My second day (first full day) at Chincoteague was Wednesday, 17 May. There
was a thick morning fog, which didn't affect birding but wasn't great for
photography. I was out on the Refuge about 630am hoping to catch the early
morning light. Heading out to Tom's Cove, I found a Blue Grosbeak along the
side of the road eating what I call sand burs - those awful spiny things. He
crunched it and ate it. You can see the bur in the BLGR photos. Out on the
Beach and along Tom's Cove there were Dunling, Ruddy Turnstones, Piping
Plovers, a Black-bellied Plover, and a few Semipalmated Plovers. The Willets
were active doing courtship flights and I also saw a Marbled Godwit and
Oystercatchers. Along the Wildlife Loop there were Dunlin, Snowy Egrets,
Tri-colored Herons, Great Egrets, Dowitchers, and Yellowlegs out in the
impoundment. After visiting the beach I headed to Queen's Sound Landing and
was pleased to find the 2 Gull-billed Terns that had been reported there over
the past week or so. They were on the small island along with Oystercatchers,
Skimmers, Forster's and 3 Common Terns. I was able to get a few photos but the
GBTE really were too far away. I then headed over to Saxis Wildlife area
hoping for marsh sparrows and rails. I saw/heard several Seaside Sparrows but
no other marsh sparrows. There are a lot of Marsh Wrens there along with
Orchard Orioles, Yellow Warblers, and Barn and Tree Swallows.
I've posted some additional photos from the 17th -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/vmibiology/
Dick Rowe
VMI Biology Dept
