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U.S.A. -- VIRGINIA
7-9 November 1997
by Gary Felton
Romantic Ravings
It was cold, 25 degrees farenheight, when I began loading things in the
car for our trip to Chincoteague NWR in
Virginia. The stars shone
brightly in a crystal clear sky and the gleaming white, half-moon hung
effortlessly over the constellation Orion. I was hoping the Great
Horned owl that had made it's prescence known the previous two nights
would do so again but it remained silent. What a fitting
beginning it would have been for a birding trip. Well so much for
the romanticism. With binoculars, spotting scope, field guides,
camcorder, cameras, cell phone, CB radio, compass, altimiter, sextant,
maps, wet bar and GPS firmly secured in the car we headed for the
coast. As soon as it became light enough to see the first bird of
the trip, an American Crow, flew up from it's early morning breakfast
of road-kill.
The Detour
We had no more crossed the state line into maryland than those dreaded
words spewed forth from my wife's lips, "I have to go to the
bathroom". Never having studied the female anatomy extensively I
still don't fully understand this biological phenomenon. I on the
other hand, can hop in my car with either a 20 oz bottle of Mountain
Dew or a thermos of coffee and drive nearly non-stop all day. I
have to admit though that my wife has improved over the years.
She is now up to 20 minutes in between stops. Even at that I felt
that I had to devise a sure fire plan to curtail bathroom breaks or we
would never get there. What I needed was an incentive plan.
"I know", I thought, "I'll offer her money"'. That was it, the
amount of stops would be inversely proportional to increased
revenues. Even though she accepted the offer she still had to go
to the bathroom. " Well", I thought, "I'll turn this into an
opportunity for more birds". I hoped that a White-throated
Sparrow or Black-capped Chickadee would appear at the edge of the woods
but the only thing with wings I saw, was a jet.
On The Road Again
Shortly after biological stop number one a crow sized bird with a very
distinctive appearance and somewhat of an undulating flight flew across
the road several hundred feet in front of us. A Pileated
Woodpecker landed in a tree alongside the road. By the time we
got to Hagerstown Maryland we had seen Red-tailed, Red-shouldered and
Coopers Hawks, American Kestrel and Turkey Vulture. Biological
stop number two at another rest area produced a White-breasted Nuthatch
and a debit in my wife's account. Greater Black-backed, Herring
and Ring-billed Gulls were in the air as we crossed the Chesapeake Bay
Bridge. I looked for Swans and loons in the bay but saw
none. By the time we reached the causeway leading to Chincoteague
Island we had added Northern Mockingbird, Double-creasted Cormorant,
Black Vulture and Tree Swallow.
Nap Time
As best I could I scanned the marsh along both sides of the causeway
for birds. There were other birds present but I made positive
id's only of Boat-tailed Grackle, Common and Snowy Egret, Ruddy Duck
and more Double-creasted Cormorants. I got a quick glimpse of a
yellowlegs but I wasn't sure which species it was. I knew that a
return trip to the causeway would be in order. We checked into
the Seashell Motel in the main part of town. This was a strategic
move on my part. Even though my wife likes birds, she loves
shopping even more. The location of the motel allowed her to look
through shop windows while I in the meantime, looked through my
binoculars. She was tired from the drive and wanted to take a nap
before accompanying me to the refuge. And BTW, it was time again
for another bathroom break. Her account was dwindling.
I
headed back to the causeway. I love birding along the causeway
because it is there that that you receive your first warm greetings
from the locals. Someone from a passing car welcomed me to the
island with "Hey bird boy". In spite of the traffic and friendly
salutations I located Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Great Blue Heron,
Black-bellied Plover, Forster's Tern, Northern Shoveler, American Black
Duck, Mallard, Eastern Meadowlark and Savannah Sparrow. I had
hoped to see at least one of the Sharp-tailed Sparrow species but found
none.
Could It Be?
