Kiptopeke, Virginia, September 2-6, 2005 (Cape Charles area). Harry & Liz
Armistead. K.S.P. = Kiptopeke State Park. Sam Stuart is again the hawk
counter. Jetho Runco the landbird bander. Zach Smith the raptor trapper.
Great to have these talented, knowledgeable, hard-working people returning
again plus all the field work being done by the Center for Conservation
Biology of the College of William and Mary - Dr. Bryan Watts, Bart Paxton,
Fletcher Smith et al.
One day there was a visitor from Belize, Fermin Tzib.
September 2. Friday. The Butterfly Garden is loaded with Pearlcrescents,
both ladies, Buckeyes, a Snout, and lots more. This year there are 3 new,
additional butterfly gardens. From the K.S.P. hawkwatch platform: 7
Glossy Ibis, 1 Warbling Vireo (rare as a coastal migrant), 12 or so
nighthawks. Saw a starling chasing a Mourning Dove. 5 Baltimore Orioles
in one small tree out front. Jethro bands an imm. female kingbird,
probably the banded bird we later saw from the platform. Sam conted 58
Ospreys yesterday, Sept. 1. Numerous jellyfish (moon jellies?) on Sunset
Beach looking like stranded breast implants. 6 dolphins offshore from
there.
September 3, known to many as, simply, Saturday. Jethro bands a
Blackburnian Warbler, a Cooper's Hawk, and 3 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers.
From the platform: a Solitary Sandpiper and a kettle of 40 Glossy Ibis.
The U. S. Navy hospital ship "Comfort" passes on its way to the
Katrina-stricken Gulf. 47 Ospreys. 58 kestrels. Raptor total: 120.
Also our 39th wedding anniversary appropriately spent at Sting-Ray's after
warming up with Bob Anderson's fine wines.
GOLDEN EAGLE. Bob Anderson spots a juvenile late in the afternoon. Well
seen for several minutes, including leisurely studies through the 32X Leica
scopes, by Bob, Andrea Adams, Brian Taber, hawkcounter Sam Stuart, and
myself. Nice, clearly demarked white at the base of the tail feathers,
small white area at the base of the primaries, golden mantle, distinctive
dihedral, and rounded, almost palm-like end of the wings at their tips.
All this easily seen. Extraordinary record, 5 weeks or so before when one
might reasonably expect the first one of the fall.
September 4. Sunday. Jethro bands a Golden-winged Warbler.
Good flight of raptors at K.S.P. today - by early September standards: 59
Ospreys, 76 kestrels, 18 harriers, 2 Bald Eagles, 1 sharpie, 6 Coops, 5
Broad-winged Hawks, 1 red-tail and 2 peregrines for a total of 170. A
flock of 15 Glossy Ibis way off to the East with a few cormorants mixed in
with them. A group of 4 Red-breasted Nuthatches passes over the platform.
Ramp Lane, Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge. 6:30-7:30
P.M. With Bob Anderson & Thuy Tran. Not the best evening flight I've ever
seen here but still much of interest. 32 immature White & 4 Glossy ibis.
39 Snowy & 10 Great egrets. 4 Tricolored Herons. 3 Bald Eagles. 1
Clapper Rail. 7 Semipalmated Plovers. 5 Common Nighthawks. 20 Eastern
Kingbirds. 104 Canada Geese. 1 Blue-winged Teal. 3 BCNHs. I am used to
seeing migrating flocks of Great Blue Herons late in the month and in
October but was surprised to see, this early in the season, high-flying
flocks here of 11, 7 and 6 this evening. The pond by the gate is low and
very scummy. 1 cottontail, 2 does and 1 small fawn.
September 5, K.S.P. Monday. Good hawk flight today: 124 kestrels, 55
Ospreys, 10 harriers, 10 Coops, 5 Merlins, 1 peregrine, 3 sharpies, 1 Bald
Eagle & 10 Broad-wings for a total of 216. So far Jethro has banded 28
warbler species. He should go well over 30.
