---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Les Roslund <lroslund...>
Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2012 19:40:13 -0400
Subject: FW: Ferry Neck, Blackwater, Holland & Adam Is. and Hurlock,
July 31-Aug. 2, 2012.
From: Harry Armistead [mailto:<harryarmistead...>]
Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2012 3:11 PM
To: Les Roslund
Subject: Ferry Neck, Blackwater, Holland & Adam Is. and Hurlock, July
31-Aug. 2, 2012.
FERRY NECK, BLACKWATER, HOLLAND & ADAM ISLANDS and HURLOCK, JULY 31-AUGUST
2, 2012. Pelicans and sandpipers.
JULY 31, TUESDAY. FERRY NECK. Present in afternoon only. Fair, huge
cumulus clouds, winds E5-10, 86�-81�F. For about 10 minutes a partial
rainbow is in sight off to the NE even though there�s no sign of rain,
virga, or even gray clouds in that direction. Four Diamondback Terrapin.
11 Ospreys in sight simultaneously, three times. Nice but not nearly a
record. After no signs of life there for several weeks a pair of Ospreys
and one large young are present continuously on a platform nest in the cove.
3 Snowy Egrets, a Black Vulture, 3 Mourning Doves. 4 Red-spotted Purples,
said to be Roger Tory Peterson�s favorite butterfly. An Eastern Kingbird
chases an American Crow.
AUGUST 1, WEDNESDAY. At Rigby�s Folly a nice, steady, gentle rain for a
couple of hours starting c. 4 A.M. and still going on by the time I reach
Trappe c. 5:50 A.M. Could use some more. 1 deer, 1 Gray Squirrel on
returning in the late afternoon.
BLACKWATER N.W.R. 7 A.M. A really quick drive through: 1 each of Spotted
Sandpiper, American White Pelican, Greater Yellowlegs & Eastern Cottontail,
and 5 Great Egrets.
ROUTE 336. On the way to Crocheron from routes 335 X 336, down Route 336 to
Crocheron, and back again at the end, I�ve forgotten the names of all of the
participants so I can�t give attribution for all these sightings (some of
them are mine anyway): 3 Sika Deer, a Snapping Turtle, two Wild Turkeys on
the way down, one going back (CM), a Red-headed Woodpecker (CM), and a
Black-crowned Night Heron.
CROCHERON: 13 Royal Terns. 55 Purple Martins. A Spotted Sandpiper. An
Eastern Kingbird. There�s an active Osprey nest on the rocks out towards
the end of the N jetty. I fail to see the Johnny-on-the-spot lying on its
side in the Phragmites in my moment of greatest need. A little later, and
too late for that need, John & Dave right it, Crocheron�s answer to Mount
Suribachi. Perhaps this outstanding facility was the victim of a Derecho,
or vandalism.
A BROWN PELICAN BANDING FORAY to Holland & Adam islands with banders Dave
Brinker, John Weske & myself, as well as bird handlers Kerry Wixted, Emma
Gerald Boyer, Carol McCollough (CM), Lindsay Hollister (LH), Abigail
Barenblitt, and two others whose names, with my apologies, escape me. In
addition, unwitting participants (mostly teachers) on a field trip from the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation�s nearby Noonan Center at Bishop�s Head happen by
and we put them to work - work they won�t soon forget.
8 A.M. � 4 P.M. 9 A.M. � 3 P.M. spent on the islands. Fair, winds light &
variable, SW5+ at the start, 70s and lo 80s, high tide at 1:30 P.M. and a
high high tide with water 8-10� in the saltmarsh nearly topping my boots.
HOLLAND ISLAND, south segment, west side (�the beach�): Not the massive
colony it used to be, but we band a few dozen pelican chicks here. I see
110 adult pelicans in the area, 2 adult Bald Eagles, a pair of Ospreys
(perched in the isolated, dead Loblolly Pine on the extreme S end which
still holds the remains of a Bald Eagle nest that was active in 2010 and
2011), a Seaside Sparrow, a Royal Tern, and 3 American Oystercatchers.
Fifteen big pelican chicks have left their nest areas and elude us, swimming
away in a dense cr�che. One Red Admiral. One Herring Gull nest still has a
single egg. There are yet a few pelican nests with the promise of young to
be banded, perhaps 3 weeks from now: 1 nest with 1 egg, 1 nest with 3 eggs,
3 nests with 2 small young, and 1 nest with 1 small young.
HOLLAND ISLAND, south segment, northeast side (the small forest). Most of
the trees are American Hackberries festooned with scores of Double-crested
Cormorant nests. I count c. 260 adults in sight simultaneously attending
the nests. There are also a few Black-crowned Night Herons and 30 or so
adult Great Egrets. Most of the pelican nests are in the dense Baccharis
halimifolia and Iva frutescens �stands� that ring the woods on its west,
south, and east sides, but there are some pelican nests on the �floor� of
the forest.
