12 Jethro, Jeri et al. have banded 2,166 birds
of 75 species including 22 Yellow-bellied, 80 Traill's, 3 Acadian & 5 Least
Flycatchers, 2 Philadelphia Vireos, 22 Gray-cheeked Thrushes, 268
Black-throated Blue and 14 Blackpoll Warblers plus 18 Yellow-breasted Chats
and the 5th ever Seaside Sparrow for the station. 27 warbler species have
been captured here this fall. George Reiger, whose Locustville farm is c.
40 mi. n. of K.S.P., sees a SANDHILL CRANE in his fields today.
Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Please, any off-list replies to:
harryarmistead@xxxxxxxxxxx
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