Date: 8/27/12 12:24 pm
From: Les Roslund <lesroslund...>
Subject: [MDBirding] Fwd: FW: Ferry Neck August 18-22 (& DE and NJ, August 23-25), 2012.


The note below is forwarded on behalf of Talbot Bird Club Member Harry
Armistead.


From: Harry Armistead [mailto:<harryarmistead...>]
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 10:22 AM
To: Les Roslund
Subject: Ferry Neck August 18-22 (& DE and NJ, August 23-25), 2012.

FERRY NECK (unless otherwise specified) AUGUST 18-22 (+ Delaware & New
Jersey Aug. 23-25), 2012. Skies full of dragonflies (darners and
saddlebags). Our cove tidal water is curiously murky the entire time. Liz
& Harry Armistead.

AUGUST 18, SATURDAY. Arrive 2:50 P.M. Ten Snowy Egrets in the cove, the
highest count in years. Eleven Black Swallowtail caterpillars on the
parsley. There’s 1.4” in the rain gauge from last night. Finally a
decent rain. Butterflies: 1 Cloudless Sulphur, 3 Tiger Swallowtails, a
Monarch, and 4 Pearl Crescents. White Perch feed actively on the cove’s
surface. Later Liz and I take turns casting with the spinning rig but do
not catch anything.

Fair, NW 10, 84°F., high tide falling.

AUGUST 19, SUNDAY. Liz & I join the Talbot Bird Club at Black Walnut
Point, Jan Reese (leader), Vince De Sanctis, Dave Palmer, Cathy Cooper,
Wayne Bell, Levin Willey, Paul & Priscilla Thut et al. These numbers are
mine, not the official list: 40 Ospreys, 7 Bald Eagles, 3 Blue Grosbeaks, 2
Caspian & a Royal tern, 3 Cedar Waxwings, a Cooper’s Hawk, 2 hummingbirds,
9 swifts, 20 martins, 35 Barn Swallows, 1 redstart (the only warbler), 100s
of cormorants, 4 Monarchs, 2 Tiger Swallowtails, and a Cloudless Sulphur.
There is essentially no flight though several small flocks of Red-winged
Blackbirds head south along with 9 kingbirds.

Back at Rigby’s Folly along the Warbler Trail is a small mixed species
foraging guild including a Blue-winged, 2 Magnolia (early for them) & 2
Yellow warblers plus 3 Baltimore Orioles, 4 Blue Grosbeaks, 2 chickadees, 2
Carolina Wrens and 5 cardinals. An Osprey catches a White Perch in the
cove. Eighteen Chimney Swifts, 1 Indigo Bunting, 11 Cattle & 7 Snowy
egrets, and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Non-avian taxa: an Eastern Cottontail, 4 Gray Squirrels, 5 deer (2 does & 3
fawns in Field 1). Sixteen Green and Southern Leopard frogs in The Pond.
A beautiful, freshly-minted black Swallowtail, the legs long and jet-black.
1 Spicebush & 1 Tiger swallowtail. Two Diamondback Terrapin.

Overcast, winds light & variable or calm becoming easterly, 70-81°F. Very
light rain c. 2 P.M., then more rain c. 6 P.M. = < 0.25”.

AUGUST 20, MONDAY. Best birds: 2 Semipalmated Plovers, the Blue-winged
Warbler again, 1 Eastern Screech-Owl. Also 2 Baltimore Orioles, 4 ea. of
chickadee & titmouse, 1 ea. of Common & Forster’s tern, a Great & 5 Snowy
egrets, a Bald Eagle, a Black Vulture, 3 Cedar Waxwings, 1 redstart, 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 11 Blue Jays incl. a stubby-
tailed juvenile, 20 Purple Martins (actually one of the highest ever counts
for here), 3 unID’d sandpipers, 10 Cattle Egrets, and 3 Green Herons.

What looks to be a dead, floating egret or Mute Swan turns out to be a
white, plastic heron. I wade out, retrieve it, and install it on top of a
broomstick marking where Lillies-of-the-Valley grow by the back porch.

Butterflies (neglected to record numbers): Common Wood Nymph, Pearl
Crescent, Monarch, Red-spotted Purple, Summer Azure, Black Swallowtail,
Cloudless Sulphur, Tiger Swallowtail & unID’d small skippers.