One Caspian Tern, 4 American Black Ducks, 3 Glossy Ibis, a Common
Yellowthroat (LH), a Song Sparrow (LH), and one Canada Goose plus a Monarch,
a Diamondback Terrapin, and an unID�d, small c. 6� snake that slithers away
into the Spartina alterniflora before I can grab it, probably a Northern
Watersnake. Dave secures fecal swabs from 25 pelican chicks to be tested
for Avian Influenza.
There are lots of pelican nests in a not-very-advanced stage that would
justify a follow-up, mopping up operation later in August. I suppose I made
notes of 2/3, maybe �, of these before banding responsibilities precluded a
complete survey. 3 nests with 1 egg, 13 nests with 2 eggs, 8 nests with 3
eggs, 7 nests with 1 young, 13 nests with 2 young, 2 nests with 1 egg & 1
young, 3 nests with 2 eggs & 1 young, 2 nests with 1 egg & 2 young, and 5
nests with 3 young for a total of 56 such nests noted.
Pelicans banded on Holland Island: a preliminary total of 411. With several
banders using various strings of bands it is tricky to come up with an exact
figure when we are in situ and in the fog of banding activity. It�s running
late and we miss tagging perhaps 150 or more pelican chicks. An Osprey nest
here has 3 young.
The oystercatchers are very vocal today, flying around close together in
combinations of 2 or 3 emitting their piercing whistles just as if it is the
start of their breeding season.
ADAM ISLAND. The N end around the remains of the old, toppled, metal U. S.
Navy tower holds a rich assortment of colonial birds. Here there are c. 45
pelican nests, most with chicks too small to band, but 6 larger young are
banded, and 2 unbanded adults are captured and banded.
Another adult, bears the band 0938-25496, and was banded in 2003 at South
Point Marsh, VA, just S of Smith I., MD. This sort of information is
certainly one benefit of banding. The band has lost much of its tensile
strength, can be manipulated just with one�s fingers (the usually requisite
pliers not necessary), and is 1/8 of an inch open. Apparently some old
bands, perhaps made with an inferior alloy, will degenerate like this.
Dave makes a call to the Banding Laboratory in Laurel, MD, to confirm that
its� O.K. to re-band this bird, reminiscent (well � somewhat) of the collect
call made in the movie �Heartbreak Ridge� by the marines to the U.S.
mainland in the heat of battle on Grenada. 85 adult Brown Pelicans in sight
simultaneously, mostly on the water.
Also nesting in the same shrubbery as the pelicans: Great, Cattle, & Snowy
egrets, Double-crested Cormorants (mostly in Eastern Redcedars), and Little
Blue, Great Blue, Black-crowned Night (8 seen) & Tricolored herons. An
Osprey nest on the tower has one youngster.
Also seen or heard: 11 American Black Ducks, a Seaside Sparrow, 2 Least
Sandpipers, a Song Sparrow (LH), 3 Canada Geese, and a Diamondback Terrapin.
HOLLAND ISLAND, middle segment. Essentially a Herring and Great
Black-backed gull colony, with 10 large but still downy Herring Gull chicks
seen. We do not land here. There�s a possibility that one or two cormorant
or pelican nests may be there.
HOLLAND ISLAND, north segment. A tiny, marshy island with perhaps one pair
of Great Black-backed Gulls nesting and nothing else, although we don�t land
here either.
HOLLAND ISLAND GRAND TOTALS: 420 pelicans and 1 Double-crested Cormorant
(chick) banded.
NORTHEAST ISLAND. 8 Diamondback Terrapin in waters close by to this small,
marsh island�s S side.
AFTERWARDS, following this strenuous outing, and to my astonishment, Dave &
John continue on to Ocean City (MD) to check late today on the small Royal
Tern colony at Reedy Island. They plan to then tomorrow visit the Brown
Pelican colony out on Big Bay Marsh in Chincoteague Bay (Worcester County),
still larger than last year�s, which was in 2011 the largest ever for
coastal Maryland.
AUGUST 2, THURSDAY:
FERRY NECK. Calm, very humid, fair, 73�-77�F. Nine Cattle Egrets. A tiny
young lizard with a bright, neon-blue tail. Silver-spotted Skipper. A
Red-bellied Woodpecker. Today�s example of �nature abhors a vacuum:� on the
high brick steps in back of the house between the cracks are (or rather,
were) growing 2 Red Maples, each 5� high. A dead White-footed Mouse on the
living room floor (and we�ve not put out poison or traps; when we have mice
it�s usually at the other end of the house). The only Marsh Hibiscus we
have has 7 big blossoms on it with more on the way. Seems to be a good year
for blooms on Trumpet Creeper. Leave by 10:30 A.M.
