Field Trip Report: Chincoteague 2022
Photos, clockwise from top left: Birders on Boat - Laura Mae, Brown-headed Nuthatch-Seth Honig, Wild Pony - Jonathan Snyder, Great Egret - Rebecca Currin
Thumbnail Photo: Tricolored Heron - Larry Meade
Meredith Bell, VSO Field Trip Co-Chair
Close to 100 enthusiastic participants attended the VSO annual Chincoteague weekend field trip on September 9-11, and we tallied 128 species. The weather was beautiful, and a great time was had by all. Many have already marked their calendar for next year’s trip, Sept. 8-10, 2023!
Our two new traditions were a big hit again:
1. Zoom call the Tuesday evening before the weekend, where Meredith Bell previewed the field trip locations, and Jerry Via gave an excellent presentation on shorebird, wading bird and tern identification.
2. The Meet-and-Greet Happy Hour, held late Friday afternoon on the back lawn of the Refuge Inn. Most participants were able to attend, with new friendships formed and old ones renewed.
The two boat trips continue to be very popular, with about 50 people on each trip. Several people signed up for both trips because they enjoy the experience so much. The boat captain does a great job giving passengers up-close views of a variety of shorebirds, wading birds, and raptors.
With the impoundments on the Wildlife Loop dry this year, we had very few ducks. The highlight for waterfowl was a Black Scoter on one of the boat trips.
We did get 10 species of warblers, most of them seen on the Island Nature Trail and Woodland Trail. A new offering this year was starting the Woodland Trail trip at 7:00am for early birders, and we plan to have that option again next year.
We appreciate so much the dedication of all the field trip leaders—Jerry Via, Bill Akers, Lee Adams, Andrew Rapp, and Meredith and Lee Bell—who worked hard to ensure everyone had a great experience.
Complete list of species for the weekend is below.
Royal Terns - Pam Scrima
Canada Goose
Mallard
American Black Duck
Black Scoter
Wild Turkey
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Clapper Rail
Black-necked Stilt
American Oystercatcher
American Oystercatcher - Cindy Hamilton
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Whimbrel
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Stilt Sandpiper
Sanderling
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper - Seth Honig
Short-billed Dowitcher
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Greater Yellowlegs
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Least Tern
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Sandwich Tern - Laura Mae
Black Skimmer
Great Shearwater
Anhinga
Double-crested Cormorant
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Cattle Egret - Cindy Hamilton
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown-headed Nuthatch
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Seaside Sparrow
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Black-and-white Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
