VA Birders,
This past weekend a group from the Northern Virginia Bird Club traveled
to Chincoteague and the CBBT. The trip was led by Val Kitchens and by me.
The weather was often chilly, but we managed a list of 89 species. The first
birds seen Friday afternoon by the group were shorebirds on the mudflats
before
the drawbridge going into the town of Chincoteague. Here we saw Willets,
Dunlin, Black-bellied Plovers, and 8 Marbled Godwits. Later that day we were
treated to views of the various ducks on the refuge. We especially enjoyed
watching a few Northern Shovelers gingerly walking across the ice on their
way
to another small patch of open water. Other birds reported as seen on
Friday morning by individual participants, but not seen by the group, were
American White Pelican, Tricolored Heron, Snowy Egret and Wood Duck
Saturday proved to be chilly, but we still saw plenty of birds. One of
the highlights was at the home of Mary Kaye and Marv Rubin, who generously
let us onto their deck and later into their living room to warm up. Their
exten
sive feeder system brought in some excellent birds including Pine Warblers
and Brown-headed Nuthatches. Everyone got close views of these birds which
also provided great photo opportunities. On the refuge, we found many more
ducks and a Red-throated Loon which was off the beach. Later we went to the
causeway which connects Chincoteague to the mainland and observed American
Oystercatchers, a Short-billed Dowitcher, and Northern Harriers. For the
trip, we
had 12 species of shorebird.
Sunday proved to be warmer and we took off south for the CBBT. Along
Route 13, I counted 6 American Kestrels. Before assembling to bird the
islands, we stopped to see the Eurasian Wigeon at the ESNWR. Fortunately, the
bird
flew in while we were standing in front of the pond, so we were not
disappointed. The CBBT islands did not have nearly as many ducks as I have
seen in
the past, but we still managed to see most of our target species including a
Black Scoter, Great Cormorants, Purple Sandpipers, a Harlequin Duck at Island
1, and Northern Gannets. The Gannets put on an excellent show as we watched
dozens of them dive into the water for their meals.
I have some photos from the trip and a few from Maryland where I stopped
Friday morning at
_http://uberlarry.smugmug.com/gallery/2464706/10/129266851#P-1-9_ ;
(http://uberlarry.smugmug.com/gallery/2464706/10/129266851#P-1-9)
Comments or questions are welcome.
Here's the complete trip list:
RT Loon
Common Loon
PB Grebe
Northern Gannet
Am White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Great Corm
DC Corm
GB Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
TC Heron
BC Night-Heron
Tundra Swan
Snow Goose
Brant
Can Goose
Wood Duck
GW Teal
AM Black Duck
Mallard
No Pintail
No Shoveler
Gadwall
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Long-tailed Duck
Black Scoter
Surf Scoter
Bufflehead
Hooded Merg
RB Merg
Ruddy Duck
Harlequin Duck
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
No Harrier
RT Hawk
AM Kestrel
BB Plover
Killdeer
Am Oystercatcher
Greater YL
Willet
Marbled Godwit
Sanderling
Ruddy TS
Purple SP
Dunlin
SB Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
RB Gull
Herring Gull
GBB Gull
Rock Pigeon
MO Dove
GH Owl (Heard)
Belted Kingfisher
RB Woodpecker
Downy WP
No Flicker
Blue Jay
AM Crow
Car Chick
BH Nuthatch
Car Wren
RC Kinglet
E Bluebird
AM Robin
No Mocker
Euro Star
YR Warbler
Pine Warbler
No Card
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
WT Sparrow
DE Junco
RW Blackbird
E Meadowlark
BT Grackle
BH Cowbird
House Finch
AM Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Larry Meade
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