CAPE HATTERAS TO CAPE CHARLES, December 26-31, 2017, the REDEYE CIRCUIT.
WARNING: contains reminiscences, and, even worse, digressions.
ABBREVIATIONS: CBBT, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. CBC, Christmas Bird Count.
ESVNWR, Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge. NWR, national
wildlife refuge.
My companions and traveling confreres for the 1st 3 CBCs below are Wes & Sue
Earp, Grazina & Michael McClure, largely compensating for the absence of my
close friend, the late Jared Sparks. I thank them for their good company.
DECEMBER 26, TUESDAY. 411 miles from Philadelphia to Buxton. Milepost 118,
Route 13, a bald eagle (N of Accomac, VA). 3 sanderlings at the CBBT overlook
S of N Toll Plaza. A peregrine and a brown pelican seen while crossing the
CBBT. Dinner at The Point in Buxton with Pat & Neal Moore, John Wright, Lee
Adams, Brian Patteson, and 5 or 6 others. The Point, the only restaurant open,
is freezing cold. There’s only 1 waitress, who does a great job considering.
Pleased to hear from Brian that there are Gray Squirrels in Frisco. I’d
wondered.
DECEMBER 27, WEDNESDAY. CAPE HATTERAS, NC, CBC. Ugh! Rain all day, and some
wind, too. Temperature in the 40s. Grazina McClure walks the beach W of the
ferry. Wes & Sue Earp walk most of the rest of there (Hatteras I., extreme
west end). Michael McClure and I are snug and dry in the 4WD vehicle Michael
rented at Frisco. Our most interesting beach birds: an immature Black Skimmer
and 3 Harlequin Ducks, the latter under the remnants of Frisco pier, very
actively diving.
Our combined totals include: 2 immature male and 1 female Common Eider resting
on a little beach on the far side of the small inlet into Hatteras harbor, seen
by all 5 of us. Sue gets a good shot of the males. These 3 bold-faced species
are unique to this most recent count. Also: 774 double-crested cormorants, 341
brown pelicans, only 60 gannets, 5 great egrets, 1 clapper & 1 Virginia rail, 2
royal terns, 46 Eurasian collared-doves, 377 starlings, and 100 boat-tailed
grackles plus 1 eastern cottontail, 5 dolphins, and 4 nutria (the latter at
Isaac Pond). We find 44 species in our sector. The ocean: largely bereft of
loons and gannets, but we do see 187 unIDd scoters plus a male Black Scoter on
the beach, not a good sign, perhaps sick or injured.
The weather: ain’t conducive to a good count, no how, no ways, no wheres, esp.
of landbirds. (The following information is preliminary, subject to review).
Count grand totals and results: close to 500 lesser black-backed gulls, 459
gadwall at the Salt Pond, 7 razorbills, a sora, 5 common gallinules, a probable
yellow-legged gull, an Iceland gull, 4 blue-headed vireos, only 1 ruby-throated
hummingbird, 8 ovenbirds (there is a small, disjunct wintering population here;
they’ve been found even when there’s snow cover), and 1 Ipswich sparrow, but
the poorest species total in years.
Missed species, in spite of good participation turnout: Bonaparte’s gull, the 3
marsh sparrows, common grackle, fish crow, merlin, peregrine, sedge wren,
wigeon, wood duck, scaup, red-shouldered hawk, and turnstone. Nice compilation
as usual at the Catholic church, emphasis on chili and cornbread … and pies.
Also as usual, Pat Moore does a great job organizing the count, Brian Patteson
the compilation, Kate Sutherland recording the results. The species total is,
I think, 108 or 109, real low for here thanks to the weather. We’re
disappointed the Burrus store in Hatteras village isn’t open but Connors in
Buxton is. Small towns, but these stores got everything.
DECEMBER 28, THURSDAY. BODIE-PEA ISLAND, NC, CBC. No rain but temperatures of
28-31, mostly overcast, and sustained winds of 30-35 m.p.h. “And I am dumb to
tell a weather’s wind/ How time has ticked a heaven round the stars.” - Dylan
Thomas, from his ‘The force that through the green fuse drives the flower.’
This is an area that has long attracted the interest of Paul Sykes. His
master’s thesis: The fall migration of land birds along the Bodie Island - Pea
Island region of the Outer Banks of northeastern North Carolina (North Carolina
State University at Raleigh, 1967, 150 pages). My copy is kept safely in a
glass-paneled book case along with some of my most valuable and/or rare natural
history monographs.
But … to return to the issue at hand, very low water at Oregon Inlet. On the
way up here our cars get sand-blasted but good. As we do each year, in the
classic fashion, we split into 3 sections in the Bodie Island lighthouse area:
the McClures walk the length of the overgrown trail from S of the lighthouse
area all the way out to Route 12; the Earps do a sea watch; I cover the
lighthouse pond plus the woods road going N from the road in to the lighthouse.
