Here goes. I hope the paragraphing problem (or lack of paragraphs) does not
replicate this time. - HTA.
Kiptopeke, Virginia, August 30-September 3, 2008. Liz & Harry Armistead.
Friday, August 29: Snow Hill, MD. 8 Cattle Egrets W of Rt. 13 N of S.H.
Willis Wharf, VA, Aug. 29, 3:15 P.M. Tide very low. Shorebirds dispersed
elsewhere. 4 Whimbrels, 4 Willets, a Caspian & 6 Forster’s terns, 19 Great & 3
Snowy egrets, a great blue, and an ad. Black Skimmer. Extremely hot,
oppressive, tropical air here today. Close your eyes and you’re in the Cayman
Islands in mid-afternoon. Sept. 3, after days of east wind the high tide 1-2
feet above normal, flats covered deep = no shorebirds, at noon.
RAMP LANE, Eastern Shore of VA National Wildlife Refuge, Aug. 29, 6 P.M., 27
imm.White Ibis, 1 Clapper Rail, 1 harrier, 1 Baltimore Oriole, 6 Ospreys, 2
Seaside Sparrows, 8 Great Egrets. In the (very stagnant, dead) pond: 2
Spotted, 2 Least & 2 Semipalmated sandpipers and 2 Snowy Egrets. Dozens of
Barn and Tree swallows hunting over the saltmarsh. Aug. 30: not much, a
Tricolored Heron in the pond (and nothing else), a Clapper Rail bathing and
preening at close range. Sept. 2, 5:15-5:45 P.M.: 2 Tricolored Herons, 4 Snowy
Egrets, 21 Bobolinks, 2 Clapper Rails, 1 Killdeer (the only bird in the pond),
1 male kestrel, 2 Ospreys, and 1 Diamondback Terrapin.
SUNSET BEACH RESORT. As has been my habit on Labor Day Weekend, or
thereabouts, for c. 27 of the past 28 years, I conduct an early morning count
of birds along the bluff on the edge of Chesapeake Bay in back of S.B.R.,
usually from 6:15-8 A.M. Disappointing to not have ANY big flights of
kingbirds, orioles, warblers, cormorants, pelicans, Fish Crows, Cattle Egrets,
swallows, etc., which used to happen on a day or 2 or more EVERY visit. Chris
& Betsy Foster joined me Aug. 31. Joyce Neff, Bob Ake & Chris on Sept. 1.
Sharna Tolfree and Chris on Sept. 2. Since all of these birds were moving and
refuge land is on either side, these can be considered as occurring on the E.
Shore of VA NWR also. Here are the results of 5 mornings’ worth this time,
Aug. 30-Sept., 3 for selected species (x = species seen but counts not made):
brown pelican: 50, 55, 105, 80, 75.
double-crested cormorant: 92, 155, 130, 35, 75.
great blue heron: 7, 6, 9, 5, 4.
great egret: 0, 1, 0, 1, 0.
snowy egret: 0, 0, 0, 2, 0.
cattle egret: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0.
white ibis: 0, 1 ad., 0, 0, 0.
green heron: 0, 0, 1, 0, 0.
osprey: 8, 3, 7, 4, 14.
american kestrel: 0, 0, 2, 1, 1.
bald eagle: 0, 0, 0, 2, 1.
clapper rail: 0, 0, 1, 0, 0.
killdeer: 6, 1, 0, 0, 0.
unID’d peep: 0, 2, 0, 0, 0.
lesser yellowlegs: 10, 0, 0, 0, 0.
sanderling: 1, 0, 0, 0, 0.
caspian tern: 1, 0, 3, 1, 0.
royal tern: 13, 4, 2, 2, 1.
common tern: 2, 0, 0, 0, 0.
forster’s tern: 11, 0, 0, 1, 0.
gull-billed tern: 2, 0, 0, 0, 0.
ruby-throated hummingbird: 3, 4, 2, 0, 3.
belted kingfisher: 0, 0, 1, 0, 0.
chimney swift: 2, 6, 0, 1, 0.
yellow-billed cuckoo: 0, 1, 0, 0, 0.
eurasian collared-dove: 0, 0, 1, 1, 0.
mourning dove: 4, 2, 3, 2, 5.
red-headed woodpecker: 1 ad., 0, 0, 2 imm., 0.
great crested flycatcher: 0, 0, 0, 1, 0.
unID’d empidonax: 0, 2, 3, 0, 0.
