Hey all, another late report. Participated in the Newport News Spring Bird
Count by covering the Grandview Sector on May 6, 2012 with the help of Stuart
Sweetman and Elisa Enders. We walked the
entire beach at the Grandview Preserve first thing. The weather was
interesting, with light
drizzle at times, heavy cloud cover, and a chilly northeast breeze. But the
birds were active, with mixed flocks
of shorebirds comprised of Semipalmated Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Dunlin,
Sanderlings, Semipalmated Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers, Willets, and Ruddy
Turnstones encountered. Biggest numbers
were at the north end, with hundreds of Dunlin a treat to see as they were
beginning to attain breeding plumage.
Many of the Black-bellied Plovers were also sporting very attractive
plumages. Additional shorebirds observed
at the north end only included a pair of Am. Oystercatchers, a handful of
Short-billed Dowitchers (ID confirmed by call), Spotted Sandpiper, and Greater
Yellowlegs. But the highlight on the
shorebird front was a lone Piping Plover observed along the beach on our trip
north in the morning, not too far from the trailhead. We didn’t refind it on
the trip back south,
but the birds were flushing a lot more then and it could easily have been
overlooked.
Other highlights from Grandview Preserve included decent
numbers of the expected tern species (Least, Royal, Common, and Forster’s)
highlighted by 30+ Black Skimmers and 6 Gull-billed Terns. We had some
lingering winter species in/over
the Bay here: 1 Bonaparte’s Gull, 1 Black Scoter, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, and
13 Common Loons (all in flight in small groups headed approx. North). Finally,
some marsh species of note here included
4 Seaside Sparrows, 4 Virginia Rails (3 vocalizing and 1 seen), 1 Marsh Wren, 1
Am. Black Duck, and 1 Snowy Egret.
We proceeded on to the nearby White Pond Swamp and were
shocked to find 21 more Gull-billed Terns resting on a sandbar in this tiny
lake alongside 1 Common Tern and a couple Least Terns. Stuart saw a Northern
Harrier here as well. Other spots in the sector held mostly
expected stuff, with some notables being a single Cattle Egret and Savannah
Sparrow both at the end of Grundland Dr.
After leaving the sector Stuart and I checked nearby Ridgeway Park and
found 2 adult Yellow-crowned Night-herons and both Yellowlegs species using the
tidal creek there. All the best,
Nick Flanders
Raleigh, NC
