FERRY NECK & BLACKWATER N.W.R., March 28-April 2, 2013. Liz & Harry Armistead.
When I say complete list it is so. If I don’t it’s not a complete list.
MARCH 28, THURSDAY. 301 Plaza, Middletown, DE, a ♀ Merlin diving at, in turn, 6 Fish Crows. This goes on for several minutes with the Merlin often perched on trees to the west of the restaurant while we eat. An American Kestrel is also present. Route 301, mile 112, 2 Bald Eagles. Another near the pond S of Hope. A group of 12 deer S of Hope. The routes 481 X 309 wetland area has been dull this year; no waterbirds this time either but 2 Northern Harriers nearby. 70 Turkey Vultures and 10 Red-tailed Hawks on the way down.
Rigby’s Folly, 4:15 P.M. ‘til dark, 51-47°F., NW 15-5, mostly overcast with virga towards the western shore. 310 Ruddy Ducks, 65 Surf Scoters, 35 Buffleheads, 2 Common Loons, a Horned Grebe, 4 Canada Geese, 1 adult Bald Eagle, 5 Eastern Bluebirds in Field 1, a Red-tailed Hawk. One deer in Field 3, another in Field 1. One Gray Squirrel. 0.9” in the rain gauge since last time.
MARCH 29, Good FRIDAY. Clear becoming fair then overcast, NW15-SW5, 45-54°F., beautiful sun shafts to the west. White-throated Sparrows max out at 18 at the feed. Cedar Waxwing 9, Ruddy Duck 345, Common Loon 4 (1 with a Hogchoker), Surf Scoter 405, Common Goldeneye 4, Bufflehead 55, Osprey 2, Bonaparte’s Gull 1, Northern Gannet 1 (overdue), Horned Grebe 5, Sharp-shinned Hawk 1, Northern Harrier 1, White-breasted Nuthatch 1 (sometimes an entire year will go by without them being seen here), Bald Eagle 1, Black Vulture 6.
It has dried out enough so that it is easy to drive across Field 1 to the point. From Lucy Point 5 work boats are visible as well as 17 towers on the western shore (not counting the 3 huge stacks on the Patuxent River). A Great Horned Owl calls at 9:58 P.M.
MARCH 30, SATURDAY. Clear, calm, 47-58°F., calm, or SE <5, sunny. First of year Eastern Phoebe. In Irish Creek a Common Loon gives its yodel call 3 times at 6:15 P.M. 3 Gray Squirrels.
We’re out at Lucy Point 10 A.M. – 1:30 P.M. and 2:30-4:30 P.M. Clear, calm, 50’s, light & variable wind S 5 m.p.h. or so. 39 species: Great Blue Heron 20 (in configurations of 2, 5 ,1, 10, 1 & 1; a new property high count; old high was 15 on May 23, 1976). Most of the GBHEs are in migration, headed north, a flight by local standards. Also (complete list):
Common Loon 6, Horned Grebe 6, Northern Gannet 3, Double-crested Cormorant 7, Black Vulture 5, Turkey Vulture 12, Canada Goose 2, Mallard 2, Canvasback 4, Lesser Scaup 32, Long-tailed Duck 6 (as with recent years they stay real far out, barely identifiable even with the 32X scope), Surf Scoter 270, Common Goldeneye 4, Bufflehead 55, Red-breasted Merganser 1, Ruddy Duck 570, Osprey 5, Bald Eagle 7, Red-tailed Hawk 3.
Laughing Gull 3, Bonaparte’s Gull 2, Ring-billed Gull 5, Herring Gull 7, Forster’s Tern 1, Northern Flicker 2, Fish Crow 3, Tree Swallow 2, Carolina Chickadee 2, Carolina Wren 2, Eastern Bluebird 4, American Robin 8, Northern Mockingbird 1, Myrtle Warbler 1, Pine Warbler 1, White-throated Sparrow 6, Northern Cardinal 1, Red-winged Blackbird 20, Common Grackle 9. Deer 3. unID’d butterflies 3. A Green Frog continues on in the bottom of the Goose Pit plunging into the murky, one-foot-deep water there. Don’t know how to get it out. Perhaps lay in a board at a gradual slant.
