LOWER EASTERN SHORE, VIRGINIA & MARYLAND, MARCH 8-11, 2013, esp. Ocean City, the Kiptopeke area, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel & Deal Island. A time of high tides way above normal, and, high winds on Friday and Saturday.
ABBREVIATIONS: CBBT, Chesapeake Bay Bridge & Tunnel Virginia. DIWMA, Deal Island Wildlife Management Area, Maryland. ESVNWR, Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia. KSP, Kiptopeke State Park, Virginia.
MARCH 8, FRIDAY. Mostly Maryland.
GETTING THERE: In Delaware 400 Snow Geese in a wheat field between Magnolia and Dover Air Force Base. Forty Tundra Swans in a field near the intersection of routes 113 X 16.
The several Ocean City areas today are all disappointing:
Ocean City Inlet. 2-3 P.M., overcast, occasional sprinkles, winds NE 25-30, 43°F., high water crashing right over the N jetty, and getting higher still. Not much fun. Surf scoter 1, unID’d scoter 6, long-tailed duck 35, bufflehead 45, red-breasted merganser 1♂, red-throated loon 20, common loon1, purple sandpiper 2, sanderling 1, Bonaparte’s gull 9, herring gull 20, lesser black-backed gull 1 adult, great black-backed gull 3, rock pigeon 85.
Skimmer Island: brant 26, Canada goose 2, American black duck 4, bufflehead 70, red-breasted merganser 7, horned grebe 1, American oystercatcher 6, ring-billed gull 1, herring gull 120, great black-backed gull 20. Very little of the island(s) here above water.
West Ocean City Pond. Depauperate. Gadwall 9, American Black Duck 2, mallard 4, northern shoveler 3, green-winged teal 2♂, canvasback 37, ring-necked duck 1♂, lesser scaup 8, bufflehead 4, pied-billed grebe 2, great blue heron 1, turkey vulture 1.
Castaways – Eagle’s Nest golf course, S of Ocean City. 4:15 P.M. Plagued by high water here, too. A shorebird would have to have legs like Salvador Dalí’s elephants and a bill like Pinocchio to the 9th power in order to forage on the submerged flats here. brant 3, Canada goose 3, bufflehead 11, red-breasted merganser 6, common loon 5, double-crested cormorant 3, black vulture 3, bald eagle 1, hooded merganser 1.
Route 113, Berlin to Pocomoke City. Newark Waste Water Treatment Plant: Canada Goose 280, American Wigeon 4, Mallard 2, Ring-necked Duck 14, Bufflehead 7, and Ruddy Duck 1. Around the mile 23 area: 105 Turkey & 6 Black vultures getting ready to roost, plus 1 deer and a Bald Eagle. Ten deer at mile 18.
In Virginia: 2 deer at the Virginia Welcome Center, Route 13. Forty Turkey Vultures preparing to roost near Oak Hall. Three-hundred Canada Geese in a field next to the Tyson chicken plant.
MARCH 9, SATURDAY. Totally, I mean completely, in Virginia.
1. CBBT, Island 1. 6:45-9:45 A.M. standard time (daylight wasting time). Clear, 40-55°F., winds NW 20 m.p.h., high tide 2 feet above normal, rough wave action, esp. around mile 13, where shoal areas cause the waves to suddenly surge spectacularly skyward 6-7 feet or more and then get their crests blown away by the strong wind. On Wednesday the CBBT was closed, winds reached 68 m.p.h. 24 species:
Greater Scaup 2. Lesser Scaup 215. Surf Scoter 4. White-winged Scoter 1. Black Scoter 40. Long-tailed Duck 70. Bufflehead 1ø. Common Goldeneye 1♀. Red-breasted Merganser 28. Red-throated Loon 7. Common Loon 1. Horned Grebe 10. RED-NECKED GREBE 3. Northern Gannet 610. Double-crested Cormorant 90. Great Cormorant 2. Brown Pelican 2. Ruddy Turnstone 5. Purple Sandpiper 3. Ring-billed Gull 3. Herring Gull 45. Great Black-backed Gull 40. RAZORBILL 2 (floating off the N end, then flying up the Bay). Rock Pigeon 60.
