Kiptopeke, Virginia, part 2, Oct. 8-16, 2006.
SUN., OCT. 8. Jethro bands a kingfisher, the first caught at the station
in 10+ some years. The Gibsons leave. Day of the Big Sit with Hal, Lynn,
Bob & Thuy, M/M Kevin Karlson, Brian Taber, Fenton Day, Sue Rice, Gary, Bob
& Joyce Ake, and others on hand. 85 species is a new high for the Big Sit
here incl. 325 Brown Pelicans, a Great Cormorant, 17 Common Loons, a
Red-shouldered Hawk, both yellowlegs, 5 woodpecker & 3 tern species, both
kinglets, Baltimore Oriole, Indigo Bunting, Brown-headed Nuthatch,
bobwhite, and at least 8 warbler species. Well after sunset we watch a
male peregrine divebomb a bat several times at close range in the gloaming,
without success. After dinner I hear a screech owl and 2 horned owls as I
lie in bed in the yurt, but they can't be counted for the Big Sit, which
missed these species.
Peregrine Falcon 10. Merlin 170. American Kestrel 73. Bald Eagle 7.
Osprey 228. Sharp-shinned Hawk 451. Cooper's Hawk 147. Red-tailed Hawk
6. Broad-winged Hawk 20. Red-shouldered Hawk 2. Northern Harrier 50.
Turkey Vulture 6. TOTAL: 1172.
MON., OCT. 9. The sort of day that might happen only once every 10 years.
Eight species not seen during the Big Sit found today. Clear, no clouds,
winds NE 5-10. 388 Blue Jays. Shiras & Bill Guion visit. Julie Kacmarcik
arrives to help Jethro and Bob Reilly with the landbird banding. John W.
McGonigle has been present for several days, a journalist, who, though on
"vacation", is taking notes for several articles on this place, including
one for his column for a Lancaster, PA, newspaper. The best hawk flight
day in years:
Peregrine Falcon 6. Merlin 61. American Kestrel 251. Bald Eagle 7.
Osprey 74. Sharp-shinned Hawk 2,845. Cooper's Hawk 396. Red-tailed Hawk
8. Broad-winged Hawk 246. Northern Harrier 60. Turkey Vulture 3. TOTAL:
3,957. Notice that this is only a so-so day for the 3 falcons and Ospreys
yet still has a super grand total of raptors.
Some of today's high points are an hour when 74 Cooper's Hawks go by,
preceeded by one hour with 69. A four-hour stretch with 377, 640, 606, and
352 Sharp-shinned Hawks respectively. A two hour stretch with 770 and 805
total raptors.
THE EXPULSION. Due to confusion on my part, I overstay my sojourn in the
yurt. Am made aware of this when a State Park vehicle and officer pull up
accompanied by the yurt's rightful occupant. The entire crowd at the
hawkwatch witnesses the initiation of MY EXPULSION, with apologies to Fra
Angelico, Adam and Eve, and others. My yurt replacement feels so bad about
this she gives me a nice bottle of chilled white wine the next day after I
am snug in the Kiptopeke Inn.
TUE., OCT. 10. Clear, no clouds, winds NE 5-10. 1,451 Blue Jays. 653
flickers. Paul Sykes visits, spots a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Amy Weldon,
whose concern is VA's Important Bird Areas IBAs), is on hand. Hal & Lynn
shove off after dinner.
Peregrine Falcon 17. Merlin 12. American Kestrel 170. Bald Eagle 1.
Osprey 21. Sharp-shinned Hawk 691. Cooper's Hawk 283. Red-tailed Hawk 7.
Broad-winged Hawk 118. Northern Harrier 14. TOTAL: 1,366.
WED., OCT 11. Rain. Almost welcome. Gives me a chance to scout areas for
the new Nassawadox Christmas Bird Count, December 17, 2006, which includes
Exmore, Willis Wharf, Machipongo, Birdsnest, all of Brownsville
(headquarters for the Virginia Coast Reserve of The Nature Conservancy),
Franktown, Red Bank, Webb's Island, the southern 2/3 of Upshur Neck (a
gated community), all of 6-mile-long Hog Island, the northern 1/3 of Cobb
Island, a small part of the S end of Parramore Island, much of Revel
Island, and Hog Island Bay.
