Eastern Shore of Virginia

ABUNDANCE DESIGNATIONS BIRDLIFE at the SOUTHERN TIP OF VIRGINIA'S EASTERN SHORE On Virginia’s Eastern Shore, some 439 bird species have been recorded. Of these, 406 have been found in the Southern Tip of Northampton County, at the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuges, Kiptopeke State Park, Magothy Bay Natural Area Preserve, Mockhorn Island Wildlife Management Area, and surrounding lands. The twin refuges lie at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, gateway to the largest estuary in North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The meeting of ocean and bay produces an abundance of food for birds, as do the other habitats: coastal beaches, salt marshes, pine and hardwood forests, wooded swamps, grasslands and agricultural areas. BIRDING through the SEASONS Birding can be fascinating on any day of the year in southern Northampton County. In autumn, large numbers of birds of many species can be observed during their southbound migration, especially during and just after the passage of cold fronts. Most southbound birds of prey and other landbirds are reluctant to make the 17-mile crossing of the Chesapeake Bay, and so under certain conditions, they become concentrated by the narrowing geography of the southern tip of the Peninsula. Winter is an excellent season to see waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors and sparrows. Spring offers the welcome return of colonial nesting birds such as terns, herons, egrets and ibises; warblers and other Neotropical migrants also return, though their numbers are small compared to the counts of the autumn. During the summer months, June and July, many birders seek out migrating shorebirds. This checklist has been organized by month. Within each monthly box are bar-graphs showing species abundance by week. In addition to the time of year, abundance is based on the habitats where the species are most likely to be found. COMMON: Virtually certain to be found in proper habitat __ Sooty Shearwater __ Wilson's Storm-Petrel FAIRLY COMMON: Will usually be found in proper habitat PELICANS & ALLIES UNCOMMON: Probably present, but will often be missed OCCASIONAL: Not always present; may require several visits to find ******* RARE: Not recorded annually VERY RARE TO ACCIDENTAL: Fewer than 10 records since 1985 (see end of list) ^ Nesting has been recorded in the checklist area. GEESE, DUCKS & SWANS __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Snow Goose Ross's Goose Canada Goose ^ Cackling Goose Brant Tundra Swan Wood Duck ^ Gadwall ^ Eurasian Wigeon American Wigeon American Black Duck ^ Mallard ^ Blue-winged Teal ^ Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail ^ Green-winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup King Eider Common Eider Harlequin Duck Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser ^ Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Eastern Meadowlark __ __ __ __ __ __ J FMAMJ J ASOND J FMAMJ J ASON D * __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Northern Gannet American White Pelican Brown Pelican ^ Double-crested Cormorant Great Cormorant Magnificent Frigatebird STILTS & AVOCETS __ Black-necked Stilt __ American Avocet American Bittern Least Bittern Great Blue Heron ^ Great Egret ^ Snowy Egret ^ Little Blue Heron ^ Tricolored Heron ^ Cattle Egret ^ Green Heron ^ Black-crowned Night-Heron ^ Yellow-crowned Night-Heron^ SANDPIPERS __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ VULTURES __ Turkey Vulture ^ __ Black Vulture ^ HAWKS, EAGLES & FALCONS Osprey ^ Swallow-tailed Kite Mississippi Kite Bald Eagle ^ Northern Harrier ^ Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Northern Goshawk Red-shouldered Hawk ^ Broad-winged Hawk Red-tailed Hawk ^ Swainson's Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle American Kestrel ^ Merlin Peregrine Falcon ^ GALLINACEOUS BIRDS __ Northern Bobwhite ^ __ Wild Turkey ^ J FMAM J J AS OND __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Barn