G
Gordon Large
Guest
Hi folks -
After doing a little research and talking to a biologist at Chincoteague NWR, I'm going by myself if I have to! It sounds like bird heaven, and mid-May is the best time to go. My suggestion is either the weekend of May 14-15 or 21-22. A couple of people have already expressed an interest, but more people = more fun. I hope a bunch of you will want to come along. Just post to the thread to sign up. And contact any friends you think might be interested. They don't have to be members of NC.
I spent a half hour on the phone with one of Chincoteague's biologists. As I said, it sounds like bird heaven. Here's a brief summary of what she said -
Right now there are some Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets - ones that live there year-round. Starting in mid-April and peaking in mid-May lots more will be migrating through or arriving for summer vacation. Virtually all the heron species and some additional egrets.
Some shore bird species are already migrating or arriving, but the number peaks about mid-May. The numbers of species and birds she told me are unbelievable.
There are some Bald Eagles now, and more will be coming through later.
Ditto for raptors.
She also told me a little about the NWR and is going to send me a packet of information. There is one 3+ mile paved wildlife loop, but no cars are allowed on it until 3pm. You can also drive to parking lots by the beach at any time. You can walk around the loop, and their are several miles of other walkable trails that have good access to birds. All the beach is open except the dunes and one area roped off for Piping Plovers. You can see and photograph the PPs from the beach.
SO.....Chincoteague just went on my "gotta go there" list, and it would be great if we could put a good sized group together from this forum and others. I've posted on Nature Photographers Network, and I'm going to post on (shudder) DPR.
What I plan to do is drive down on a Thursday and back to PA late Sunday. You all obviously can come and leave whenever you want. I have some info about places to stay from another outing that I couldn't make.
I'll update you as I get more info. Please post here if you are interested, and let me know which weekend - hopefully both to make scheduling easier - works for you.
I'm looking forward to meeting and sharing a good time and a good photo session with a bunch of you. This is gonna be fun!
Gordon
After doing a little research and talking to a biologist at Chincoteague NWR, I'm going by myself if I have to! It sounds like bird heaven, and mid-May is the best time to go. My suggestion is either the weekend of May 14-15 or 21-22. A couple of people have already expressed an interest, but more people = more fun. I hope a bunch of you will want to come along. Just post to the thread to sign up. And contact any friends you think might be interested. They don't have to be members of NC.
I spent a half hour on the phone with one of Chincoteague's biologists. As I said, it sounds like bird heaven. Here's a brief summary of what she said -
Right now there are some Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets - ones that live there year-round. Starting in mid-April and peaking in mid-May lots more will be migrating through or arriving for summer vacation. Virtually all the heron species and some additional egrets.
Some shore bird species are already migrating or arriving, but the number peaks about mid-May. The numbers of species and birds she told me are unbelievable.
There are some Bald Eagles now, and more will be coming through later.
Ditto for raptors.
She also told me a little about the NWR and is going to send me a packet of information. There is one 3+ mile paved wildlife loop, but no cars are allowed on it until 3pm. You can also drive to parking lots by the beach at any time. You can walk around the loop, and their are several miles of other walkable trails that have good access to birds. All the beach is open except the dunes and one area roped off for Piping Plovers. You can see and photograph the PPs from the beach.
SO.....Chincoteague just went on my "gotta go there" list, and it would be great if we could put a good sized group together from this forum and others. I've posted on Nature Photographers Network, and I'm going to post on (shudder) DPR.
What I plan to do is drive down on a Thursday and back to PA late Sunday. You all obviously can come and leave whenever you want. I have some info about places to stay from another outing that I couldn't make.
I'll update you as I get more info. Please post here if you are interested, and let me know which weekend - hopefully both to make scheduling easier - works for you.
I'm looking forward to meeting and sharing a good time and a good photo session with a bunch of you. This is gonna be fun!
Gordon