JoAnne had never been to Chincoteague before so I was anxious to show
her as much of it as was possible before the sun set. The
wildlife loop was open to traffic by then so we took a slow but steady
drive watching for whatever came our way. Several Dunlin were
feeding on the first mudflat at the edge of Snow Goose Pool and fair
sized flocks of Canada and Snow Geese could be seen farther out.
As usual for that time of year, Myrtle Warblers were everywhere.
Farther along the loop we saw Yellow-shafted Flicker, Eastern Bluebird,
Belted Kingfisher and two Pectoral Sandpipers. We next headed for
the Atlantic stopping along the way to check both Swan and Tom's
coves. Several Willets were huddled together in Swan Cove and
Forster's Terns were busy diving for fish. Royal Terns could be
seen flying above Tom's Cove. I erected my scope on one of the
dunes and began checking the beach and off shore swells.
Besides the Laughing Gulls and Willets, the usual Sanderling parade was
taking place on the beach. A large number of scoters were
congreated in the swells several hundred feet out and more were
arriving every minute. I started scanning both the resting flock
and the incoming projectiles as well. It was clear that the
majority of the flock was comprised of Surf Scoters with large numbers
of Black as well. It occured to me that I hadn't seen one
White-winged yet. It was incredible that at least one didn't
exist in those hundreds, maybe even thousands, of scoters but I
couldn't find a single one. I began a meticulous search for a
White-winged but saw none. Surely, out there somewhere, was a
White-winged Scoter, but if it was there, I couldn't find it. I
checked every in-coming bird for a white wing patch but there was none
to be had. I finally gave up and decided instead to concentrate
on the size of the flock. This had to be the largest assemblage
of scoters that I had ever seen and more were arriving all the
time. About that time a small ocean going vessel began plowing
right through the middle of this black floating mass. The flock
was scattering, the sun was setting and I was tired. It seemed to
be an appropriate time to retire for the day.
Unfortunate
Afflictions
Even though we got an efficiency at the Seashell Motel with the
intention of eating most of our meals in the room, we decided to
patronize Don's Seafood restaurant. We were both tired and hungry
and I was in the mood for some Chincoteague seafood and my favorite
beverage with a kick, a Long Island Ice Tea. My dear wife JoAnne
has that most dreaded of afflictions, an allergic reaction to seafood
(she found this out at Cape May a few years ago), so she ordered up a
T-bone steak instead. Fortunately I don't share my wife's
affliction so I had the broiled seafood platter. Neither one of
us could eat everything. That's one thing about Don's, you don't
go away hungry. We actually had enough left for dinner the next
night. So with some additional items we purchased at the grocery
store, we had surf and turf Friday night as well.
Sometimes the wind
just blows the wrong way.
Friday morning after a quick breakfast in our room I headed out the
door in search of more birds. A brisk walk across the causeway
between Chincoteague Island and the refuge produced Louisiana and
Black-crowned Night Heron, Red-winged Blackbird and Pied-billed
Grebe. I decided to check the coast again but stopped on the way
out to check Swan Cove and Toms Cove. Two Mute Swans along with
flocks of Green-winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks, a few Lesser Scaup and an
American Wigeon were present in Swan Cove. A single Western
Sandpiper looked like a minature carving in admidst the flock of Dunlin
that it was with on one of the mudflats. Toms Cove offered up a
Common Loon and four immature Little Blue Herons were gathered together
out in the marsh grass. Semi-palmated Plovers, a Killdeer and
American Oystercatchers were congregated on the mudflats. Off in
the distance a Northern Harrier was hunting. The flock of scoters
that had been assembled the previous day were still there but
noticeably smaller.