Tuesday. September 6. Headin' home. Willis Wharf. Very high tide at
1:20 P.M., hence no shorebirds except the dependable flock of Ruddy
Turnstones (40) on the dock next to Capt. Monty Webb's 'Safari.' Lunch at
the Exmore Diner, which ought to be a National Historic Landmark. It is
like a diner from 1950, one clock in the form of the classic Pepsi Cola
bottle cap, a framed painting of the diner with tail-finned cars parked
outside (with tail lights that light up) and other splendid realia. Good,
fresh sea trout sandwich on a roll. And the clientele is great also.
Some daily, early morning totals of selected species counted on the bluff
behind Best Western/Sunset Beach Resort, most of them disappointingly low.:
Example - Brown Pelican: 185, 275, 165, 235, 140 (means 185 on Sept. 2,
275 on Sept. 3, etc.).
Double-crested Cormorant: 255, 185, 205, 170, 255.
Great Blue Heron: 10, 4, 4, 13, 8.
American Black Duck: 0, 3, 2 ,4, 0.
Cattle Egret: 0, 1, 0, 0 ,0.
Bald Eagle: 1, 2 ,1 0, 1.
Osprey: 7, 4 ,3 ,3, 5.
Black-bellied Plover: 0, 0 ,0 ,0, 1.
Sandwich Tern: 0, 0, 0, 1, 0.
Caspian Tern: 2, 1, 3, 2, 0.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo: 0, 0, 1, 1, 0.
Common Nighthawk: 2, 0, 0, 0, 0.
Chimney Swift: 5, 4, 1, 0, 7.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: 4, 0, 0, 2, 2.
unidentified Empidonax: 5, 1, 2, 0, 0.
Eastern Kingbird: 126, 85, 77, 16, 9.
Great Crested Flycatcher: 0, 0, 3, 0, 0.
Fish Crow: 5, 1, 2, 1, 1.
Veery: 1, 0, 2, 0, 0.
American Robin: 85, 45, 40, 20, 10.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: 1, 0, 0, 1, 0.
Cedar Waxwing: 60, 32, 8, 8, 6.
Wilson's Warbler: 0, 0, 0, 1, 0.
unidentified warbler: 84, 49, 28, 9, 7.
Black-throated Blue Warbler: 4, 0, 0, 0, 0.
Northern Waterthrush: 0, 0, 0, 2, 0.
Baltimore Oriole: 53, 42, 24, 1, 0.
Bobolink: 87, 25, 30, 30, 105.
Red-winged Blackbird: 85, 35, 155, 230, 40.
unidentified bat: 0, 0, 0, 0, 1.
Monarch: 2, 0, 1, 1, 2.
start: 6, 6:07, 6:05, 6:07, 6:15 A.M.
stop: 8:45, 8:10, 8, 8, 8 A.M.
sky: ovc-fr, fr, clr-fr, fr, clr-fr.
temp: 72-80, 70-78, 68-74, 67-73, 67-76.
winds: wsw10-wnw 15, nw5-n10-ne15, ne5, ne5-10, ne10+.
Almost all of these are seen flying, usually north, across the gap in the
trees. Note the decline in numbers each day of kingbird, robin, waxwing,
warbler sp., and oriole. Fish Crows and Cattle Egrets used to be seen here
on this weekend in the hundreds. No real great fronts in these 5 days. In
other years I have seen over 1,000 kingbirds and warblers, over 200
orioles, etc., in one day during a comparable c. 2 hr. period. Very few
swallows the entire 5 days anywhere.
Off topic. I don't read the "New York Times" regularly but every once in a
while I hit the jackpot. On Fri., Aug. 26 there is a great article, p.
A4-International, on huge freshwater fish featuring an enormous 9-foot
catfish, 646 pounds, caught in the upper Mekong River near where Thailand,
Laos and Myanmar conjoin. Great photograph. Then a review of "March of
the Penguins" by the distinguished naturalist Bernd Heinrich (p. A19,
op-ed). On p. A18 there is an editorial opposing the use of snowmobiles in
Yellowstone National Park ("Snowmobile Deceit"): "... when this
administration sticks its head in the sand it means to keep it there, no
matter what common sense, science or public opinion says." Elsewhere in
the same issue is reporting on a senior Interior official who proposes
opening the parks up to all sorts of exploitation and intrusive recreation.
I simply report what is there without making any judgements. That is for
you to do.
Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Please, any off-list replies to:
harryarmistead at hotmail dot com Please, never use 74077 ...
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