To the E ten large ships are at anchor. A River Otter is close to the rocks W of the island, seen earlier in the month by Dan Cristol.
2. CBBT overlook (Wise Point), 10-11 A.M.: Surf Scoter 85, Bufflehead 4, Red-breasted Merganser, Rd-throated Loon 1, Common Loon 6, Horned Grebe 8., Northern Gannet 7, Double-crested Cormorant 8, Black Vulture 9, Turkey Vulture 4, Bald Eagle 2, Osprey 1, American Oystercatcher 1, Ring-billed Gull 6, Herring Gull 8, Great Black-backed Gull 5, Cedar Waxwing 3, Myrtle Warbler 111 (an apparent flight of them headed N).
3. Fisherman I. N.W.R. A tricolored Heron flies across the road right in front of the car.
4. Ramp Lane – ESVNWR, 11:15-11:45, tide low: mallard 2, green-winged teal 1♂, bufflehead 6, hooded merganser 4, red-breasted merganser 2, common loon 2, double-crested cormorant 6, black vulture 2, bald eagle 1 adult, red-tailed hawk 1, herring gulls dropping clams at the boat ramp, boat-tailed grackle 3.
5. Oyster landfill, 1:30 – 2:15. 40°F. Canada goose 11, gadwall 4, American wigeon 1♂, green-winged teal 1♂, lesser scaup 10, ruddy duck 57, pied-billed grebe 2, black vulture 49, turkey vulture 6, northern harrier 1, sharp-shinned hawk 1, red-tailed hawk 1, American coot 94, boat-tailed grackle 1♂, European starling 45, fish crow 6, ring-billed gull 1, herring gull 160, great black-backed gull 16. Some Black Vultures are Dumpster divers here.
6. Oyster per se 2:30 – 3:00: gadwall 45, green-winged teal 50, lesser scaup 1, bufflehead 30, hooded merganser 6, red-breasted merganser 8, red-throated loon 1, common loon 1, great blue heron 1, northern harrier 2, red-tailed hawk 1, black-bellied plover 1, American oystercatcher 9, willet 35, dunlin 145.
7. Lakewood Pond: just 1 bufflehead.
8. Magotha Road, 3:15-3:45: a Eurasian Collared-Dove, 7 Dunlin, 60 Buffleheads, a Bald Eagle, a Greater Yellowlegs, a Horned Grebe. Run into a young couple (their names went in one ear, out the other), he working for the Center for Conservation Biology, who caught kestrels today with a Bal Chatri trap, color-banding 4 on the shore. From Magotha we are able to see surf shooting up on the other side of Smith Island, several miles away, and also to hear it.
9. Pond Drain, beautiful half-mile long freshwater lake: not one bird.
10. KSP, the old ferry landing area: lesser scaup 18, surf scoter 3, bufflehead 45, red-breasted merganser 1, red-throated loon 4, common loon 4, horned grebe 2, northern gannet 5, double-crested cormorant 6, sanderling 1.
11. KSP, Taylor Pond, 5-5:20 P.M.: pied-billed grebe 1, bufflehead 4, ring-necked duck 20, song sparrow 8, myrtle warbler 2.
Daffodils blooming everywhere. Some quince on the verge of being fully out. On the back side of Shore Stay Suites is a huge, gentle, milling cloud of midges in the afternoon sun, 5:30 P.M. What other motel manager, in casual conversation, would mention the present comet and then later I find a BBC printout about it from Baj, wedged into the door to my room? A most civilized lodging. So nice to have a refrigerator and an excellent selection of TV channels, one of which has the splendid 25th anniversary concert in London of Les Misérables, with great singing (not always the case in the recent movie). And that bed. Comfy. The electronic marquee out front says, in red caps: “WELCOME BIRDERS.” And just across Route 13, the oasis Sting-Ray’s.
