Bonnie Birds
POWERSALEX@aol.com
Sat, 29 Aug 1998 22:42:24 EDT
Hurricane.Net and MDOspreyers --
This is an unexpected post for me. We planned a week's vacation to
Chincoteague, Virginia well before Bonnie and Danielle appeared on the radar
screen. We canceled on Wednesday, but came down Thursday (27th) when Bonnie
stalled in North Carolina.
On the afternoon of the 28th Bonnie was blowing winds onto shore of @ 30-40
mph, with frequent higher gusts. The ocean waves were hitting the beach at
between 6 and 8 feet high. They almost washed over to the Bay at the point
where the "new" road was built after this winter's Nor'easters. It was warm
and overcast. About 4 pm, a lone Wilson's Storm-Petrel struggled to fly
north. The wings were short and the white rump patch was clearly visible,
extending down toward the squared-off tail. Except for the white patch, it
was grayish-black all over with a gray beak and light legs. This was the only
Bonnie-related bird I saw.
The rest of the birds are typical for Chincoteague in late August. Great,
Snowy and Cattle Egrets; Great Blue, Tricolored and Green Herons; Brown
Pelican; Ring-billed, Laughing, Herring, and Great Black-backed Gulls;
American Oystercatcher; Double-crested Cormorant; Gadwall; Osprey and Canada
Goose. Shorebirds: Sanderling (on the beach), Willet, Greater and Lesser
Yellowlegs, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, American
Oystercatcher, Ruddy Turnstone, Least and Western Sandpiper. Lots of Black
Skimmers. Immature Black and Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. Terns were
plentiful: Royal, Forester's and Least sitting on the flats and flying about.
Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed and Common Grackle.
We'll be here until Wednesday, so I may (hope I don't!) have a Danielle
report. In the meantime, good birding to all.
Jack Powers
Alexandria, VA
powersalex@aol.com