Below are the results of our weekly shorebird/gull survey conducted at
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday April 5, 2015. All water areas
(impoundments and beach areas) were covered in a 6 hour survey. All individuals
are counted for the target species; other birds seen or heard on the survey are
followed by a dash. It was an exciting shorebird survey for us because it was
such a fine spring day and we found a species that was new for us in Virginia.
We had 1,633 individual shorebirds (the most we have had this year) of 9
species. As is normal for this time of year, Dunlin were the most common with
1,236 and Sanderlings were second most common with only 258. We found 45 Piping
Plovers (none were banded) with 9 of those on Wild Beach which normally only
has a few. Perhaps these were on the way north? Even though the Refuge's
impoundments have excellent water levels for shorebirds, almost all that we
found were using the tidal areas of Tom's Cove and the Bay as seen from the
Service Road.
The new species for us was not one we even include in our survey but it was
feeding so close to us along the Wildlife Loop, we thought we would check it
out. It was a White-faced Ibis, all by itself in Pond B South, although Glossy
Ibis were feeding in the same impoundment (BS) on the other side of the pond.
According to Rottenborn/Brinkley's Virginia Birdlife, this species is a rare
spring and summer visitor with this sighting at least a few days earlier than
those listed by them. The bird was seen from the Wildlife Loop along the
section between Pond BNorth and BSouth. Photos of the bird were uploaded to
e-bird.
Our next survey will be Sunday, April 12th.Clyde Morris and Joelle Buffa
| Canada Goose | -- |
| Tundra Swan | -- |
| Gadwall | -- |
| American Wigeon | -- |
| American Black Duck | -- |
| Mallard | -- |
| Northern Shoveler | -- |
| Northern Pintail | -- |
| Green-winged Teal | -- |
| Black Scoter | -- |
| Bufflehead | -- |
| Hooded Merganser | -- |
| Red-breasted Merganser | -- |
| Red-throated Loon | 26 |
| Common Loon | 16 |
| Horned Grebe | 5 |
| Northern Gannet | 112 |
| Double-crested Cormorant | 119 |
| Great Blue Heron | -- |
| Great Egret | -- |
| Snowy Egret | -- |
| Little Blue Heron | -- |
| White-faced Ibis | 1 |
| Black Vulture | -- |
| Turkey Vulture | -- |
| Osprey | -- |
| Northern Harrier | -- |
| Bald Eagle | -- |
| Red-tailed Hawk | -- |
| American Oystercatcher | 7 |
| Black-bellied Plover | 15 |
| Piping Plover | 45 |
| Killdeer | 1 |
| Greater Yellowlegs | 40 |
| Willet | 2 |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | 4 |
| Greater/Lesser Yellowlegs | 32 |
| Sanderling | 258 |
| Dunlin | 1,236 |
| Laughing Gull | 16 |
| Ring-billed Gull | 35 |
| Herring Gull | 164 |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | 45 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 68 |
| Common Tern | 12 |
| Forster's Tern | 37 |
| Mourning Dove | -- |
| Belted Kingfisher | -- |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | -- |
| Northern Flicker | -- |
| American Crow | -- |
| Horned Lark | -- |
| Tree Swallow | -- |
| Carolina Chickadee | -- |
| Brown-headed Nuthatch | -- |
| Carolina Wren | -- |
| American Robin | -- |
| European Starling | -- |
| Pine Warbler | -- |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | -- |
| Eastern Towhee | -- |
| Chipping Sparrow | -- |
| Dark-eyed Junco | -- |
| Northern Cardinal | -- |
| Red-winged Blackbird | -- |
| Eastern Meadowlark | -- |
| Common Grackle | -- |
| Boat-tailed Grackle | -- |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | -- |