Other non-avian taxa: at 10:45 P.M. I pick up my camou shirt on the front
porch and there is a Green Treefrog on it and another nearby on the vinyl
siding of the house. One Gray Squirrel, 2 Diamondback Terrapin. Liz spots
a Velvet Ant at Lucy Point.

Overcast becoming fair, calm, 69-81°F., rain c. 8:45 P.M. = 0.25”.

ON THE EDGE. Right off of the Choptank Trail, in back of the rip rap, are
8 healthy clusters of Sea Lavender. Formerly there were a couple at our
rudimentary boat ramp. On the rocky rip rap are loads of Sea Roaches
(isopods). Sometimes up to 300 gather at the base of the dock. On real
high tides they even ascend tree trunks a few feet. I hope and assume that
Spotted Sandpipers, Green Herons, and Snowy Egrets feed on them. They’re
about the only intertidal zone life on or in the rip rap other than a
little algae and a few barnacles.

The oysters that grow on the lower edges are ruthlessly harvested by a
local waterman … every year. To my relief I have never found a dead
Diamondback Terrapin in the rocks. They somehow either successfully
clamber over them or avoid them and go via what little emergent saltmarsh
edge remains to lay their eggs farther inland. There are a couple of small
clusters of the small, pink Marsh Hibiscus blooming along the cove
shoreline.

The Spartina alterniflora planted as part of a so-called living shoreline
effort, to my surprise, is actually doing pretty well. After its first
summer in 2011 it looked as if it had all perished. State officials
insisted it be planted during the course of our recent shoreline protection
program, that mostly consisted of replenishing/repairing rip rap that had
been installed over 40 years ago. Of the 9 mitigation oak trees planted
then one is dead, 3 only have shoots coming out of the tree base, and the
others, mostly Willow Oaks, seem to be doing well.

AUGUST 21, TUESDAY. Six heron types today, probably a record: 4 Glossy
Ibis (circle for several minutes as if looking for a place to rest and
forage), 2 ea. of Green & Great Blue heron, 1 Great, 6 not-so-great & 9
Cattle egrets. There’s an aerial feeding frenzy of 50 Laughing Gulls over
Edwards Point.

Other oiseaux: All of a sudden Eastern Bluebird 12, Forster’s Tern 6, a
ø Rose-breasted Grosbeak (record early date for here), Hairy Woodpecker 1,
Bald Eagle 2 adults, Black Vulture 2, Blue Grosbeak 1♂, the screech-owl
again, a ø Indigo Bunting, kingfisher 1, cardinal 12 (a good summer for
them), chickadee 3, and, curiously, Common Grackle 0 (none seen this entire
visit). They do tend to disappear in late summer.

Butterflies: 4 Eastern Tailed Blues, 4 Monarchs, 16 Pearl Crescents, 2 Red-
spotted Purples, a Tiger & 2 Black swallowtails, a Red Admiral, a Cabbage
White, and 1 unID’d small skipper.

Fair, NE 5 - NW 5 - SW 5 becoming calm (in other words, light & variable …
I might have said so in the first place), 68-81°F., low humidity. The
lawn and driveway are mowed today, looking largely nice and verdant, after
the mostly modest recent rains following the long dry spell..


In the cove: the first Cow-nosed Ray in weeks. One deer, one squirrel.

AUGUST 22, WEDNESDAY. One Veery, 13 Cattle & 9 Snowy egrets, a Pine
Warbler, 5 Killdeer, 75 Barn Swallows (actively feeding over Fields 1 & 2),
2 bank Swallows in with them, a Brown Thrasher (the 1st in a while), 7
Chimney Swifts, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (a poor
August for them), 2 adult & 1 immature Bald Eagle, a Cedar Waxwing, a
hummingbird, 5 Black Vultures,, and a Red-tailed Hawk.

Butterflies: 13 species - 3 Cloudless & 2 Orange sulphurs, 4 Monarchs, a
Question Mark, 4 Eastern Tailed Blues, 8 Pearl Crescents, 1 Black & 1
Spicebush swallowtail, 3 Red Admirals, 3 Red-spotted Purples, 3 Hackberry
Emperors, a Cabbage White, and 3 unID’d small skippers.

