We will be heading to the Eastern Shore on Saturday, October 19. Deborah Humphries will lead our group that day, with several stops and usually a great variety of birds. We can expect to identify more than 50 species on this field trip, and if the conditions are right, many more than 50 species! Expected stops are:
– The overlook at the north side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
– Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge (ESVANWR)
– Kiptopeke State Park, both the Hawk Watch site and a trail
We’ll gather at the overlook, our first stop, around 8:30 a.m. That’s usually a pretty quick stop, depending on how many gulls and cormorants we have to count. But we should be at the ESVANWR Visitor Center by 9 a.m. or a little after. Times after that depend on how good the birding is. And, if a rarity has been reported on the southern Eastern Shore, we may add a stop to look for that bird. Meanwhile, the raptor count this season to date at Kiptopeke has surpassed counts for the full season back to 2011 – let’s hope that there are still some hawks to see when we’re there! All that birding will make a lot of us hungry, so lunch at Cape Charles Brewing Company should be the final stop. Lunchers can expect to return to Williamsburg in the range of 3:30 – 4:00 p.m.
Those interested in carpooling should let me know they’d like to carpool, and meet at the Colony Square Shopping Center shortly after 7 a.m. Departure from there is at 7:15 a.m. If you are willing to drive a carpool, please let me know that as well. My email is grm0803@gmail.com . So far, two people have volunteered to drive. And also let me know if you want to stay for lunch!
If you have a State Park Annual Pass, please bring that with you. Without a pass, the entry fee for Kiptopeke is $7 per vehicle. And drivers should remember their EZ Pass transponder for the CBBT tolls.