I visited the CBBT and Chincoteague last Sunday through Wednesday. Overall, it
was a very good birding/photography trip. Here are the highlights of what I
saw.
CBBT: There were lots of ducks and other species hanging around the pier and
pulloff. There was a large, mixed group of scaup along with a group of 50-60
Oldsquaw (I know there’s a new name but I learned them as Oldsquaw and I like
the name), and a few Red-breasted Mergansers. Much to my surprise all 3
species of scoters were there. Mainly there were Black Scoters with a few Surf
Scoters and 4 White-winged. I managed to get several photos with all three
species in it. A few Common Loons were present along with 3-4 Horned Grebes.
There were a number of Gannets flying/cruising around. That was the closest
I’d seen them. In addition, there were a few Purple Sandpipers, Ruddy
Turnstones, and the usual gulls and cormorants. I didn’t see a Great Cormorant
even though I looked very hard for them. On Wednesday, there was a group of
Surf Scoters at the first pulloff on the left as you head north from the
Bridge. The SUSC were in fairly close and the males were beautiful in their
breeding plumage. Also, on Wednesday I spotted a harbor seal just off the
breakwater on the bridge. Even though it isn’t a bird, I included photos of it
in the photo collection.
Chincoteague: I was surprised by the evidence of Hurricane Sandy at
Chincoteague. I knew the Refuge had been hit hard and had seen a few
post-Sandy aerial photos of the beach. Still, it was shocking to see all of
the trees that were down, the absence of the beach parking area, and the
general high tide/overwashed look of the beach. Along Rt. 13 about 20 miles
before Chincoteague I found a large flock (1000+) of Snow Geese with a few
blue-phase individuals. They were in a field right next to the road. On the
causeway between Wallops Island and the town of Chincoteague I found a flock of
Brants (about 75) each day during low tide. In addition, I found Dunlin, a
Purple Sandpiper, a few RBME, and Buffleheads. On the refuge there were large
numbers of Gadwalls and Shovelers. Also, there were a few Tundra Swan,
Green-winged Teal, Wigeons, and Pintails. Most of these were in the area of
the wildlife loop but they were far out. Along the road to the beach Black
Ducks, Shovelers, and Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons were present. At the
beach there was a flock of about 100+ Snow Geese, Willets, Dunlin,
Black-bellied Plovers, Marbled Godwits, and the Black-tailed Godwit. There
were a number of other, common birds along with the ponies. There was a small
herd of ponies that was along the road all three days. Overall, I found 69
species and got photos of many of them. If you’re interested in seeing some of
my photos, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vmibiology/
and open the Chincoteague folder on the right side. Also, I maintained a
Black-tailed Godwit folder and have added a few new photos of the bird from
Wednesday.
Dick Rowe
VMI Biology