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER: 0, 0, 0, 0, 1.
eastern kingbird: 27, 67, 56, 17, 24.
barn swallow: 8, 4, 11, x, 1.
cliff swallow: 0, 0, 0, 0, 1.
purple martin: 2, 0, 0, 0, 0.
cliff swallow: 0, 0, 0, 0, 1.
fish crow: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0.
tufted titmouse: 0, 0, 3, 0, 2.
northern mockingbird: x, 12, x, x, x.
brown thrasher: 0, 0, 0, 0, 3.
american robin: 55, 15, 10, x, 91.
cedar waxwing: 3, 1, 0, 1, 3.
blue-gray gnatcatcher: 0, 3,0, 0, 0.
red-eyed vireo: 0, 0, 2, 0, 0.
unID’d warbler: 2, 24, 32, 4, 0.
yellow-throated warbler: 1, 0, 0, 0, 0.
blue-winged warbler: 0, 0, 1, 0, 0.
prairie warbler: 0, 0, 1, 0, 0.
northern waterthrush: 0, 1, 2, 1, 1.
blue grosbeak: 1, 1, 2, 0, 0.
baltimore oriole: 7, 13, 37, 14, 16.
bobolink: 0, 0, 290, 25, 45.
boat-tailed grackle: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0.
red-winged blackbird: 0, 3, 42, 8, 0.
LARK SPARROW: 0, 0, 0, 0, 1.
white-tailed deer: 1 doe, 1 fawn; 0; 2 does; 0; 2 does, 1 buck.
gray squirreleepoo: 1, 0, 0, 0, 1.
unID’d dolphin: 0, 0, 1, 0, 0.
wind: n<5-NW5+; calm-N<5-NE5; NE<5; NE<5; SW15.
temperature at start, approximately: 73; 70; 67; 66; 73.
sky: overcast; clear; clear; clear; clear.
general: close, misty, muggy, humid, some fog; nothing special the other 4 days.
time: 6:15-8; 6:15-8; 6:15-9; 6:15-8; 6:15-8:15.
SUNSET BEACH RESORT: Highlights (included in above table but “broken out”
here):
Aug. 30, of most interest, the 2 Gull-billed Terns and the Yellow-throated
Warbler. I think Jethro Runco, now in his 8th season here, said he’d never
banded a YTWA here. This one landed in a Black Cherry tree right over my head.
Aug. 31, 1 ad. White Ibis, seldom see them at this spot. The 12 mockingbirds
were all within a few feet of each other simultaneously; not sure I’ve ever
seen so many so close together at one time. At dusk Bob Anderson and I watch
several Killdeer, which hang on the roof of the motel, swerving and jiveing
around at roof-level elevation, apparently catching flying insects and looking
very much like nighthawks in the near total darkness. Sept. 1: the Clapper
Rail flushed from the very top of the bluff, where there is just sand and
scrub, the only 1 I’ve ever seen here. One of the titmice was carrying food.
Many of the cormorants came overland from the east, which they never used to.
This is the first time I’ve seen Eurasian Collared-Dove here. A Bobolink flock
of c. 140 was migrating stacked up, perhaps 100 feet plus high, a vertical
flock; I guess they don’t worry about going in the slipstream of the birds
ahead of them. We saw a “starling ball” messing around with a Turkey Vulture.
Usually when there’s a starling ball it involves a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Sept.
3: the LARK SPARROW flew in at 7:09, good view at 100 feet, spot on breast
seen, white margins on the ends of the outer tail feathers, complex facial
pattern obvious (but not rufous), seemed large, I’d guess an imm. male. The
only other one I’ve seen in Virginia was with Claudia Wilds in 1977. The
OLIVE- SIDED FLYCATCHER was a flyover but close, a new Virginia bird for me.
Saw a hummingbird chase a Cedar Waxwing. 2 of the orioles were flycatching. A
small ultralight aircraft went over low at 8:03 at low altitude, perhaps
piloted by Angelo Manuel, one of the owners of Sting-Ray’s.
KIPTOPEKE STATE PARK.
Aug. 30. Jethro spots a Fence Lizard. A small Hog-nosed Snake is found, c. 10
inches long. Jethro bands a female Black-throated Blue Warbler and Traill’s
Flycatcher. Hear a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Jethro has banded a screech-owl and
has been hearing Chuck-will’s-widows still singing on some mornings. Very few
Monarchs anywhere these 5 days. A few dozen Ospreys, a few Merlins, harriers,
broad-wingeds & Cooper’s Hawks, a couple of dozen kestrels, seen during this
period plus a couple of peregrines. Jethro spots 2 Eurasian Collared-Doves
from the platform Aug. 31 plus we see 3 Black-bellied and 2 Semipalmated
plovers passing over and 85 Bobolinks. Sept. 1, 2 Glossy Ibis, 2 gnatcatchers.
PERSONAL STUFF: Aug. 29, dinner at the Pelican Pub, nice sunset, band did a
good job with the ‘Hotel California.’ Aug. 30, dinner at the Eastville Inn
with Ned Brinkley, Bob Anderson & Thuy Tran. Aug. 31 dinner at Sting-Ray’s
with Bob Anderson & Thuy Tran. Sept. 1 dinner at Chris & Betsy Fosters’ in
Cape Charles with Bob Anderson. Lunch and dinner with Tad and Connie de
Bordenave at Sting-Ray’s Sept. 2. On arriving home, takeout pizza to celebrate
our 42nd anniversary plus a Red-eyed Vireo in the Swamp Magnolia in the
backyard, Sept. 3 and 2 Gray Squirrels continuing their considerable
depredations on our “volunteer” peach tree.
Best to all. – Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
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