Below are the results of our weekly shorebird/gull survey conducted at
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Thurs January 29, 2015. All water
areas (impoundments and beach areas) were covered in a 5 hour survey. All
individuals are counted for the target species; other birds seen or heard on
the survey are followed by a dash.
An average winter shorebird survey for the Chincoteague NWR with a few
exceptions as always. The impoundments were mostly frozen over which may have
caused a first for us: Not one shorebird was seen on the impoundments (but
there are plenty of ducks and other waterfowl). The tidal areas held a fair
number of shorebirds (794)of ten species. Dunlin (547) were the most common as
is normal in the winter with 165 sanderlings on the beach. A surprisingly high
number of Horned Grebes and Long-tailed Ducks using Tom's Cove and a high
number of Horned Grebes seen using the ocean off the Hook. A first for us on
the Refuge were 3 Ipswich Sparrows Wild Beach. (Ipswich is a race of Savannah
Sparrow that only breeds on Sable Is in Nova Scotia.) Though we have seen them
on other Virginia Barrier Islands in the winter, for some reason we have not
seen them before on Assateague Island.
Our next survey will be Thursday, February 12th.
Clyde Morris and Joelle Buffa
| Snow Goose | -- |
| Canada Goose | -- |
| Tundra Swan | -- |
| Gadwall | -- |
| American Wigeon | -- |
| American Black Duck | -- |
| Mallard | -- |
| Northern Shoveler | -- |
| Northern Pintail | -- |
| Green-winged Teal | -- |
| Surf Scoter | -- |
| Black Scoter | -- |
| Long-tailed Duck | -- |
| Bufflehead | -- |
| Hooded Merganser | -- |
| Red-breasted Merganser | -- |
| Ruddy Duck | -- |
| Red-throated Loon | 15 |
| Common Loon | 21 |
| Horned Grebe | 244 |
| Great Blue Heron | -- |
| Great Egret | -- |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | -- |
| Black Vulture | -- |
| Turkey Vulture | -- |
| Bald Eagle | -- |
| American Oystercatcher | 3 |
| Black-bellied Plover | 7 |
| Semipalmated Plover | 1 |
| Killdeer | 2 |
| Greater Yellowlegs | 50 |
| Willet | 12 |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | 1 |
| Ruddy Turnstone | 9 |
| Sanderling | 165 |
| Dunlin | 547 |
| Ring-billed Gull | 357 |
| Herring Gull | 439 |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | 7 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 53 |
| Forster's Tern | 4 |
| Mourning Dove | -- |
| Belted Kingfisher | -- |
| Downy Woodpecker | -- |
| Northern Flicker | -- |
| Peregrine Falcon | -- |
| Fish Crow | -- |
| crow sp. | -- |
| Horned Lark | -- |
| Brown-headed Nuthatch | -- |
| Carolina Wren | -- |
| European Starling | -- |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | -- |
| Eastern Towhee | -- |
| Savannah(Ipswich)Spar | 3 |
| Swamp Sparrow | -- |
| White-throated Sparrow | -- |
| Northern Cardinal | -- |
| Red-winged Blackbird | -- |
| Boat-tailed Grackle | -- |
| House Finch | -- |
