My apologies for the long delay:
ACCOMACK CO., VA - SOME BAY ISLAND AREAS. Abbreviations: GBBG, Great
Black-backed Gull. HEGU, Herring Gull. I.S.S. = in sight simultaneously.
THURSDAY, APRIL 22. The following locales (except as noted) are on the
Chesapeake Bay in Accomack County, Virginia, all within a few miles or less of
the MD/VA boundary, listed in the order visited. 9 A.M. â 5:30 P.M. Ruth
Boettcher, Carissa Smith, John Weske & myself. Many thanks to Ruth for letting
me tag along. Tide sequence: high and rising at the start, low at mid-day into
early afternoon, rising at the end.
A c. 50-statute-mile boat trip in a well-appointed Parker powered by a big 115
horse outboard. Mostly overcast becoming fair, in fact sunny most of the time,
NW10+ though often almost calm or NW5, 50-70 degrees F.+, at times almost hot.
A gem. Most numbers below are my counts or estimates. Where and if they
differ from those of the VA biologists, go with the latter, esp. as regards
oystercatchers and their nests.
Ruth & Carissa, who are VA state biologists, are mostly concerned today with
their continuing studies of American Oystercatcher with waterfowl an additional
consideration. Calm enoâ so we are able to comfortably cruise most of the
time at 23-24 knots. The foliage on the island hammocks, surrounded by cool
Bay waters, is perhaps 2 weeks behind mainland vegetation.
Crisfield, MD, to Peach Orchard Point, VA, c. 10 mi., the passage across. As
with the Choptank River mouth in recent weeks, strangely barren. Only 1 ad.
Northern Gannet, 1 Common Loon, 2 Royal Terns, 1 American Oystercatcher, 7
Brown Pelicans, and 3 Double-crested Cormorants, and, thatâs it. In fact,
during the entire day we see no more gannets or loons and only 6 Buffleheads
(NO other diving ducks), no grebes. In keeping with the downside of things we
see VERY few workboats doing anything today.
South Cheeseman/Shanks islands. These islands no longer exist but their
remnants, mostly strips of sand and sand dunes with Seaside Goldenrod and
Panicum, have shifted hundreds of yards east so they are now contiguous with
the marshlands of South Point Marsh, which is in essence a Virginia
continuation of Smith I., MD. Itâs here that there are several big colonies
of pelicans and cormorants.
Fish Crow 30, oystercatcher 6 (incl. nests with 1 & 3 eggs), Dunlin 27,
Green-winged Teal 32, cormorant 285 I.S.S., pelican 190 I.S.S., Herring Gull
165 I.S.S., Great Black-backed Gull 95 I.S.S., black duck 3, Northern Harrier
1, Sanderling 3, Willet 2, Canada Goose 3 plus a few Ospreys, Boat-tailed
Grackles, Royal Terns & 2 Seaside Sparrows. Brown Pelican nests: 68, most with
2-3 eggs already. Gulls nests (could be either HEGU or GBBG; Iâm guessing
GBBG, which seem to outnumber HEGU in most places today): 2 w/ 1 egg, 4 w/ 2
eggs, 1 w/ 3 eggs. During our brief visit here I see HEGU take off with
pelican eggs 3 times, causing us to try to be more circumspect at our next
stops.
North-central Cheeseman/Shanks islands. We do not venture into the heart of
the colony but advance instead to its south edge. 3 Oystercatcher nests with
1, 2 & 3 eggs respectively. 1 Seaside Sparrow. 2 gull nests with 3 eggs, 1
with 1 egg. And the following I.S.S. numbers: pelican 710, GBBG 115,
cormorant 420, HEGU 75, these all probably well below what are actually here.
It seems to me cormorants have increased here.
Peach Orchard Point, 11:45 A.M. A slow motoring by in the boat close to shore
(nice, high tide). 2 black ducks, 4 Green-winged Teal, Boat-tailed Grackle 3,
Fish Crow 8, Gadwall 2, Canada Goose 1, and these I.S.S.: pelican 20 (do NOT
seem to be nesting here this year[or yet] in spite of a big colony in 2009),
GBBG 30, HEGU 20, cormorant 145.
Smith Island, MARYLAND. 6 goats on Goat Island across from Ewell. 1 â
Peregrine Falcon (near Tylerton), 2 oystercatchers, 3 Black-bellied Plovers, 1
Caspian, 10 Royal & 6 Forsterâs terns, 8 Barn Swallows (Tylerton), 3 Mute
Swans, 5 black ducks, 45 Dunlin, a pair of Northern Harriers (SW side of Big
Thorofare, the â doing his sky dance), Common Grackle 1, 2 starlings, and 6
Buffleheads plus small numbers of other common, unremarkable species. We look
over the jetties on the west side by Swan I. carefully but see no Purple
Sandpipers, which ARE here sometimes. These are very long and low jetties.
Also, 2 Yellow-crowned Night Herons and very small numbers of several other
heron/egret species.