MARCH 10, SUNDAY. Totally in Virginia. CBBT, 6:45 A.M. – 1:30 P.M. (all 4 islands plus the scenic overlook at Wise Point [ESVNWR]): a field trip of the Williamsburg meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Society: Vitek Jirinec, Laura King, Andy McGann, Helmut & Nancy Mueller, Kate Mysak, Brian Trevelline, Maria Wheeler, and Peggy Whitney. Approaching Island 1 half an hour before sunrise the thinnest crescent moon is visible to the east over the sea, a fingernail clipping in the sky.
It is daunting to be showing birds and holding forth with my palaver about this, and that, and the other thing to the likes of Dr. Mueller, elected a Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union in 1976. The numbers below are rough estimates since today I am focused on getting people on birds and talking about the general scene rather than counting. The participants, esp. Andy, seem to spot all the good stuff today. Some birds below are seen after the official field trip:
Canada goose 2. greater scaup 1♂. Lesser scaup 275. surf scoter 100. white-winged scoter 5. black scoter 200 (heard vocalizing, too). COMMON EIDER 5: 2 immature ♂, 3♀. long-tailed duck 80 (many calling). bufflehead 25. common goldeneye 1♀. red-breasted merganser 45. red-throated loon 9. common loon 7. horned grebe 15 (bright red eyes; some coming into breeding plumage). northern gannet 375 (every one adult). double-crested cormorant 90 (plus c. 500 in 3 big flocks to the W, migrating N). great cormorant 4 (with the surprisingly conspicuous white, breeding plumage, flank patches). brown pelican 6 (adults). great blue heron 1. black vulture 12. turkey vulture 6. red-tailed hawk 1. American oystercatcher 4. ruddy turnstone 14. sanderling 23. purple sandpiper 8. ring-billed gull 8. herring gull 45 (many in fresh, immaculate breeding plumage). great black-backed gull 40 (likewise). rock pigeon 35. European starling 6. myrtle warbler 10.
Very close views of the grebes, ducks, sandpipers, and cormorants, but few gulls, loons, and gannets by the standards of most days at this time of year.
With all the hundreds of gannets NOT ONE is seen plunge diving. The great northeast storm has so roiled the waters, apparently, that either the fish can’t be seen or there are no fish – or both. Several miles from shore, especially on the north end of the bridge, the water is muddy. As happens after disturbances such as this there are rafts of Spartina alterniflora wrack floating in mid Bay, some probably destined for a western shore landfall.
Best of all are 4 Harbor Seals, sausages of the sea, damn cute, often surfacing with just the head showing, regarding us with their wonderful, large, warm, brown eyes, “rising from the sea.”
“So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.” – Wordsworth.
A seal IS somewhat protean, able to change its appearance. You might mistake it for a log or a mermaid. And today’s Black Scoters’ unearthly, haunting, bell-like calls could be a good stand-in for Triton’s horn.
It is interesting on one island to see 2 Purple Sandpipers and 2 Ruddy Turnstones actively foraging on the narrow strip of grass right next to the maintenance building. Clear, winds NE 10 m.p.h. diminishing to 5 m.p.h., 40-50°F., high tide becoming low, a gem of a day.
I am puzzled to see 10 large ships at anchor, bows facing AWAY from the wind, but then realize they swing that way so as to face the ebbing tide, the power of water stronger than that of wind.
Afterwards: Magotha Road, 48°F. at 5:09 P.M. DST, 2 Nothern Flickers, 58 Boat-tailed Grackles, 4 horned Grebes, a ♀ Belted Kingfisher, and 4 Eurasian Collared-Doves.
Ramp Lane – ESVNWR, 5:45 – 6:45 P.M., a dusk watch: Northern Harrier 2, Greater Yellowlegs 1, American Black Duck 31, Mallard 1, Horned Grebe 1 (in the pond, an unusual spot for one), Willet 9, Tricolored Heron 1, American Oystercatcher 45 (a high tide roost on the S side of Raccoon Island, accompanied by the Willets and Dunlin), Dunlin 20, Clapper Rail 1, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Bald Eagle 2 adults (one on the nest visible in a Loblolly Pine as one looks towards the 180-foot light on Smith Island). Also: 2 deer.
MARCH 11, MONDAY. About equal, both states.