Fair, 72-82°F., SW or NW 5, some humidity returns. 2 deer, 3 Gray
Squirrels. Measuring a Red Maple felled by the great June 2011 wind storm
near the boat ramp = 65” in diameter, or, 5’ 5”. At 8:15 P.M. as I
water the planters there is a Green Tree Frog clutched to the side of the
house on the siding next to the hose spigot. The Waterthrush Pond filled
up nicely after the rain of the night of Aug. 17-18 but the Varmint Pool
only has a little. Lake Olszewski is dry.

HOLLAND ISLAND PELICAN NEWS. On August 21 and 22 John Weske banded 150
Brown Pelican chicks here and 9 adults. During this visit he only found
one nest that still held eggs. He also captured 5 adult pelicans that were
previously banded at Oregon Inlet and “New Dump” island (a dredge spoil
deposit area) - both in NC - and three from the Shanks I. area, VA, just S
of Smith I., MD. These 5 had all originally been banded as chicks except
for one of the Shanks birds that was captured as an adult when it was first
banded.

AUGUST 23, THURSDAY (Tanyard, Lewes DE, Delaware Bay mouth, Cape May and
Beach Haven, NJ).

Tanyard, Caroline County, MD. We dip on the imm. White Ibis seen here
recently (and after our visit, too). The tide is well above normal - no
exposed mud or shallows even. A Great Blue Heron, 55 Laughing Gulls, and a
big Redbelly Slider that starts to cross the highway, then wisely changes
its mind.

Cape Henlopen, Delaware area. 6 Brown Pelicans, 7 dolphins, 39 Turkey
Vultures (many resting on the WWII submarine watch towers), an ad. Bald
Eagle, 12 Ospreys, a Black Tern, an imm. Lest Tern, 80 cormorants, 5 Fish
Crows, a Royal, 125 Common & 12 Foster’s terns, and 4 unID’d scoters.

Delaware Bay, from the Lewes-Cape May Ferry: 10 Wilson’s Storm Petrels and
21 schools of actively-feeding fish, probably small Bluefish. From the 2nd
level on the ferry the fish schools appear dark brown, contrast with the
rest of the water, as if they represent shallows.

On the Cape May side: 7 Black Terns and 21 dolphins. The Black Terns are
busy diving in company with a small flock of Common Terns.

We are guests of Carl and Carroll Sheppard at 3rd Street in Beach Haven,
NJ, where, for the first time ever for me, from their front porch, I see a
Brown Pelican cross the barrier island.

AUGUST 24, FRIDAY:

BRIGANTINE unit, Forsythe N.W.R., Oceanville, NJ. 11:15 A.M. - 1:45 P.M.
Water in the W Pool is high, in the E Pool not quite so high and with muddy
edges that have attracted most of the shorebirds.

REDDISH EGRET, 2nd NJ record, apparently an immature. This bird was 1st
spotted a few days ago (yesterday for the 1st time?). I discover I left my
scope back at the Sheppards but some Texas birders let me look through
theirs. The egret is on top of an Eastern Redcedar along with 2 Great
Egrets with an imm. Black-crowned Night Heron perched nearby. This is in
similar plumage to the pale individual we saw near Zapata Swamp last April
that bewildered many of those on that tour.

Other birds: 325 cormorants, 85 starlings, 1 kingbird, 18 Glossy Ibis, 45
Black Skimmers, a Chipping Sparrow, 6 Snowy & 65 Great egrets, 4 Mute
Swans, 6 Blue-winged Teal, 70 Barn Swallows, 6 pintails, 7 Fish Crows, 5
black ducks, 9 Ospreys, a ♂ Peregrine Falcon, 45 Semipalmated & 16 Black-
bellied plovers, 115 Short-billed Dowitchers, 11 Caspian, 1 Royal & 95
Forster’s terns, 975 Laughing Gulls (mostly resting in the higher parts of
the pools), 20 Red-winged Blackbirds, 35 Canada Geese, 6 Willets, 400 peep
(the expected 3 species, probably mostly Semipalmateds), 55 Greater
Yellowlegs, and 1 Pectoral Sandpiper.

