VA-Birders,
The 90 people who attended the VSO field trip in Chincoteague last weekend had
a fantastic birding experience! We tallied 140 species, which may be a record
high. We had perfect weather Friday and Saturday.
Everyone got to see the White-cheeked Pintail at some point over the weekend.
There was an amazing number of waterfowl, with both Teal species abundant.
So many people signed up for the Wash Flats bus trip that we not only had the
Saturday afternoon trip, but a second one was also filled for Sunday morning.
Highlights on those trips included Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Glossy Ibis and
Cape May Warbler.
Many thanks to the weekend trip leaders Jerry Via and Bill Akers, who always
make sure we have a great time. Special thanks to Ruth Beck and her son Michael
for their expert assistance in leading the beach motorcade trips. Their group
had a Whimbrel on Saturday. My husband Lee and I led a group of 24 (!) on the
birding and biking trip Saturday morning, which was a lot of fun. We all had
great looks at a Solitary Sandpiper, heard a Marsh Wren and were surprised by a
fly-by Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
Lee and I were on the second floor of the Refuge Inn facing the pool and three
crepe myrtles. We were treated to a Black-throated Green Warlber both days, and
a Philadelphia Vireo made an appearance early Saturday afternoon. We alerted
everyone who was close by, and Bill Akers got a great photo of the bird.
If anyone had additional birds not on the list below, please let me know.
GREAT birding!
Meredith Bell
VSO Field Trips Co-chair
Hayes, VA
Note: This count includes all birds reported on the VSO field trip Sept 10-12.
Number of species: 140
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
White-cheeked Pintail
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ruddy Duck
Northern Bobwhite
Wild Turkey
Pied-billed Grebe
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
Sora
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
American Oystercatcher
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Whimbrel
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Black Skimmer
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Chuck-will's-widow
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Tree Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler (Western)
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Field Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
