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Subject:

Chincoteague - Mem Day weekend

From:

"Gary Ender (home)"

Reply-To:

Gary Ender (home)

Date:

Tue, 30 May 2006 21:09:45 -0400

Despite the thousands of families and fishermen on the beach, there were 
three nice species nesting right nearby in their protected area: piping 
plover (one pair seen), black skimmer (7 at one time in this location), 
and numerous least tern.

Overall it was a wader weekend (great egret, snowy egret, little blue 
heron, tricolored heron, green heron, black-crowned night heron, glossy 
ibis, willet, greater yellowlegs, semipalmated plover, dunlin, ruddy 
turnstone, and western sandpipers)

Forster's terns were fishing from standing on a bridge railing lined up 
15 feet apart.  Three skimmers put on a nice show skimming at close 
range in a shallow and open marshy area.  Besides the skimmers, perhaps 
the most beautiful were the glossy ibis and snowy egrets feeding in a 
mixed group.

Three bobwhite were not shy, and a brown thrasher and male chipping 
sparrow rounded out the interesting non-waders.

On four legs were the muskrat, raccoon and numerous wild ponies bloated 
from feeding on salty marsh grass.  On more legs, crabs were plentiful 
on the rising tide Sunday evening.

Gary Ender
Bethesda MD