Hey everyone,
This morning I got up early and went to the boat ramp parking area on the Queen Anne's side of the lake at Tuckahoe State Park. I was hoping for crossbill flyovers. This is a good spot because the Queen Anne's/Caroline County lines run down the center of the lake. I was not disappointed. At 7:00am I had two White-winged Crossbills flyover and at 7:20 I had a single Red Crossbill flyover. Most of the birds that were flying were going west to east or southwest to northeast crossing over the lake. My full ebird list is below with details of most species heard/seen.
Tuckahoe State Park (Queen Anne's County), Queen Anne's, US-MD
Nov 25, 2012 6:50 AM - 7:25 AM
Protocol: Stationary
Comments: I decided to try for crossbills at the Tuckahoe SP boat ramp parking lot this morning. I was hoping to get birds flying over the Queen Anne's/Caroline County lines. I was not disappointed. There was major activity with birds mostly flying from west to east and from southwest to northeast over the lake. Fortunately, it was not windy although the wind was picking up as I left around 7:30am.
24 species
Tundra Swan X Heard only. There was a large flock off the west. It sounded like they were in a field. Heard the entire time I was in the parking lot.
Great Blue Heron 1 One bird hunting on the pond edge.
Bald Eagle 1 Adult bird actively hunting fish from a perch on the south edge of the large lake. Although it tried often, I never saw it catch any fish.
Belted Kingfisher 1 May have been two birds present but I only verified one. Vocalizing often.
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Two birds vocalizing.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Vocalized, not seen.
Downy Woodpecker 2 Two birds, actively vocalizing.
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 Vocalizing from one of the tall Sweet Gums.
Blue Jay 3 Possibly more birds present. I had three in the parking area at one time.
Carolina Chickadee 4 Actively foraging around the parking lot.
Tufted Titmouse 3 Mixed in with the chickadee flock that was foraging around the parking lot most of the time while I was present.
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Vocalizing.
Winter Wren 1 One bird vocalizing on the north edge of the small pond.
Carolina Wren 2 One bird singing to the north of the parking lot. Another bird singing to the south.
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Saw at least two birds in the chickadee flock that was foraging around the parking lot most of the time I was present.
Eastern Bluebird 3 Three EABL flew into a tall Sweet Gum and then flew off. Vocalizing.
Hermit Thrush 1 One bird doing its "chup" call.
Song Sparrow 1 Heard one bird call near the pond edge.
White-throated Sparrow 15 One flock foraging around the edges of the parking lot, est. count.
Northern Cardinal 3 Two males, one female foraging on the edges of the parking lot.
Red-winged Blackbird 1 One flyover bird, vocalizing.
Red Crossbill 1 Flew kind of low (lower than the WWCR) from the west across the lake into the pines. Did not get a recording. Appeared to be a male because the bird had reddish tones, that said the lighting was not great and the sun could have been playing tricks on the coloration. The bird vocalized many times as it flew past.
White-winged Crossbill 1 Two birds flew over vocalizing. I did see the birds but they were high enough where I couldn't make out any details. Hans Holbrook, twice in the past week had small flocks of WWCR in the area.
American Goldfinch 22 One flock consisting of 17 birds flew into a Sweet Gum and was quickly joined by 5 other AMGO. They fed for a few minutes and then dispersed in different directions. While there were goldfinches flying around most of the time I was in the parking area, I am hesitant to add more to the count.
Jim Brighton
Easton, MD
<jimbrighton3...>
www.marylandbiodiversity.com
--
|