While I was scanning the distant surf, seven
Brown Pelicans came cruising down the coastline. Along with the
almost constant parade of scoters flying by in both directions, came a
small flock of Bufflehead. And of course the ever present
Forster's and Royal Terns were in constant attendance along with
Sanderlings and Willets on the beach. I was still seeking a
White-winged Scoter but after awhile I gave up and decided to check the
dunes for Sparrows. The wind had been blowing out of the southest
the entire time we were there so the landbirding wasn't the
greatest. The only thing I was able to find were more Myrtle
Warblers, a few House Finches and a lone Song Sparrow. The bay
along mainstreet usually harbored Brant this time of year so I headed
out there for a look. On the way out I heard Golden-crowned
Kinglets calling. I stopped the car and found a small flock
excitedly feeding a few feet up in one of the trees. After
watching them for a few minutes I proceeded towards main street.
Sure enough there were several Brant in the bay. A solitary Ruddy
Turnstone was feeding on a small shell island and Marbled Godwits were
present on three others. I was hoping to find a contrasting
Hudsonian in amongts the Marbleds but never found it.
The Fainting Spell
It was time to meet back up with Joanne so I returned to the
Seashell. I got out of the car but before I made it to the door a
Merlin flew by. We had lunch and then went to Decoys, Decoys,
Decoys to shop for carvings. They had just gotten in a shipment
of new carvings which included an award-winning, full sized Peregrine
Falcon carving. The detailing was superb and even though they
accepted layaways, the $9000.00 was just a bit more than I wanted to
spend. After my fainting spell was over and I made it back to my
feet, I examined the Peregrine further. I'd love to have it
sitting on my coffee table at home but I'd lhave to hock both of my
cars to do so. Deciding not to take a second mortgage out on my
house, I looked around for something that was more in line with my
meager budget. If you're ever in Chincoteague though, a stop at
Decoys, Decoys, Decoys is well worth a visit. They have
everything from antigue, working waterfowl decoys to full sized rails,
shorebirds, Herons and Cormorants.
Treasures From The
Sea
After drooling over the Peregrine for awhile I headed back out for more
birding. JoAnne had already left to continue her never-ending
search for the ultimate gift shop so I headed directly back to the
refuge. I made a brief stop at the visitor center but since
nothing was stirring I started around the wildlife loop. There
was a nice sized flock of shorebirds on the first mudflat at Snow Goose
Pool so I decided a closer examination was in order.
A quick scan
with binoculars showed that the group was comprised mostly of Dunlin
but there were several peeps as well. A more magnified search
with scope produced several Least, a few Semipalmated and one Western
and Baird's each. JoAnne had mentioned earlier that she wanted to
do some beachcombing so I went to the motel to get her for our romatic
rendezvous with shells and birds. She searched for, "treasures
from the sea", on the beach and I did the same except my treasures were
to be found in the air and on the water instead. The flock of
scoters was still there and at long last a small flock of White-winged
came gliding in and joined the others. Out over the distant
swells Gannets in different stages of plumage dove for their afternoon
snacks. A setting sun started turning the lights down low so we
headed back to the motel. After our meal of leftover surf and
turf, we each lay down to our own set of dreams, her to more shops and
me to illusuions of rarities.
A Look of Dread!
We had decided to drive across the Cheasapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel
Network on Saturday so after breakfast we headed south. I guess
JoAnne wasn't paying attention when I told her that in addition to the
bridges there were also underwater, mile long tunnels. I could
have swore by the look on her face when we descended into the first
tunnel, that we were on a roller coaster instead. I guess I
wasn't surprised when she said quite emphatically "We are not doing
this again"! There weren't many birds to be found, just a few
Sandelings and Ruddy Turnstones on the rocks and the usual assortment
of Ring-billed, Herring and Greater Black-backed Gulls. I have to
admit though that the Turkey Vulture looked somewhat out of place out
in the middle of all that water. Even though there weren't many
birds, the look on my wife's face when we descended into the first
tunnel was well worth the price of admission. On the way back we
made a brief stop at the Easten Shore of Maryland NWR, visitor
center. I managed to accumulate Downy Woodpecker, Sharp-shinned
Hawk and wren and chickadee of the Carolina variety from the parking
area.
Running The
Gauntlet!.
