Hi Everyone,
Rarity Roundup XIII was a big success. The event lived up to high expectations and even offered two days of incredibly nice weather. The only extra complexity this year was Hurricane Sandy damage, which was unfortunately conspicuous in some areas, including flooded sections, closed areas on Assateague, and even some washed out roads and paths. We again had an excellent team with nearly 40 participants covering all of Worcester Co. Thanks to everyone who came out for making it another fun and memorable event!
Top honors go to a cooperative WESTERN KINGBIRD found by Mikey and Jo Anna Lutmerding at the Ocean City Airport on Route 611. Although it faked a dramatic fly-away at the end of its first showing, it returned later in the afternoon and was seen throughout the day today as well. It was foraging (and often vocal) along the fence line and nearby scrubby patches, usually easily viewed from the shoulder of Route 611. (http://www.billhubick.com/images/201211/western_kingbird_wo_md_20121111_01.jpg)
Here are some other favorites:
* CAVE SWALLOWs - Two at Bayside Campground (Stasz, Boyd), one flyby at Assateague SP (Graff, Hubick, Phillips)
* YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON - Presumably leaving roost from Skimmer Island at first light; awesome, new for the Roundup (Hafner, Thornton)
* BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER - Herring Creek Park | New for the Roundup (Hafner, Thornton)
* WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLs - Single flyovers at Castaways (Lutmerding),
State Park (Hubick), and then Sunday morning again at the State Park
with about 20 people present
* RED CROSSBILLs - State Park/Shell Road (Hubick, Phillips, Feild, Carney), South Point (McCandless, Starling)
* EVENING GROSBEAKs - South Point (McCandless, Starling)
* HUMMINGBIRD sp. - Two hummingbird sightings did not permit identification - Ocean City (Ringler et al.), State Park (Hubick, Graff, Phillips)
* AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN - 3 spotted on Sunday by Ron Gutberlet at Route 611 and South Point Road.
* HERMAN - Mikey Lutmerding has video (I seen it with mine own eyes) of the European Starling that landed on his shoulder and began preening his beard. Jim Brighton and I have requested a sample of his beard for new species analysis for the MD Biodiversity Project.
MANY OTHERS (watch eBird for details) - Ross's Goose, Cackling Goose, Wild Turkeys (notable for being seen foraging in the open marsh on Assateague), Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, CATTLE EGRET, Osprey, Sora, Semipalmated Plover, Least Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Purple Sandpiper, Western Willet, Stilt Sandpiper (Sunday at Truitt's by Ron Gutberlet), Long-billed Dowitcher, Black Skimmer (including seen foraging at night by lights of Ocean City hotels), Northern Saw-whet Owl (multiple locations), Red-headed Woodpeckers (two locations), Blue-headed Vireo, BARN SWALLOW (at least 4 sightings!), Sedge Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler (both ssp.), BLACKPOLL WARBLER (2), Common Yellowthroat, Vesper Sparrow, Ipswich Sparrows (cooperative on Assateague causeway), Nelson's Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sparrow, Snow Bunting, Indigo Bunting, Rusty Blackbird, Baltimore Oriole.
Notable in their abundance and near omnipresence were PINE SISKINs and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHes. We didn't have too many misses, but they included Great Cormorant, some later ducks like Canvasback, and several expected shorebirds such as Piping Plover, Western Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, Red Knot (seen on Sunday).
Thank you again to everyone for the great time!� Thanks especially to Matt Hafner and Mark Hoffman, who continue to co-organize the event with me. The tally rally alone would have been worth the trip.
And now, your moment of Zen...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeycerw/8177482599/in/photostream/
Bill
�
Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland
<bill_hubick...>
http://www.billhubick.com
http://www.marylandbiodiversity.com
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