Back to VA: a sandbar Ruth dubs âState Lane Shoalsâ just e. of Chesapeake
Bay proper and perhaps 1 mi. due south of Hog Neck hammock (Smith I., MD) and
c. 0.5-1.0 mi. n. of Cheeseman I. (Ruth and Carissa secure GPS waypoints for
this and other spots today, esp. those of oystercatcher nests). 195 Dunlin
(including one almost pure white one somewhere between being heavily leucistic
and a pure albino; I wish this little dude luck; s/he is hanging with the other
standard issue Dunlin), 31 Black-bellied Plovers, 11 Forsterâs Terns, 35
GBBG, 20 HEGU, 3 Little Blue Herons, 3 Fish Crows, 4 oystercatchers and a nest
with 3 eggs, 2 Canada Geese, 2 Ospreys.
North Shanks Island. A by-now traditional dry landing spot where we anchor
during banding forays. A decrepit blind here serves as a ladies room. Most
pelican and cormorant nests are on high areas of sand or dune here, although a
few pelican nests last year were out a ways in somewhat difficult-to-access
marsh. 60 pelican and 70 cormorant nests (1 of the latter with 5 eggs). 11
Diamondback Terrapin. 2 Gadwall, 2 oystercatchers (scrape nests only), 1
distant imm. Bald Eagle perched on a stake on the marsh edge, 2 Ospreys, 1
Seaside Sparrow, 65 GBBG I.S.S., 110 cormorants I.S.S., and 45 HEGU I.S.S.
Most of the empty but new nests today Iâd wager are those of cormorants.
Gull nests, 1 with 1 egg, 1 with 3 eggs. In my experience GBBG chicks hatch
earlier in the year than do those of HEGU.
Clump Island, on the n. end of the Fox Islands archipelago just n. of the Fox
I. where the Chesapeake Bay Foundation lodge is. Clump is the crown jewel of
the places we visit today, but there are no skimmers. Skimmers were here in
2009. This is a seldom-visited area, so what follows is a complete list:
14 oystercatcher nests (Ruth and Carissa found 13 pairs in 2009). 3 Canada
Goose nests with 4, 5 and 6 eggs. Boat-tailed Grackle nests: 5 with 3 eggs, 1
with 2 eggs. A Great Blue Heron flies out into the sound a ways and lands
where it swallows a 2-foot eel in spite of attracting the focused attention of
3 ad. GBBG with kleptoparasitism on their minds. The heron stays there during
our entire visit, perhaps reluctant to fly in view of its âI canât believe
I ate the whole thingâ syndrome.
2 Gadwall. 8 Willets. The following gull I.S.S.: LAGU 22, GBBG 12, HEGU 30.
6 Ospreys. 6 black ducks. Groups of 2 and 17 Glossy Ibis (âsicklebillsâ)
appear from the south and continue flying past us to the north, definitely in
migration. 28 Green-winged Teal. 2 Seaside Sparrows. 2 â Red-winged
Blackbirds. A colony of Royal Terns (no eggs yet) is in the works with 115
I.S.S. There was a colony here in 2009. 20 Forsterâs Terns. Migrant
shorebirds: 185 Dunlin, 1 Sanderling, 7 Black-bellied Plovers, 3 Short-billed
Dowitchers & 4 Least Sandpipers. 1 Diamondback Terrapin. 1 Great Egret. 1
Song Sparrow. In the distance to the east too far to ID are 100 or so ducks.
There is a lovely mixture of beach, dunes, saltmarsh, sod tumps, and lines of
Baccharis & Iva here. John finds a dead, unbanded Royal Tern. We flush a â
Mallard from an area with high grass but find no nest, though she almost
certainly had such plans. On one beach strip is a perfect, large â Peregrine
Falcon in a posture such as they assume when they sit on the sand, as I have
seen on the VA barrier islands frequently. Down it goes in my notebook as a
firm record. An hour later it hasnât moved and is indeed a piece of wood
that fooled us.
Off to the east of Clump I., perhaps 0.75 away, is a marshy island with what
looks to be a big Forsterâs Tern colony on its north end. Make successful
cell phone (Verizon) calls to Philadelphia from Clump and S. Cheeseman/Shanks
islands.
Princess Anne, MD. John and I see a Bald Eagle and a Pileated Woodpecker right
over Route 13, after a satisfying dinner in Crisfield at Mi Pueblito Grill
Family Restaurant, which I recommend, at 337 West Main Street (410-968-9984).
I opt for zarazuela Madrileña, a seafood casserole with scallops, shrimp,
squids, crabmeat, mussels and clams (everything but a coelacanth) âslowly
simmered in a blend of seafood juice, white wine, garlic, and other Spanish
herbsâ followed by flan. I believe the chef is from Peru.
Spring Peepers calling adjacent to the Easton Days Inn c. 9:15 P.M., an area
surrounded by busy, paved roadways.
Best to all. â Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