On the way back we stopped at Ray's Shanty for lunch. The
Maryland crab soup was very good but the Pork Barbecue sandwich that
JoAnne ordered was not something you would want to write home
about. In fact it was quite bad. It was the driest most
tasteless piece of meat I think I have ever sampled. We made it
back to Chincoteague in time for me to get more birding in and Joanne
to do some reading. I hadn't seen a Bald Eagle since I had been
there and I was beginning to wonder if I would, that was soon to
change. I had my scope setup on one of the coastal dunes and was
again scanning the ocean for whatever flew by. I soon noticed a
large, dark bird several hundred feet out, my Bald Eagle had
arrived. I saw it rapidly drop, talons down, into the flock of
scoters. It disappeared behind a wave so the outcome was
unknown. It soon rose above the wave but it's talons were
empty. I continued watching it as it flew closer but eventually
it disappeared somewhere above Tom's Cove as it flew beyond binocular
range.
Even though I was seeing no new birds I was being kept
amused by birds of different species and sizes as they made attempts at
robbing smaller birds of their meals. Greater Black-backed gulls
were harassing Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls and Herring Gulls were
harassing CaspianTerns. The most amusing of all was a Sanderling
scurrying down the beach with it's prized catch of Atlantic Mole Crab,
firmly clamped in it's bill. It was like a choreographed routine
of zigs and zags as it scurried down the beach avoiding as best it
could, the other Sanderlings and Willets. This seemed to be an
unending ordeal as the beach contained Sanderlings for as far as you
could see. I watched it weave back and forth as it attempted to
avoid the onslaught of would-be attackers until it was out of
sight. It still amuses me when I replay the scene over again in
my minds eye.
The Numbers Game
and One Last Look
Sunday morning as I was packing the car to leave, I heard a Robin emit
it's laugh-like call. I hadn't planned on doing a lot of woodland
birding on this trip but I did want to see at least one Brown-headed
Nuthatch while I was there. With some patience and perserverance,
they're almost a sure thing around the visitor center at the
refuge. So that was my first stop Sunday Morning. JoAnne
sat in the car writing one of her novel-like letters to a friend while
I wandered around the visitors center. I heard a Red-breasted
Nuthatch call followed shortly thereafter by the sound of
Golden-crowned Kinglets slowly working their way towards me through the
trees. Soon they, along with the Red-breasted Nuthatch were in
view. They were steadily feeding when the first sounds of
Brown-headed Nuthatches penetrated my hearing. Soon they also
were in view as well. A different shape caught my eye. A
Brown Creeper was slowly working it's way around the trunk of one of
the trees. And then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, they
melted away back into the trees and were gone.
There was time to
witness one last scene on the beach before heading back to the
mountains. JoAnne, clothed in her usual beachcombing attire of
bare feet, wandered off down the sand in search of more
treasures. I set up my scope and watched and waited. Maybe,
if I was fortunate, a Jaeger or Shearwater would fly in close enough to
shore for a look. I never have intentions of getting caught up in
the numbers game when I set out on a birding trip but I always
do. A long list just seems somehow, to equate to a certain amount
of success. It is a fact of life in the birding world, to a
degree, that the more birds the better. I am constantly being
driven to see more birds. Sometimes this is okay but sometimes I
have to tell myself to "Stop and smell the roses". This was one
of those times. I knew at that moment that there were no more new
birds to be seen, no more numbers to add. But as I stood there,
that fact no longer seemed to matter. My wife and I both love the
ocean and we always hate to leave it. Standing on the dune,
watching Sanderlings and Willets dance on the beach and gulls and terns
glide gracefully across a pearl-gray sky, was like a drink of spirtual
refreshment. I am at home in the mountains but my love for the
sea never dies. Even though we were over three hundred miles from
home, I knew the trip had come to an end. I took one long last
look and then drove away. Thirty minutes later it began to
rain. It was finally a good time to stop for a bathroom break.
Gary Felton
Rowlesburg, West Virginia
GLF1@CDC.GOV