Owl ^ Eastern Screech-Owl ^ Great Horned Owl ^ Short-eared Owl Long-eared Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl __ Carolina Chickadee ^ __ Tufted Titmouse ^ NUTHATCHES & CREEPERS __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ WOODPECKERS Red-headed Woodpecker ^ Red-bellied Woodpecker ^ Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker ^ Hairy Woodpecker ^ Northern Flicker ^ Pileated Woodpecker ^ NIGHTJARS Carolina Wren ^ House Wren ^ Winter Wren Sedge Wren Marsh Wren ^ MIMICS __ Gray Catbird ^ __ Northern Mockingbird ^ __ Brown Thrasher ^ VIREOS __ Black-billed Cuckoo __ Yellow-billed Cuckoo ^ White-breasted Nuthatch Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown-headed Nuthatch ^ Brown Creeper WRENS __ Belted Kingfisher ^ __ __ __ __ __ __ Purple Martin ^ Tree Swallow ^ N. Rough-winged Swallow^ Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Cave Swallow Barn Swallow ^ CHICKADEES & TITMICE KINGFISHERS CUCKOOS J FMAMJ J ASON D SWALLOWS __ Ruby-throated Hummingbird ^ __ Rufous Hummingbird Rock Pigeon ^ Eurasian Collared-Dove ^ White-winged Dove Mourning Dove ^ __ Common Nighthawk ^ __ Chuck-will's-widow ^ __ Eastern Whip-poor-will __ Horned Lark ^ HUMMINGBIRDS __ __ __ __ __ __ __ STARLINGS, PIPITS & WAXWINGS White-eyed Vireo ^ Yellow-throated Vireo ^ Blue-headed Vireo Warbling Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Red-eyed Vireo ^ __ European Starling ^ __ American Pipit __ Cedar Waxwing ^ JAYS & CROWS J FMAMJ J ASON D J FMAM J J AS OND Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Wood-Pewee ^ Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Acadian Flycatcher ^ Willow Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher ^ Ash-throated Flycatcher Western Kingbird Eastern Kingbird ^ LARKS OWLS __ __ __ __ __ __ FLYCATCHERS __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Chimney Swift ^ DOVES Clapper Rail ^ King Rail Virginia Rail ^ Sora Common Gallinule American Coot Sandhill Crane J FMAMJ J ASON D Laughing Gull ^ Little Gull Bonaparte's Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull ^ Iceland Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull ^ Black-legged Kittiwake Gull-billed Tern ^ Caspian Tern ^ Royal Tern ^ Sandwich Tern ^ Common Tern ^ Forster's Tern ^ Least Tern ^ Black Tern Black Skimmer ^ SWIFTS __ Parasitic Jaeger RAILS & ALLIES __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Solitary Sandpiper Willet ^ Spotted Sandpiper Upland Sandpiper Whimbrel Hudsonian Godwit Marbled Godwit Ruddy Turnstone Red Knot Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Purple Sandpiper Dunlin Stilt Sandpiper Buff-breasted Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe American Woodcock ^ JAEGERS __ __ __ __ GULLS, TERNS & SKIMMERS __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Black-bellied Plover American Golden-Plover Wilson's Plover ^ Semipalmated Plover Piping Plover ^ Killdeer ^ __ American Oystercatcher ^ __ White Ibis ^ __ Glossy Ibis ^ Red-throated Loon Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe ^ Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe J FMAM J J AS OND OYSTERCATCHERS IBISES __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ PLOVERS __ __ __ __ __ __ BITTERNS & HERONS LOONS & GREBES __ __ __ __ __ SHEARWATERS & STORM PETRELS __ Blue Jay ^ __ American Crow ^ __ Fish Crow ^ Royal Terns J FMAMJ J ASON D J FMAM J J AS OND WARBLERS __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ J FMAMJ J ASON D Blue-winged Warbler Golden-winged Warbler Tennessee Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler ^ Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Cape May Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler ^ Pine Warbler ^ Prairie Warbler ^ Palm Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-and-white Warbler ^ American Redstart ^ Prothonotary Warbler ^ Worm-eating Warbler Ovenbird ^ Louisiana Waterthrush Northern Waterthrush Kentucky Warbler Connecticut Warbler Mourning Warbler