Plus such abstruse entities as Rogue Island, Parchaby Tump, Spider Crab
Bay, Fowling Point, Brick House Neck, Big and Little Easter marshes, the
Ramshorn, and Short Prong Marsh. As is obvious I positioned the count so
that there's a big bias towards the seaside, the marshes, salt bays, and
barrier islands with areas west of Rt. 13 and frontages on "creeks" leading
out to the Chesapeake intentionally shortchanged.
East of Rt. 13 is Rt. 600. The count circle includes a 13.6 mi. stretch of
600. West of Rt. 13 is Rt. 618, a 9.4 mi. section of which is in the
circle (this includes, if you must know, a small segment of Rt. 625 also).
I annotate 49 points along these 2 main N-S roads. Rt. 618 is
disappointing, mostly straight, wide, has fast traffic, and is very
residential, except in its southern reaches. Rt. 600 is lovely, however.
The count circle begins c. 7.0 miles N of the extreme N limit of Cape
Charles CBC.
On Rt. 600 one span of wires between 2 phone poles has 13 kestrels.
Willis Wharf. I am here at the wrong tide again, as usual, and the tide is
c. 2' above normal high tide, but do see or hear, the 2nd visit being 4
hours later when the tide's out some: 5 Clapper Rails, 4 Fish Crows, 3
Black Vultures, 3 imm. Yellow-crowned Night Herons, 4 Snowy & 1 Great
egret, 25 turnstones, 1 cormorant, 1 Spotted Sandpiper, 2 Marbled Godwits,
7 Killdeer, 3 Greater Yellowlegs, 65 pigeons, 30 House Sparrows (foraging
on the incidental catch in the piles of crab pots), and 33 Willets. A
Cooper's Hawk lands on the crab pots and scares the House Sparrows,
considerably.
Red Bank: 4 Clapper Rails, 1 Cooper's Hawk, 5 Great Egrets.
Webb's Island: 1 Cooper's Hawk.
Bob Lukens, who I've known since 1st grade, arrives with Liz as his
passenger in time for us to have a so-so (the food, that is) dinner at
Sting-Ray's.
At KSP the day's meagre, rain-blasted totals: Peregrine Falcon 1. Merlin
2. American Kestrel 7. Osprey 5. Sharp-shinned Hawk 28. Cooper's Hawk
7. Northern Harrier 5. TOTAL: 55.
THU., OCT. 12. Jethro bands an American Woodcock. I take it up to the
platform to show Scott, make the mistake of releasing it there, out in the
open. A Sharp-shinned Hawk zooms in on it but it does escape, barely, into
the undergrowth. The 'John S. Dempster', a menhaden ship, ploughs the
waters just outside the bracket of sunken concrete ships.
Bull's Drive, 11:30 A.M. -1 P.M. Same crew as with Ramp Lane, below. 15
Sharp-shinned, 13 Cooper's, 19 Broad-winged & 2 Red-tailed hawks, 4 Bald
Eagle, 10 Ospreys, 4 harriers, 18 kestrels & 4 peregrines plus 11 White
Ibis. Here are the totals for the hour from Noon to 1 (DST), the 1st no. =
Bull's, the 2nd = KSP: sharpie (4,12), Cooper's (8,3), Osprey (9,0),
Broad-winged Hawk (18,0), kestrel (16,6), peregrine (3,4), harrier (4,0),
Bald Eagle (1,0), Merlin (0,1), TOTAL (63,26). I don't know what this
proves, if anything. The winds were SW c. 15 m.p.h.
Ramp Lane, ESVNWR, 6-7:15 P.M. Bob Lukens, Bob Anderson, Thuy Tran, Liz
and me. 1 Merlin, 6 Clapper Rails, 41 White Ibis, 35 Snowy & 4 Great
Egrets, 3 Great Blue, 3 Tricolored & 2 Little Blue herons. Ramp Lane has
not been as good in my visits this fall as in past years. For one thing,
the water level in the pond by the gate is high.
Slim pickin's. Peregrine Falcon 34. Merlin 13. American Kestrel 40.
Osprey 9. Sharp-shinned Hawk 35. Cooper's Hawk 15. TOTAL: 147.
FRI., OCT. 13. This is the day that son, George, and a few lucky others
briefly see a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher at Higbee's Beach mear Cape May.
