We stood in front of the parking area of Staunton View, scanning the mudflats for Plovers and Sandpipers. We had three scopes, so we could view different parts of the river. A clumsy domestic Muscovy Duck walked around beyond the parking area. A White-eyed Vireo sang. Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets were wading in the rivers. We spotted some white terns we were at first unable to ID, but later identified them as Common Terns. Baxter spotted twelve Black Terns flying around the mudflats. A Ring-billed Gull was seen on the mudflat, along with some Semipalmated Sandpipers. I saw my first Cow Killer wasp in the dirt. The name is a disclaimer, these can’t really kill cows with their stings. We moved on to another nearby viewing spot, where we saw a Least Sandpiper and a cute little Semipalmated Plover. A surprise Dickcissel flew over. We detected it at first by it’s flight call, and Baxter saw it fly down into the forest across for the parking area. We walked to another viewing point, through the forest, seeing a Yellow Warbler. There was not much at this spot, so we decided to move on to another spot. An American White Pelican had been seen here a few days earlier, so we were sad to see it had left. On our way back to the car we met two local birders in the area, Paul Glass and Adam D’Onofrio. We didn’t have internet, so we couldn’t see what spots were nearby. We piled into the two cars and continued down the road until we got internet connection. We had the windows rolled down so we could hear birdsongs, and Tucker heard a Brown-headed Nuthatch. We stopped for a few minutes and heard a Pine Warbler, and a couple of Eastern Wood-Pewees. We had a bit of internet, and were trying to decide where we could go. We could head back in the direction of home and bird on the way, or we could stop at James River State Park for a while, which is also on the way home. We decided to go to James River, and were driving there when the second car we had taken stopped on the side of the road. Robert rolled down the window to talk to us. Paul Glass had just seen the American White Pelican at Staunton View. The Pelican is a rarity inland, so it was worth heading back for. When we arrived there, Paul Glass showed us where the pelican was and we all got to see it through the scopes. We left eventually, satisfied with the pelican, and ended up going to two different gas stations and Dairy Queen. From DQ we headed to Buckingham county, a county I’d never birded in. We birded James River State Park and saw Eastern Bluebirds, Common Yellowthroats, Indigo Buntings, a Wood Duck, an Eastern Phoebe and more. Tucker even saw a Least Flycatcher, which is rare for the location. After that, we drove back to Albemarle and then left for home. We were tired from the day’s trip, but were also satisfied with the day’s birds.
By Ira Lianez
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