Nice to see Paul Bedell, a surprise, and he joins me.
Of most interest: wood duck 2 (only ones on the count), gadwall 432, black duck
200, blue-winged teal 6 (our area often gets the only ones), pintail 175,
green-winged teal 250, hooded merganser 38, pied-billed grebe 9, northern
gannet only 54, American bittern 1, merlin 1, clapper rail 1, Virginia rail 1,
woodcock 1, tree swallow 60, brown-headed nuthatch 4, house wren 2 (a good CBC
season for them regionally), marsh wren 1, myrtle warbler 245, catbird 4,
yellowthroat 1, and swamp sparrow 21 plus 1 deer and 1 river otter. 53 species
for us.
Elsewhere on this count (preliminary information subject to confirmation; with
my poor hearing combined with exhaustion I may have gotten some of this wrong,
in the fog of compilation): 3 additional blue-winged teal, 15,000 redheads, 150
or so pied-billed grebes, c. 60 brown pelicans (low), about 50 great egrets, 14
bald eagles, 1,100 coots, only 1 each of greater & lesser yellowlegs, 2
ruby-throated hummingbirds, and a blue-headed vireo. Missed species:
sharp-shinned hawk, winter wren, common grackle, and laughing gull. Very poor
species total … I think it was c. 116.
Didn’t get above freezing all day. Thanks to Michael for giving me some
chemical bag inserts for warming the gloves. Compilation at Pamlico Jack’s,
back in a room where we are the only ones. Nice. Calamari and filet mignon
for me.
The lighthouse pond is an old friend. In my prime, such as it was, I’d walk
its entire marshy circumference. Once did this in knee boots and got away with
it, not getting wet, or falling over backwards in areas where the mud is soft,
though I teetered that way alarmingly. Walked around it once on ice when it
was frozen solid; even then the long-billed dowitchers were there; often the
only ones seen on the count are here. Didn’t see them today, nor did we see a
single heron or ibis other than 2 great blues and bittern.
Once saw a king snake here in June, and others have seen, in season, canebrake
rattlers and water moccasins. We’ve missed snow geese the last couple of
years, but there still are usually over a thousand waterfowl, sometimes a
Eurasian wigeon, and once a fulvous whistling-duck, and a Ross’s goose. Most
unusual was a black-legged kittiwake one time, hovering over the pond as if it
was a kingfisher or kestrel. Mondo bizarro. One year a small group of
redpolls foraged on the grass lawn surrounding the light. Viva Bodie Island
Lighthouse Pond!
DECEMBER 29, FRIDAY. BACK BAY CBC. It’s up at 4:15 for the 94.6-mile drive to
Back Bay from Nag’s Head. Paul Sykes turns 80 today. Recently he carefully
orchestrated his CBC participation so that his respective 400th and 500th CBCs
would be at Back Bay on his birthday date, exploits celebrated by articles in
North American Birds and Birding. He’s participated in more CBCs than anyone.
I first met Paul in 1962 after a great nor’easter with winds up to 45 knots on
March 2. He took Will Russell and me to Craney Island and Back Bay. We saw a
Lapland Longspur, a Glaucous Gull, and found on March 3, 1962, an in extremis
Northern Fulmar under a wax myrtle bush on our walk down to BBNWR.
One of us said: “Was that a rabbit?” Another: “No, it was a newspaper.” We
did an about face and captured the fulmar. Paul wrote it up in the Auk,
“Fulmar taken in Virginia,” vol. 81, no. 3, 1964, page 437. Back then my scope
was a 25X Bushnell taped onto the stock of a Model 69A Winchester .22 rifle, a
Christmas gift from my brother, Gordon. There’s a photograph of this rig in
Time, June 2, 1967, page 47 along with Charlie Wurster, the late Jim Meritt,
and me.
But to return to the present, today the 5 of us ride the extensive dikes at
Back Bay thanks to refuge Biologist Lauren Mowbray, who not only squires us
around, but also keeps track of the bird numbers. Virtuoso performance. We
hit False Cape State Park, too. Many thanks to her. 57 species. Of most note:
tundra swan 588 (very vocal; one of the most beautiful sounds in nature: tundra
swans in full cry), mute swan 1, wood duck 2, black duck 221, mallard 365,
blue-winged teal 3, ring-necked duck 8, lesser scaup 1 male, common goldeneye
1, hooded merganser 18, pied-billed grebe 14, bald eagle 10 (never used to see
any here), king rail 4, eastern screech-owl 1, kingfisher 5, pileated
woodpecker 1, merlin 1, tree swallow 68, house wren 1, orange-crowned warbler
1, and eastern meadowlark 12 plus 2 yellow-bellied sliders, coyote sign (if you
know what I mean), and 1 deer. Lauren says the numbers of feral hogs here are
down and that there is a family of Bobcats near the refuge office. 27-36,
clear, winds a mere 5 m.p.h. A beauty.
