Hi VA-Birders,
The weather was absolutely magnificent for the VSO field trip to
Chincoteague on September 13-15. Almost 90 people attended, and we tallied
139 species for the weekend. The complete list below includes species seen
on the Causeway, Chincoteague Island and Chincoteague NWR during the three
days.
For the first time in recent memory, mosquitoes were almost non-existent,
even on the Woodland Trail. It was fantastic!
Conditions over the summer left the inner circle of the Wildlife Loop
without the normal ponds (totally dry), so there were very few ducks this
year (we did get 5 duck species, all seen in Swan Cove). But there were
lots of other species seen, so participants didn’t seem to mind the lack of
waterfowl. The Wildlife Loop did have water in the ditches, so we were able
to view shorebirds and wading birds (including White Ibis and Glossy Ibis)
in close range.
This year’s rarity, the Bar-tailed Godwit, was eventually seen by everyone,
I think, in Swan’s Cove. There was also a nice variety of shorebirds,
wading birds and terns.
One of the biggest surprises was the quantity of warbler species (11!) seen
in the brushes and small trees across from the Tom’s Cove Visitor’s Center
(between the air station and the beach): American Redstart, Bay-breasted,
Chestnut-sided, Common Yellowthroat, Connecticut, Magnolia, Palm, Prairie,
Wilson’s, Yellow and Yellow-rumped. I think my field trip co-chair, Lee
Adams, probably saw more of these than anyone else due to her patience and
keen eyes. But a lot of people got good looks at several birds, too.
Additional species observed here were Clay-colored Sparrow, Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, Eastern Kingbird and Cedar Waxwing.
A very cooperative Lark Sparrow on the bike path between the Wildlife Loop
parking lot and the Lighthouse parking lot gave almost everyone the
opportunity to get up-close looks. It flew off when bikers rode by, then
returned to the same spot on or near the path to feed.
Our two bus trips to Wash Flats on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning
were sold out once again. The dry conditions made for small numbers of
birds, but the Saturday group got great looks at multiple Lark Sparrows and
Merlins, and Sunday’s had the only Baird’s Sandpiper recorded for the
weekend.
The Saturday morning boat trip sold out within 24 hours of the
announcement, and the 32 participants enjoyed up-close looks at many
shorebirds and wading birds. Ruth Beck did a great job working with the
boat captain to ensure everyone had a wonderful time.
Many thanks to field trip leaders Jerry Via, Bill Akers, Ruth Beck, and Lee
Bell, who always make sure attendees have a great experience.
Complete list of species tallied over the weekend is below. If I missed
any, please let me know!
And thanks to all attendees who have posted their own reports about the
weekend. Chincoteague is truly a special place in September. You just never
know what you'll find there each year.
Meredith Bell
VSO Field Trips Co-chair
Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Wild Turkey (Woodland Trail)
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
Cooper's Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Clapper Rail
Black-bellied Plover
Wilson’s Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Killdeer
American Oystercatcher
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Marbled Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Baird’s Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Least Tern
Black Tern
Black Skimmer
Rock Pigeon
White-winged Dove (Woodland Trail parking lot)
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Great Horned Owl
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Tree Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Hermit Thrush (Island Nature Trail, off Hallie Wealton Smith Road)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Connecticut Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson’s Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
