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Subject:

Shorebirds in the OSV Zone on Assateague Island

From:

Paul Bystrak

Reply-To:

Paul Bystrak

Date:

Thu, 9 Aug 2007 18:22:27 -0400

I took advantage of being home this week and went to the OSV Zone on 
Assateague Island yesterday (Aug 8) evening.  The heat was terrific 
and the flies were in rare form; but, there were only a couple of 
other vehicles on the beach and around 5 PM, like magic, the onshore 
breezes kicked in  and it became foggy and positively chilly.  There 
were so many sanderlings on the beach that we decided to document the 
situation by counting them on the way back north.  So, the following 
numbers are for the OSV Zone from the VA border to the exit point, 
about 12.5 miles total.

Double-crested Cormorant - 4
Brown Pelican - 69
Black-bellied Plover - 87
Semipalmated Plover - 1
Killdeer - 1
Am Oystercatcher - 3
Willet - 101
Marbled Godwit - 4
Ruddy Turnstone - 87
Sanderling - 3721

Lauging Gull - 10
Ring-billed Gull - 57
Herring Gull - 173
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1
Great Black-backed Gull - 61

Caspian Tern - 2
Royal Tern - 25
Common Tern - 1
Forster's Tern - 3

Boat-tailed Grackle - 1

Near dark, the ponies moved out of the marsh and stood at the edge of 
the surf in order to take advantage of the cooler air and reduced 
flies. In addition to the birds on the beach, there was a field 
sparrow singing in the dunes at one point, a towhee at another, and 2 
nighthawks just around dark.  Driving up the road after dark, we 
flushed 2 chunky birds from the roadside that appeared to be woodcocks.

Paul Bystrak

3709 Devonshire Drive
Salisbury, MD 21804
410-572-9950
443-783-1268 (cell)