After Back Bay I drive north to Cape Charles. Sitting in Sting-Ray’s, feeling
a little blue about being alone for the first time in days, I am absorbed by a
hamburger steak (well-done, gravy, no onions) and an issue of Eastern Shore
First, when Napier Shelton appears and sits in my booth for a while. Nice to
catch up a little. He is author of Where to watch birds in Azerbaijan (2001,
112 pages). His jocular inscription in my copy reads: “To Armistead, Cape
Charles’ answer to James Watt. from Napier Shelton, January 2005.” He has
written many books for the National Park Service, including titles on Saguaro
National Monument, Isle Royale, Lake Huron, Shenandoah, and Great Smoky
Mountains National Park. He and his wife are on their way to Chincoteague.
DECEMBER 30, SATURDAY. 53rd CAPE CHARLES CBC. Kim Voss, Steve Grimes, and I
work the Bull’s Drive-Bull’s Landing-Magothy Bay Natural Area Preserve sector
plus Magotha Road (which, confusingly, goes out to Magothy Bay), spending most
of the day on foot, walkin’. 26-42, SW 5-15-5, overcast, high tide becoming
low, very low. 73 species, with help from Arun Bose and Ned Brinkley for
special, elitist marsh birds late in the day up at Magotha Road. They are out
there, stompin’ the ‘phrags, Juncus, Spartina, and Scirpus.
Many thanks to Steve for securing a surfeit of pizzas for the compilation (at
Lodge 7 in Kiptopeke State Park; I favored slices with extra cheese and
anchovies) and giving me one of his and Kim’s ham and cheese sandwiches for
lunch. Out on the long dike through the saltmarsh to Bull’s Landing are some
pretty extensive growths of sea oxeye, plus a few Opuntia (prickly pear cactus,
occurs sparingly, coastally, all the way up to NJ).
Notable: brant 330, tundra swan 19, northern pintail 6, green-winged teal 36,
bufflehead 187, hooded merganser 20, horned grebe only 1, common loon 2, great
egret 2, black-crowned night heron 3 immatures, bald eagle 7, clapper rail 1,
Virginia rail 1, short-billed dowitcher 1, oystercatcher 2, Wilson’s snipe 1,
woodcock 2, lesser yellowlegs 1, greater yellowlegs 14, Eurasian collared-dove
1, kestrel 3, tree swallow 53, brown-headed nuthatch 2, house wren 1, marsh
wren 1, sedge wren 2, hermit thrush 2, starling 400, myrtle warbler 275,
Nelson’s sparrow 2, seaside sparrow 2, Savannah sparrow 14, and house finch 14
plus 1 deer, 2 red foxes, and a gray squirrel.
Unofficial, preliminary results of the count at large (subject to review):
species total 155 with a western tanager, Nashville warbler (another seen Dec.
31), ruby-throated hummingbird, Swainson’s thrush, and piping plover plus over
100 bald eagles, a Eurasian wigeon, 2 harlequin ducks (photographed), brown
pelicans, an imm. little blue heron, 1 white ibis, merlin (2 parties),
blue-headed vireo, c. 70 woodcock, 2 snow buntings (photographed), and a good
count of vesper sparrows (15?) plus, thanks to the boat party, 8 harbor seals
and a large but very dead loggerhead turtle.
As usual the boat party (Dan Cristol, Ellison Orcutt, Frank Renshaw, Jack
Carroll, Capt. Tray Jones) distinguish themselves, are hereby mentioned in
“despatches”, finding marbled godwit, whimbrel, red knot, least sandpiper, and
purple sandpiper (the latter foraging on a peaty sod tump for want of rocks out
on the islands). Bob Anderson got a great photograph of a piping plover, an
unbanded individual on Fisherman Island. Unofficial grand totals include 29
waterfowl and 19 shorebird species. During the compilation Dan Cristol makes a
neat list of the species found, annotating some, esp. if just 1 party found
them.
Jarring missed species: bobwhite, bittern, Bonaparte’s gull (scarce or missing
on all 4 of these counts), Forster’s tern, laughing gull, short-eared owl,
red-headed woodpecker, red & white-breasted nuthatches, saltmarsh sparrow,
white-crowned sparrow, rusty blackbird, and pine siskin. After 48 years of
compiling I was ready to “retire”: in 2016 George Armistead and Ned Brinkley
took over as co-compilers. Bless them. Many thanks to Sting-Ray’s for opening
up half an hour early for breakfast.
