By now, many of you have probably heard of the incredible find that Matt Anthony - birder extraordinaire from Cape Charles - had not far from the hawkwatch platform at Kiptopeke State Park on September 15th - a Black-whiskered Vireo!
This caused much joyful mayhem among area and regional birders, as people scrambled from as far away as Richmond, Northern Virginia, and beyond to attempt to find what is, for Virginia, a very rare bird. Some folks spent all day searching for the bird, which was first sighted in the morning and then re-sighted later in the afternoon. CVWO board member Nancy Barnhart was one of the lucky folks who was there for the afternoon re-sighting, and CVWO President Brian Taber drove over the bridge-tunnel first thing yesterday morning, also gaining a re-sighting! This is only the second time that this bird has been spotted in the state, with the first time having been almost three decades ago.
Nesting in Southern Florida (and rarely seen north of there), Black-whiskered Vireos can be discerned from their very similar cousins - the far more common Red-eyed Vireo - by the tell-tale "whisker" (a dark lateral throat-stripe), subtleties of color variation, and their longer, thicker bills. As Matt said to me yesterday morning, "This is a birder's bird." While it may lack some of the showier field marks that would attract the average non-birder, there is certainly no doubt: this bird is an exceptional find not only for our state, but for the entire region.
With a number of excellent, devoted birders frequently walking Kiptopeke's trails, who knows what might be found here next? If ever there was an incentive to wake up early and go birding, this is it! For those interested in seeing if they can track this bird down for themselves, check out eBird for more info.
