VA Birders,
Sorry for the late post, but I've been playing catch-up since I got home
from the Eastern Shore Birding Festival. However, I thought anyone going to
the CBBT this weekend might be interested to know that I saw 8 species of
sparrows on the islands on Monday, Oct. 11, as well as Eastern Phoebes on all 4
islands, a Brown-headed Cowbird (#4), Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a female
Common
Yellowthroat (#3). The most interesting sparrow to me was a Seaside on #4;
the other species were Chipping, Field, Savannah, Song, Swamp, White-throated,
and White-crowned. Alas, most of the vegetation on the islands is gone, so
the birds don't have much cover. This makes them easier to see, but more
subject to predation--and I suspect discourages them from stopping on the
islands.
Someone said that the authorities had been using pesticides/herbicides on the
islands. Perhaps if someone knows any CBBT staff members, they could suggest
letting the vegetation grow back to protect the birds--but please, I'm NOT
trying to start a discussion of this subject on VA-Bird. One final note: I
didn't see any raptors flying over the islands while I was there, but perhaps
that
was because it was quite windy on Monday.
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
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