Townsend: Eurasian Collared-Dove 4, Mourning Dove 18, Chipping Sparrow 20, Eastern Meadowlark 1, Horned Lark 5, Double-crested Cormorant 2, Ring-billed Gull 230 (following a plow).
Box Tree Road-Machipongo. High tide well above, perhaps 1.5 feet, normal. 9:45 A.M. 45°F., E < 10. American Black Duck 4, Bufflehead 2, Red-breasted Merganser 32 (being harassed by Herring Gulls), Common Loon 1, Bald Eagle 1 adult, Fish Crow 9.
Willis Wharf. Very high water, the marsh grasses almost submerged. 10:15 – 10:45 A.M. Canada Goose 2, Bufflehead 8, Hooded Merganser 21, Double-crested Cormorant 6, Bald Eagle 4, Killdeer 2, Ruddy Turnstone 41 (as usual hanging around Terry’s seafood plant, mostly on the big piles of clam shells), and Fish Crow 8.
DIWMA, Dumpster Road. 64°F. at 12:45 P.M. High, hazy overcast, SW 15 m.p.h., water levels everywhere very high. A Mud Turtle basking on the dike-road. Deal’s Dunlins today are roosting in grassy marsh areas, no exposed tidal mud within 100 miles, although they sometimes forage in flooded fields under such conditions.
Tundra Swan 3, Gadwall 36, Amreican Wigeon 16, American Black Duck 6, Northern Pintail 1♂, Green-winged Teal 12, Lesser Scaup 16, Bufflehead 2, Ruddy Duck 22, Great Blue Heron 1, Black Vulture 3, Turkey Vulture 30, Bald Eagle 3 (incl. an adult on its nest easily seen in a Loblolly Pine north and east of the Dumpster Road entrance; this nest must be at least 6 feet deep), Northern Harrier 5, American Kestrel 1, Greater Yellowlegs 1, Dunlin 18, Boat-tailed Grackle 30, Eastern Meadowlark 2.
DIWMA, Riley Roberts Road. 67°F. at 2:15 P.M. MUTE SWAN 2, Tundra Swan 7, Canada Goose 20 (many of them paired off), Gadwall 4, American Wigeon 8, American Black Duck 18, Northern Shoveler 4, Northern Pintail 4, Green-winged Teal 40, Lesser Scaup 11, Surf Scoter 35, Bufflehead 2, Hooded Merganser 4, Rudy Duck 115, Common Loon 4, Great Blue Heron 4, Turkey Vulture 6, Bald Eagle 1 adult, Northern Harrier 2, Sharp-shinned Hawk 1, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Dunlin 22, Fish Crow 3, Boat-tailed Grackle 4, Eastern Meadowlark 1, Belted Kingfisher 1, Seaside Sparrow 1 (perched in a clump of Baccharis halimifolia east of the end of the road for several minutes, then it flies down into the marsh grasses).
NON-AVIAN TAXA. A Red Fox d.o.r., requiescat in pavement. A Mourning Cloak lifts off, completely vertically, from the road. The tide is so high that parts of the road are submerged with sizeable minnow schools swimming in front of the car.
On the way in is an area of c. 1 acre that is grassy, wet, and in the sun with a lusty chorus of Southern Leopard Frogs. Aristophanes would have been pleased. The frogs are open for business. Over the years I have heard New Jersey Chorus Frogs, and, less frequently, Spring Peepers, once in a while in December, January, and February, but I am surprised to hear the leopards today. Are they rushing the season? Wood Frogs are also notorious for calling early in the season, when I have heard them in March at Blackwater N.W.R. (Pool 1) and Bombay Hook N.W.R.
Tantalizing: there’s a nice, albeit plastic, ♂ Blue-winged Teal decoy in deep water only about 15 feet from Riley Roberts Road. In a different frame of mind I would have stripped down and retrieved it.
Salisbury University. In one of the 2 very high communication towers of NPR 89.5 radio next to Henson Hall is an Osprey nest with both birds present, apparently for their first day this season. The ♀ flies in with a big fish then starts to tear chunks out of it.
In Delaware: Seaford, an adult Bald Eagle RIGHT OVER the town and highway, Route 13. Just S. of Dover an Osprey on a tower.
Best to all. – Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
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