DECEMBER 31, SUNDAY. 263.7 miles to home, but first: ESVNWR early on: 8 or so
of us look for the WESTERN TANAGER frequenting the feeders on the E side of the
Visitor Center. It is found, seen by most. George gets some photographs. I
miss it but see house sparrows, house finches, titmice, and myrtle warblers at
the feed plus a yellowish feral cat lurking nearby.
MILE POST 78, Route 13, S of Cheriton, a field to the W has 66 killdeer and 22
mourning doves. BOX TREE-MACHIPONGO, 10:15-10:35, clear, 26, NW15, low tide,
black duck 12, red-winged blackbird 35, sharp-shinned hawk 1, herring gull 25
hunting over the guts. Visibility excellent. HUNKERED DOWN, 1 mi. N of Box
Tree, turkey vulture 12, and, 1.7 mi. N of Box Tree, turkey vulture 29, these
buzzards just sitting in the early morning sun, out of the wind. SAND PIT W of
600 (Marionville), 3.6 mi. N of Box Tree: hooded merganser 14, ruddy duck 1,
black duck 2, but the pit 0.25 mi. S of these has no birds.
WILLIS WHARF: 11-noon, 24 degrees F. very low tide and still lettin’ out. Run
into Curtis Badger. There’s a nice, well-deserved, tribute to Curtis and his
writings in Eastern Shore First, January 2018, vol. 1, no. 9, page 6.
Now see here: willet 22, semipalmated plover 6, black-bellied plover 5,
killdeer 1, dunlin 44, kingfisher 1, black vulture 4, bald eagle 3, Canada
goose 390, great blue heron 18 (hunkered down in one group in the sun & out of
the wind), hooded merganser 30, common loon 2, greater yellowlegs 3, rock
pigeon 3, bufflehead 10, and gray squirrel 1. No marbled godwits, [I like
commas], but Curtis saw the big flock here a few days ago.
GARGATHA LANDING, 12:53-1:45, very low tide, 26 degrees. Most of the time I’m
here a big female peregrine is perched on top of some drift wood
<200 feet away, shotgun range. hooded merganser 8, Forster’s tern 7, northern
harrier 2 (1 an adult male), mockingbird 1, bald eagle only 1, boat-tailed
grackle 20, great blue heron 1, cedar waxwing 30, eastern bluebird 11,
red-breasted merganser 4, dunlin 110, black duck 40, black-bellied plover 3,
red-winged blackbird 35. When the water’s higher, from here one can see the
distant surf c. 1 mi. to the NE. Also in view: the towers of NASA on Wallops
Island, and the tall tower on the N end of Cedar Island.
TYSON chicken plant at Temperanceville: Canada goose 380, turkey vulture 12, at
2 P.M., 25 degrees. 11 miles South of DOVER, DE, milepost 38.5, Route 13, c.
2,500 snow geese off to the west in a field. N of SMYRNA near Blackbird Creek
tens of thousands of blackbirds flying to roost over by the Delaware River. A
bit further N around sunset thousands of Snow Geese headed, I’d guess, for
Bombay Hook NWR. Near the DELAWARE-CHESAPEAKE CANAL many hundreds of Canada
Geese probably headed the same way. CHURCHMAN’S MARSH, Route I-95 S of
Wilmington, another massive flock of blackbirds going to roost somewhere
against a backdrop of the super moon one day shy of bring full, an impressive
spectacle, 15 minutes after sunset.
GENERAL COMMENTARY. From Dec. 29 onwards most of the smaller fresh water areas
near ‘bout froze up. According to Coastal Angler (tidewater, VA/Outer Banks,
NC edition), December 2017, p. 6 “ … new materials from the demolition of the
Herbert Bonner bridge [crosses Oregon Inlet] after the new bridge is completed
… will be used to make more artificial reefs offshore.” The start of the new
bridge is ugly and higher than the old one. This whole trip the tidal waters
are way below normal. Lots of mud.
A few of the Baccharis halimifolia on this trip still have remnants of the
white seeds that blow in the wind like minor snow flurries in late October. In
the saltmarsh along the narrow tidal guts this time a lot of the frozen waters,
when they subside, leave what look like panes of glass, big flakes, ice,
depending down from the edges lined with Spartina alterniflora. It shore is
purty.
Another Redeye in the books. Phew! Perhaps I AM getting a bit old for this.
This Redeye was challenging, but as always very rewarding and gratifying, too,
and, Oh, Lordy!, with any luck I’ll be back for more punishment next December.
So nice every year to hobnob with the accomplished Carolina and Virginia
naturalists. 10 degrees F. when I arrive home at 6 P.M. Best to all. - Harry
Armistead, Philadelphia.
