Below are the results of our weekly shorebird/gull survey conducted at
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday October 16, 2012. All water
areas (impoundments and beach areas) - except as noted below - were covered in
a 5-1/2 hour survey. All individuals are counted for the target species; other
birds seen or heard on the survey are followed by a dash.
This was our first survey in since mid-October, because our scheduled survey in
late Oct. was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy. We could only survey half of the
Old Field Impoundment, 6.6 miles of WB and 85% of Hook because of lingering
hurricane access issues. All other impoundments were surveyed although they are
mostly too deep for shorebirds. Water depths in portions of F-Pool are suitable
for dunlins, which are beginning to return, and a few semi-palmated sandpipers
(feeding alongside a Western and least) that were a later-than-expected
occurrence for this species. Thousands of snow geese were observed along the
shoreline in Tom's Cove and in North Wash Flats; other waterfowl numbers are
also increasing. Numbers of lesser black-backed gulls are greatly reduced from
our earlier fall surveys.
Joelle Buffa and Clyde Morris
Snow Goose --
Tundra Swan --
Gadwall --
American Wigeon --
American Black Duck --
Mallard --
Blue-winged Teal --
Northern Shoveler --
Northern Pintail --
Green-winged Teal --
Ring-necked Duck --
Lesser Scaup --
Surf Scoter --
Black Scoter --
Bufflehead --
Ruddy Duck --
Wild Turkey --
Red-throated Loon 20
Northern Gannet 30
Double-crested Cormorant 31
Great Blue Heron --
Great Egret --
Snowy Egret --
Turkey Vulture --
Osprey --
Northern Harrier --
Sharp-shinned Hawk --
Cooper's Hawk --
Bald Eagle --
American Coot --
Black-bellied Plover 9
Semipalmated Plover 13
Greater Yellowlegs 29
Lesser Yellowlegs 14
Sanderling 306
Semipalmated Sandpiper 3
Western Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 209
Laughing Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 121
Herring Gull 572
Lesser Black-backed Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 120
Forster's Tern 2
Royal Tern 5
Belted Kingfisher --
Northern Flicker --
American Kestrel --
Merlin --
American Crow --
Fish Crow --
Tree Swallow --
European Starling --
Yellow-rumped Warbler --
Savannah Sparrow --
Song Sparrow --
White-throated Sparrow --
Eastern Meadowlark --