Common Yellowthroat ^ Hooded Warbler ^ Wilson's Warbler Canada Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat ^ SPARROWS & ALLIES __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Northern Harrier CARDINALS & ALLIES __ __ __ __ __ __ VERY RARE SPECIES Northern Cardinal ^ Rose-breasted Grosbeak Blue Grosbeak ^ Indigo Bunting ^ Painted Bunting Dickcissel ^ BLACKBIRDS & ORIOLES Bobolink ^ Red-winged Blackbird ^ Eastern Meadowlark ^ Yellow-headed Blackbird Rusty Blackbird Common Grackle ^ Boat-tailed Grackle ^ Brown-headed Cowbird ^ Orchard Oriole ^ Baltimore Oriole __ Scarlet Tanager __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ THRUSHES & ALLIES FINCHES TANAGERS __ Summer Tanager ^ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ VERY RARE SPECIES continued J FMAMJ J ASON D Eastern Towhee ^ Chipping Sparrow ^ Clay-colored Sparrow Field Sparrow ^ Vesper Sparrow Lark Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow ^ Nelson's Sparrow Saltmarsh Sparrow Seaside Sparrow ^ Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow ^ Lincoln's Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Lapland Longspur Snow Bunting __ __ __ __ __ Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher ^ Eastern Bluebird ^ Veery Gray-cheeked Thrush Bicknell's Thrush Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush Wood Thrush ^ American Robin ^ Purple Finch House Finch ^ Common Redpoll Pine Siskin American Goldfinch ^ Black-bellied WhistlingDuck Purple Gallinule Fulvous Whistling-Duck Baird’s Sandpiper Greater White-fronted Goose Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Mute Swan Garganey Pacific Loon Eared Grebe Northern Fulmar Black-capped Petrel Great Shearwater Cory’s Shearwater Manx Shearwater Audubon’s Shearwater Red-billed Tropicbird J FMAMJ J ASON D Wood Stork Brown Booby American Woodcock OLD WORLD SPARROWS Anhinga White-faced Ibis White-tailed Kite Ferruginous Hawk __ House Sparrow^ J FMAMJ J ASON D Gyrfalcon Yellow Rail Black Rail Long-billed Curlew Snowy Owl Northern Wheatear Barred Owl Mountain Bluebird Burrowing Owl Townsend’s Warbler Black-chinned Hummingbird Cerulean Warbler Allen’s Hummingbird Black-throated Gray Warbler Western Wood-Pewee Swainson’s Warbler Say’s Phoebe MacGillivray’s Warbler Pacific-slope Flycatcher Bachman’s Sparrow Gray Kingbird American Tree Sparrow Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Henslow’s Sparrow Fork-tailed Flycatcher Le Conte’s Sparrow Loggerhead Shrike Harris’s Sparrow Northern Shrike Western Tanager Bell’s Vireo Black-headed Grosbeak Common Raven Brewer’s Blackbird Brown-chested Martin Red Crossbill Black-capped Chickadee White-winged Crossbill Bewick’s Wren Evening Grosbeak Wilson’s Phalarope Franklin’s Gull Black-headed Gull Black-tailed Gull California Gull Thayer’s Gull Roseate Tern Arctic Tern Brown Noddy Sooty Tern Bridled Tern Long-tailed Jaeger Pomarine Jaeger Dovekie Razorbill Common Murre Thick-billed Murre Common Ground-Dove Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge 5003 Hallett Circle, Cape Charles, VA 23310 (757) 331-2760 or visit our website http://www.fws.gov/northeast/easternshore BIRDS A guide to abundance and birding through the seasons on the Eastern Shore of Virginia Eastern Shore of VA and Fisherman Island NWR ADDITIONAL SPECIES Red-necked Phalarope Red Phalarope For further information, contact Recorded at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Barrow’s Goldeneye Western Grebe Clark’s Grebe Herald (Trinidade) Petrel Bulwer’s Petrel Black and White Warbler (top) Cape May Warbler (bottom) Leach's Storm-Petrel Black-throated Blue Warbler Band-rumped Storm-Petrel White-tailed Tropicbird Sabine’s Gull Mew Gull Great Skua Ruff Rock Wren If you find a species that is not on this checklist, or that is not listed as occurring at the time of the month, please report your sighting as quickly as possible via eBird at www.ebird.org. Illustrations by Marian Watts and Margaret Barnaby Printed January 2012 EASTERN SHORE OF VIRGINIA Southern Tip