Field Trip Report: Chincoteague 2024

Photo: Looking for Rails by Anne Beckley

Thumbnail Photo: Ruddy Turnstone by Kathy Richardson

Report by Meredith Bell, Field Trips Co-chair

At this year’s Chincoteague trip, we had beautiful weather, including nice breezes, which helped keep the mosquitoes in check. Between the beaches, trails, and boat trips, the 95 enthusiastic participants tallied 129 species.

We kicked things off the Tuesday evening before the weekend with a Zoom call, where Jerry Via gave an excellent presentation on identifying the various shorebird and warbler species we might see, and Meredith Bell previewed the field trip locations.

The Meet-and-Greet Happy Hour late Friday afternoon on the back lawn of the Refuge Inn has become a favorite event, giving us the opportunity to welcome first-timers and renew friendships from past field trips.

The two boat trips continue to grow in popularity, with participants being able to get up-close views of a great variety of shorebirds, wading birds, terns, and raptors. Jerry Via and Bill Akers led these trips and enriched everyone’s experience by sharing fascinating details about the birds. One of the highlights was witnessing Brown Pelicans feeding young. Both Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons were spotted at the marina.

Every year we have wonderful surprises, and this year’s species included American White Pelican, Bobolink, and Sandhill Crane. We also had 11 species of warblers.

Want to see more pictures from the trip? Check out the VSO Facebook page, [link: https://www.facebook.com/VSObirds] where we have an album of photos contributed by attendees. You’ll find even more in the new VSO Bird Connections Facebook Group [link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vsobirdconnection] where members made individual posts with their favorites.

We appreciate so much the dedication of ALL the field trip leaders—Jerry Via, Bill Akers, Lee Adams, and Meredith and Lee Bell—who worked hard to ensure everyone had a great experience.

Mark your calendar to join us for next year’s trip, Sept. 5-7, 2025!

The complete list of species for the weekend is below:

Canada Goose
Mallard
American Black Duck
Black Scoter
Wild Turkey
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Yellow-billed Cuckoo by Deborah Humphries

Common Nighthawk
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Clapper Rail

Clapper Rail by Anne Beckley

Sandhill Crane
Black-necked Stilt
American Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher by Kimberly Griffin

Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Whimbrel
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Sanderling
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Greater Yellowlegs
Laughing Gull

Laughing Gull by Philip Mitchell

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

Royal Terns by Philip Mitchell

Sandwich Tern
Black Skimmer
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron by Deborah Humphries

Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret|
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis

Am. White Ibis by Kimberly Griffin

Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Great Crested Flycatcher

Great-crested Flycatcher by Harriet Bell

Eastern Kingbird
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Tree Swallow
Purple Martin
Cedar Waxwing
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Bobolink

Bobolink by Kathy Richardson

Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula\
Magnolia Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Scarlet Tanager

Scarlet Tanager by Deborah Humphries

Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting