After the rain stopped and wind abated today, we took our weekly 4-mile
"E-bird" walk around our neighborhood in Captain's Cove Golf and Yacht Club,
which is located on the mainland side of Chincoteague Bay, Accomack County,
about 1 mile south of the MD line.
We found a freshly dead, adult SOOTY TERN laying on the golf course at around
12:30 pm. Photos and a specimen are available. Otherwise, species diversity and
numbers of birds were much lower than our previous surveys.
At low tide, we drove into Chincoteague. Few shorebirds and no rareties were
spotted along the causeway, although we did get excellent views of a Pectoral
Sandpiper feeding alongside Least and Semi-palmated Sandpipers, and
Semi-palmated Plovers at the Queens Sound Boat Landing. The Refuge is closed,
at least until staff assesses/fixes damage on Monday. We did find a flock of
about 20 Black Terns feeding in the flooded areas adjacent to Maddox CG. A bank
swallow was amoung flocks of tree and barn swallows at the Inlet Campground.
Joelle Buffa and Clyde Morris
