I headed south toward Chincoteague NWR to try for the Black-tailed Godwit. I arrived at 5:00 pm and found a new bird for the year, Great Egret, on my way to the Tom's Cove Visitor Center at the beach. I started looking for the flock of Marbled Godwits that the Black-tailed has been with behind the visitor center. There were at least seven American Oystercatchers putting on a great show. I found only a few, maybe 6 or 7 Marbled Godwits, a new bird for the year, and a very cooperative Piping Plover, also a new bird for the year. See photos. It is great to see Piping Plover so close and well. Piping Plover is a very rare bird in Ohio, seen only occasionally during spring and fall migration, usually along Lake Erie in the north of Ohio, but also a few times in the southeast during spring migration. There is a small population in Michigan along one of the lakes that contributes to the Ohio sightings during migration. A Piping Plover in Ohio deserves a long distance chase from this birder who lives in the southwest corner of Ohio in Cincinnati. This was really cool to see Piping Plover so close and well, because I do not get to the coast as often now that I live in the mid-west.
I also found another six Marbled Godwits in the water to the left heading toward the beach just after breaking out of the trees on the way to the beach. I did not find the Black-tailed Godwit. I stayed until sunset and enjoyed the beautiful sunset and scenery and continued birding, but never found the Black-tailed Godwit. I found a reasonably priced America's Best Value motel in Chincoteague. The owner suggested a new restaurant to try, so I did. There was too much food and I ate too much, but the food was good and the price reasonable. The total is now 187.
I am now home in Cincinnati as I write this blog entry.

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