I made an impromptu trip to Staunton View along the borders of Halifax,
Mecklenburg, and Charlotte Counties this morning. Overall it was quite
slow. Only 2 species of shorebirds - Killdeer and Lesser Yellowlegs and
only 5 species of warblers - Blackpoll, Prairie, Magnolia, Pine and Common
Yellowthroat.
The only interesting find was an all dark ibis that was preening on the back
side of the mudflats towards the point at Staunton River State Park. I
believe the bird was a first year due to it's lack of "gloss", but
unfortunately it was too distant to make out eye or facial skin color or to
photograph. After watching it for several minutes I tried to move upriver
to get a better view, but everwhere I stopped the bird was hidden behind the
willows on the mudflats. I eventually returned to the spot where I
originally discovered it, and it had move a few yards and was feeding.
After less than a minute the bird took flight and went upriver behind the
willows and out of sight. I walked upriver as far as I could, but was
unable to relocate the bird.
Other notables were returning Green-winged Teal and Pied-billed Grebe and
lots of migrating Blue Jays and Flickers.
Ebird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15281099
Paul Glass
South Boston, VA