Brigantine butterflies: 14 Monarchs, 5 Black Swallowtails, 3 Cloudless & 5
Orange sulphurs & 2 Cabbage Whites. Lots of nice blooming vegetation,
milkweed, etc., along the dikes. Also here: 2 Diamondback Terrapin.
Medium-high tide and rising fast.

BEACH HAVEN, the beach at 3rd Street, 4-5:30 P.M. 10 Brown Pelicans, 1
Black Tern, 12 Common Terns, 3 Sanderlings, and, among the exposed rocks of
the groin as the tide receded: 2 House Sparrows. One Gray Squirrel on the
walk to the beach. Someone turned loose a bunch of them on Long Beach
Island 10-15 years ago.

At the refuge Visitor Center I bought for $24 a good, autographed copy of
Lynn Bogue Hunt: a sporting life by Kevin C. Shelly (Derrydale Press, 2003,
93p., original price $60), not realizing until later the Foreword is by my
friend, George Reiger. On the back of the dust cover is a fine photograph
of Hunt with Ernest Hemingway, both, it is obvious, thoroughly enjoying
themselves and each other.

Hunt was one of the most prolific illustrators of game birds and fish of
the 20th century, did 106+ cover paintings for Field & Stream 1904-1951.
Somewhere in this house - I can’t find it now; perhaps it got broken - is
a tall cocktail glass with his painting, I think it was of jumping
pintails. In between pp. 48 & 49, in a gathering of color paintings, is
“Hawk attacking wood ducks,” that shows a white Gyrfalcon attacking a
pair of … ahem … Harlequin Ducks. This is not THAT snobby a book but
I’m nevertheless surprised to find its likes at a refuge visitor center,
usually the domain of standard field guides and their ilk.

AUGUST 25, SATURDAY:

LITTLE EGG HARBOR [Bay], NJ. A trip on Capt. Carl Sheppard’s boat ‘Star
Fish’ down Little Egg Harbor Bay from opposite 3rd St. in Beach Haven past
the Holgate peninsula to Little Egg Inlet out from Little Beach (Island),
c. 9 A.M. - noon. Low tide, mostly overcast, winds easterly 5-10, high 70s
temperature. Holgate and Little Beach are both units of Forsythe N.W.R.
Complete list:

Of most interest: an imm. Bonaparte’s Gull and a Whimbrel. 2,300+ Tree
Swallows.

Also: double-crested cormorant 110, brown pelican 4, great blue heron 0,
great egret 34, snowy egret 14, little blue heron 3 adults, tricolored
heron 2, black-crowned night heron 2, glossy ibis 26, osprey 5, black-
bellied plover 37, semipalmated plover 22, American oystercatcher 26,
greater yellowlegs 1, willet 2, ruddy turnstone 14, sanderling 11, unID’d
peep 30, short-billed dowitcher 12, laughing gull x, ring-billed gull 3,
herring gull x, great black-backed gull x, least tern 2, Caspian tern 1,
black tern 1, common tern 175, Forster’s tern 16, royal tern 26, black
skimmer 12 (all adults), mourning dove 2, belted kingfisher 2, fish crow 3,
tree swallow 2,300+ (clouds of them over the bayberries of Little Island;
hundreds more coming in flying down the Holgate peninsula; my “estimate,”
counting by hundreds, is probably low; I expect to see such numbers no
earlier than late September), barn swallow 4, and boat-tailed grackle 3♂.

NJ TERMINOLOGY. Salt marshes are referred to as “the sedges.” Work
boats with a small cabin or enclosure are “garveys.” Tidal guts that go
all the way through are “thorofares,” like the Big Thorofare of Smith I.,
MD.

2013 CALENDARS. Among the 8 unsolicited calendars received so far, some
from organizations I’ve never belonged to, is one from the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation that has 2 nice photographs by Randy Stadler, a stalwart of the
Crisfield Christmas Bird Count. Back when I did the Blackwater, Crisfield,
Ocean City & Chincoteague C.B.C. circuit 25± years ago we’d occasionally
stay at the Stadlers’ house.

CHIGGERS. Seems like a bad summer for them. In spite of being careful I
have a dozen or more small, red, itchy welts. Benadryl gel helps. So
does, at night, CVS Allergy Relief Antihistamine (Chlorpheniramine
maleate). What I failed to do, I guess, was to spray from the knees on
down.

Best to all. - Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.

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