Ospreys continue to �play house� even now that the breeding season is over,
putting sticks on top of our unused Osprey nesting platform, on the highest
parts of our strap boat lift, and on top of a neighbor�s boat canopy. One
lands with a small fish on a dock in the cove within 3� of a scare owl, also
on the dock walkway, then perches atop a white conical cap to one of the
dock�s pilings (supposed to discourage birds from perching there), then
fnally on top of a white, plastic pole of a boat lift.
HURLOCK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT. There is rank, tall, grassy vegetation
and a few cattails on the N side of the NW cell plus abundant, adjacent
scum, mud, and slime and other good stuff, and gross effluvia from a pipe
helps to stir the pot, too. Even so, the place does not have an especially
noxious bouquet. The W side of the SW cell has a good but narrow belt of
tall grasses. Lots of wildlife here at HWwTP.
11:45 A.M. � 12:30 P.M. 84�-86�F. Most of the shorebirds are feeding on
the damp, scummy flats on the N side of the NW cell. Sandpipers: 100
Semipalmated, 150 Least & 3 Spotted, 1 Semipalmated Plover, 41 Mallards,
Ruddy Duck 9 of the perky little stifftails in the NE cell, Canada Goose 45,
Chimney Swift 3, Turkey Vulture 11, 2 each of Barn, Tree & Bank swallow,
Red-winged Blackbird 175.
Also present: a 3� Black Ratsnake, a tiny lizard whipping across the road, a
Cabbage White, and 63 turtles (mostly in the NW cell), Redbelly Sliders but
also Painted Turtles.
EGYPT ROAD. 1-1:15 P.M. 88�F. Mourning Dove 60, Bald Eagle 1, Blue
Grosbeak 3, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Purple Martin 7, Barn Swallow 13, and Tree
swallow 4.
BLACKWATER N.W.R. 2-3:30 P.M. 88�-93�F., Fair, winds SW 5. Much of the
rank vegetation in Pool 1 has been flattened, perhaps by a storm. Tidal
waters high. Impounded waters have risen recently so that most of the muddy
areas that attracted shorebirds are now submerged.
Forster�s Tern 64 (mostly at Sewards on the �Christmas tree reef�), Mallard
1 (the only waterfowl!), Bald Eagle 4 (when was the last time I saw only 4
eagles here?!), Eastern Kingbird 1, European Starling 90, Common Grackle 1,
Barn Swallow 50, Snowy 1 & Great 5 egrets, Great Blue Heron 6, Least
Sandpiper 3, Spotted Sandpiper 2, Bank Swallow 1, Purple Martin 2 (most of
the area martin houses I see today have been vacated), Greater Yellowlegs 2,
Brown-headed Cowbird 85, Tree Swallow 3, and American White Pelican 1.
Non-avian taxa: butterflies � Cloudless Sulphur 7, Orange Sulphur 9,
Spicebush Swallowtail 1, Black Swallowtail 6, Viceroy 1 and Monarch 1.
Eastern Cottontail 1. Painted Turtle 28, Redbelly Slider 7, unID�d turtle
3.
CAMBRIDGE. South side. Two kettles of Turley Vultures, 23 & 8
respectively.
GOLDENROD. The first blooming Goldenrod I noticed this summer was c. 2.5
weeks ago near the E intersection of routes 33 X 329.
CICADAS. Haven�t heard many this year but the first ones cut in about 3
weeks ago. �July is hot in Virginia--a parched, sun-leathered farmer
sawing/Dry sticks with a cicada-saw that creaks all the lukewarm night.� �
from Stephen Vincent Ben�t�s, John Brown�s body (1928).
GOING GREAT GUNS. I neglected to mention in my previous field notes that a
great gun, identical to the one that used to be at Eastern Shore of Virginia
N.W.R. (ESVNWR) when it was a military base, will eventually be reinstalled
there. There�s a small stash of these (in Norfolk?). One was recently
moved from there via a trailer with 96 tires. The gun weighs 120 tons, had
a range of 23 miles, and could hurl a massive projectile weighing a ton or
more. ESVNWR sells a related T-shirt, proceeds from which will help to move
the gun there.
CONVERGENT CULTURAL EVOLUTION. ? Probably not. In our pantry is a plastic
container of clothes washing soap � Ultra Dynamo, now with Oxi-Plus. If one
looks at the narrow (back) side with the handle facing you it looks so much
like a small, blue Easter Island figurehead that it is striking. The handle
is the nose, the recessed areas on either side the eyes, eye sockets, and
forehead.
REDUNDANT INDEED. This morning I noticed that there are 2 entries right
next to each other in the index to Butterflies of North America by Jim Brock
& Kenn Kaufman for �Skipper, Redundant,� p. 310, perhaps due to Kenn�s sense
of humor.
Best to all. � Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
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