Hello all,
Spent the afternoon of the 12th and all day on the 13th in Chincoteague, mostly
on the NWR. Wanted to share some of my highlights since we had a few things not
mentioned in the other recent posts. Lots of good birds but nothing mega,
expect of course for the White-cheecked Pintail which showed beautifully on the
afternoon of the 13th right before it decided to tuck its head and hunker down
for a siesta amongst the hundreds of Blue- and Green-wing Teal, N. Pintail,
Shovelers, Black Ducks, Greater and Lesser yellowlegs, etc. Great bird. Also
spotted that leucistic Teal mentioned in an earlier post. No other vagrant
candidates. Saw a nice Marbled Godwit at this spot as well.
We had all of the expected herons and egrets, including Little blue,
Tricolored, Glossy Ibis (only 1), and 5 White Ibis (4 adults, 1 imm.); these
were in large flock of waders at Black Duck pool.
The beach was very nice with over 200 Black Skimmers (almost 50%) imm., over 50
Royal Terns, at least 14 Sandwhich Terns (12 adults, 2 imm.), over 200 "Western
Willets", 1 Gull-billed Tern (at Tom's Cove), 8-10 Caspian Terns, Common,
Forster's and Least Terns, many hundred Sanderling (prob. over 1000) in an
interesting variety of plumages from almost breeding to almost winter. Only a
few Turnstones, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers in the mix, several
oystercatchers and ~ 20 Brown Pelicans. Along with the more common gulls, we
had at least 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (3 adults and 1 1st summer) on the
beach north of the parking area. Saw a Peregrine chasing shorebirds here.
At the Shoveler Pool, we had 1 Baird's Sandpiper hanging out with 2 Pectoral
Sandpipers, and a couple hundred dabblers, mostly Blue-wing Teal. Very cool.
Also had a Wilson's Snipe here.
Aside from the excellent waterbirds, we manged to pick up 10 warbler species
including: Yellow-throated Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Prairie Warbler,
Bay-breasted Warbler, Palm Warbler, American Redstart, Pine Warbler,
Black-and-white Warbler, Ovenbird, and Common Yellowthroat. Also had Blue
Grosbeaks, Boat-tailed Grackles, Brown-headed Nuthatches, ~ 12 Wild Turkeys,
and saw a Yellow-billed Cuckoo catch and eat a cicada, which was pretty
awesome. Also had fantastic long looks at an imm. Merlin perched right next to
the trail, eyeing up Yellowlegs.
Just an excellent time birding the refuge.
Also of note, were 2 adult Sandhill Cranes that we saw at the wetlands at the
Pine Grove Campground in Chincoteague where we camped out. The birds came
flying in calling and landed in a shallow grassy wetland, that also had a
Tricolored Heron, a Great Blue and some Least Sands, along with some Canada
Geese. The birds had all their flight feathers (one bird was missing one) and
were not banded. Normally, there wouldn't be anything to think these were not
wild, migratory birds. However, the folks at the campground also have many
exotic birds, peacocks, guinea fowl, black swans, etc. and we actually heard
Sandhills calling from somewhere on the property (not the 2 birds we were
observing). Additionally, I have heard Sandhills before at a rental property
near this location 2 years ago when on a family vacation (in August) but did
not see any. The birds we saw were perfectly capable of coming and going as
they pleased and, after spending the night in the wetland, took off in the
morning and flew up and over the trees out of view (to the NW, where there are
more wetlands). Does anyone know if these birds are residents, are they pets,
or are they migrants attracted to good habitat with calling captive Sandhills
nearby? I know the simplest solution is probably the correct one, but . . . . I
also intend on calling the campground to inquire.
Thanks and Good Birding!
Frank Marenghi
Annapolis, MD