Jethro bands a Bicknell's Thrush. Tad and Connie de Bordenave visit; Tad
and I went to the same high school. Bob Lukens takes off for Philadelphia.
Large sailing vessel way out on the Bay. If memory serves me it had 3
foresails, that I believe would be called staysail, jib, and flying jib
plus four masts, the 2 foremost with gaff-rigged sails, the third one a
high mast with 4 square-rigged sails, and the rear mast with a regular sail
(mizzen?). Pardon any incorrect terminology; I'm not a sailor.
Highlights: Chimney Swift singles on 4 occasions, a flyover golden plover,
a very high Monk Parakeet, Red-headed Woodpecker, a Bank Swallow, a juv.
Golden Eagle (finally), a Blue Grosbeak, an Indigo Bunting, and 725 Blue
Jays.
Peregrine Falcon 4. Merlin 4. American Kestrel 81. Bald Eagle 5. Golden
Eagle 1. Osprey 27. Sharp-shinned Hawk 115. Cooper's Hawk 76.
Red-tailed Hawk 11. Broad-winged Hawk 25. Red-shouldered Hawk 1.
Northern Harrier 9. unID'd raptor 1. TOTAL: 362.
SAT., OCT. 14. Mark Garland is on hand to lead an Audubon Naturalist
Society field trip here with Kathy Carroll and others. The Hampton Roads
Bird Club and Anne Arundel Bird Club are also here. Jethro bands a
Solitary Vireo.
810 Blue Jays. 97 flickers. Bob and Thuy see 40 White Ibis from the
ESVNWR bunker. I see 2 swallows that are either Cave or Cliff swallows but
don't see them well enough to be sure. Sue Rice visits the platform again
as do Mitchell Byrd and Linda Cole.
Peregrine Falcon 2. Merlin 26. American Kestrel 9. Osprey 17.
Sharp-shinned Hawk 79. Cooper's Hawk 20. Northern Harrier 1. unID'd
raptor 2. TOTAL: 156.
SUN., OCT. 15. Steve Cardano does some hawk trapping. Seven Brown
Pelicans right in the center of the peninsula over Route 13. On some other
days we see big flocks over there, the first time I remember seeing them in
that tangent. Ariel White, banding assistant and saw-whet trapper last
year, visits. Mark Garland and his crew around most of the day. Scott
hears a siskin go over, as he has on several other days. Also,
Brown-headed Nuthatches, which have been heard on several days in the
Loblolly Pines on the S. side of Rt. 704 just E of the platform. 1,400
Blue Jays.
Peregrine Falcon 7. Merlin 3. American Kestrel 34. Bald Eagle 9. Osprey
14. Sharp-shinned Hawk 83. Cooper's Hawk 43. Red-tailed Hawk 3.
Broad-winged Hawk 1. Northern Harrier 1. TOTAL: 198.
MON., OCT. 16. Liz and I shove off for home at 10:45 A.M. Prior to that
Scott has made counts of 1,475 Blue Jays, 280 flickers, and 14 Red-bellied
Woodpeckers plus a Baltimore Oriole. We find but 15 Willets at Willis
Wharf and eat at the big, shambling wooden restaurant there, now called
Stella's. Nice atmosphere with plenty of old bottles, cans from old oyster
canneries, placards with ships' names, oyster tongs, Texaco signs, old
oars, coal oil lanterns, Pepsi, Coke and Royal Crown Cola signs, metal
commercial fishing licenses, outsized metal outdoor thermometers, old
scales, dippers and ladles, old this, and old that, and the food is pretty
good, too. From our table we can scan the exposed mudflats, which are
pretty barren, but ... they are there.
An adult Bald Eagle in a field somewhere in S. Delaware on the E side of
Rt. 13. 2 fat Woodchucks, also E of the road, somewhere S. of Dover.
Today's totals from KSP: Peregrine Falcon 2. American Kestrel 20. Bald
Eagle 7. Golden Eagle 1. Osprey 11. Sharp-shinned Hawk 53. Cooper's
Hawk 13. Broad-winged Hawk 2. Red-shouldered Hawk 1. Northern Harrier 7.
unID'd raptor 2. TOTAL: 119.
wanted to include more but it's time to move on ...
Best to all.-Henry ("Harry") T. Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia,
PA 19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Please, any off-list replies to:
harryarmistead at hotmail dot com (never, please, to 74077.3176 ....)
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