Chincoteague and mystery tern
Howard Youth (hmyouth@erols.com)
Sun, 23 Aug 1998 07:45:47 -0400 (EDT)
Yesterday morning (8/22) I met fellow Ospreyer Wilbur Hershberg at
Chincoteague NWR's Swan Cove. We talked and scoped for an hour or so. The
highlights at this spot--one of the few watery impoundments at this point in
the very dry summer:
Wilson's Phalarope 2
White-rumped Sandpiper 1 to sev.
Marbled Godwit 1 (this bird's been hanging around a while)
Black-necked Stilt 2
Black Tern 3-4
Sandwich Tern 3 adults, and one mysteriously marked juv.?
Bald Eagle adult giving shorebirds grief during flyovers
Also on the same mudflat were: Caspian, royal, common, Forster's,
and least terns, one willet, sev. lesser yellowlegs, semipalmated, western,
least sandpipers, some sb dowitchers, a sanderling or two, sev. dozen
semipalmated and six or so black-bellied plovers.
At the causeway oyster shoals, I also had an adult yellow-crowned
night-heron at sunrise, plus a flyover of 4 black-necked stilts.
Here's a question for those tern experts out there: Has anyone read
about or seen the following on juv. Sandwich terns? The juvenile bird we saw
begging food from one adult Sandwich Tern was the same size and general
proportions, but its bill and legs were dull orangish. The crest area was
similar to the adult's, but "closer-cropped." There was a bit of blackish on
the bill toward the tip, I think. The bill also seemed perhaps a bit shorter
than the adult's and had a slight taper effect. The first impression was of
a small royal with a shorter, thinner bill. We couldn't find any mention of
orangish legs and bills in imm. Sandwiches in our books. Wilbur can also
provide more details. Any input on this strange coloration? Thanks!
Another question: Where have all the birders gone from Chincoteague?
(We only saw several others, and the refuge sightings sheet seemed hungry.)
Howard Youth
Rockville, MD
hmyouth@erols.com