At 2:30 pm today I observed an adult Roseate Tern among many Common Terns at
the southern island (public) of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Most spring
records of the species in Virginia occur in mid-May, mostly after periods of
easterly winds. Adult birds in breeding plumage are very distinctive; this bird
stood out immediately by virtue of its blinding white plumage, long tail, and
essentially jet black bill. I have been crossing the CBBT almost daily since 8
March with little to report otherwise. Easterly winds can also be good for
Sooty Shearwater in May.
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
Sent from my iPhone
