Poplar Island Birding

Poplar Island is a successful clean-dredge spoil restoration project in the Chesapeake Bay for migratory birds traveling the mid-Atlantic fly-way that began in 2001.

In 1847, the human-inhabited island was 1,140 acres with a village and forests.

In 1996, the island had eroded to less than five acres.

Today, Poplar Island’s restoration footprint is complete at 1,715 acres. It’s interior is now being finished to include several types of habitat for nesting.

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Poplar Island, aerial June 2022
(courtesy http://www.poplarislandrestoration.com)

To date, highlights include 262 identified species of birds, with 38 nesting species, such as the Bald Eagle, Osprey, Short-eared Owl, American Oystercatcher, Glossy Ibis, Snowy Egret, Least Tern, and Common Tern. Winter bird censuses have reported over 36,000 birds in one day.

Through lottery reservations, the island was opened with limited birding trips to the public. My first visit to Poplar Island was in 2019, and I’ve returned several times since including last fall, and recently two times just a few weeks ago.

We ride the Terrapin over to the island, then jump on a tour bus and ride around to points where we can safely disembark away from construction, stopping along the way for anything we can watch from inside the bus.

The Terrapin

Welcome to Poplar Island

Poplar Island bus tour

Yes, I lucked out on going twice a week apart a few weeks ago! One visit, the weather tried to turn foul with winds and rain (43 species seen), and the other with some sun (48 species seen).

Here is a sampling of my collection from those the two days.

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Short-eared Owl (Lifer #309)
(These owls migrate to Canada in the spring; last summer, a pair stayed
and nested on the island, fingers crossed they continue to stay)

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