Eagles. 2 adult baldies and an immature light for a few minutes in a Loblolly Pint near the blind on the W side of Field 1. Over at Cook’s Point, 7 miles distance, in a deciduous tree there’s a huge raptor I’m sure is a Bald Eagle. But a 7-mile ID may be a bit of a stretch. Surprised not to see any Diamondback. Terrapin today.
GROOMING ON THE DOCK. There something about sitting on a dock that prompts me to do my nails. Decades ago, on the small wooden bridge at Fairmount W.M.A., I remember this feeling coming over me, too, several times. Get out the Swiss Army Knife and go to work. But it’s easier after a shower when things soften up. That works better than salt water. Just thought I’d share. There are 5 things with which one can better face life’s challenges: a Swiss Army Knife (but get one that has the file, saw, pliers, and fine screw driver that fits into the corkscrew), WD-40, Three-in-one Oil, Arm and Hammer Baking Soda, and, of course, Duct Tape.
MARCH 31, Easter SUNDAY. Blackwater N.W.R. 8 participants on the refuge birdwalk: Liz Armistead, Jaren & Marilyn Aurand, Karen Caruso, Deatra & Jim Imler, Levin Willey & myself. 66 species (some of these birds seen before or after the official birdwalk). 7:45 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. Overcast, wind SE 10-25, rain begins just as the walk finishes, 44-50°F., water in the impoundments continues high, in the tidal areas average. Some big, white birds.
EGYPT ROAD: 20 Wild Turkeys in configurations of 15 (2 strutting, pompous toms, 13 tomettes) and 5 ♀. An adult Bald Eagle at the nest near Old Field Road. Horned Lark 2. Gadwall 4. Red-tailed Hawk 3.
Complete list (thanks to Karen Caruso for keeping track of the numbers), BLACKWATER N.W.R.:
Snow Goose 19, Canada Goose 18, Gadwall 10 (Pool 1), American Black Duck 1, Mallard 40, Blue-winged Teal 14, Northern Shoveler 274, Green-winged Teal 250, Ring-necked Duck 40 (Pool 1), Ruddy Duck 12 (including 1 leucistic individual, a sort of washed-out, café au lait color), Pied-billed Grebe 1 (calling; Pool 1), Double-crested Cormorant 4, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN 50, Great Blue Heron 6, Great Egret 3, Black Vulture 2, Turkey Vulture 22, Bald Eagle 30, Northern Harrier 2, Red-tailed Hawk 1, American Kestrel 1, American Coot 80, Killdeer 2, Greater Yellowlegs 10, Lesser Yellowlegs 20, Least Sandpiper 1, Dunlin 12, Wilson’s Snipe 6, Bonaparte’s Gull 4, Laughing Gull 1 (on the Sewards reef), Ring-billed Gull 12, Herring Gull 1, Great Black-backed Gull 2 (Cambridge – Malkus Bidge), Forster’s Tern 6, Caspian Tern 1.
Mourning Dove 4, Belted Kingfisher 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 2, Pileated Woodpecker 1, Blue Jay 1, American Crow 3, Tree Swallow 20, Carolina Chickadee 2, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, Brown-headed Nuthatch 1, Carolina Wren 2, Eastern Bluebird 4, American Robin 6, Northern Mockingbird 2, European Starling 6, Cedar Waxwing 1, Pine Warbler 2, Myrtle Warbler 2, Chipping Sparrow 1, Song Sparrow 2, White-throated Sparrow 2, Slate-colored Junco 1, Northern Cardinal 6, Red-winged Blackbird 70, Eastern Meadowlark 1, Common Grackle 25, Brown-headed Cowbird 2, House Sparrow 3.
Also: rescue a Painted Turtle basking on Key Wallace Drive. The front left has a wedge-shaped cleft indicating a missing section of its carapace. Some Spring Peepers calling. Deep in the woods by the kiosk next to the turn in to refuge HQ there is a massive immature Bald Eagle perched in a tree up 30 feet or so, providing a great view through the scope. It seems condor-size.
The white pelicans are spectacular. One group of 29 is spread out, but quite close to the new observation platform. Gleaming white with jet black flight feathers and bright yellow bills. Then they take majestic flight and join 21 others on the far (south) side of Blackwater River.
Eastern Redcedar pollen. A couple of the cedars at the refuge entrance are so gravid with pollen that when grackles land on them they unleash a cloud of pale yellow dust.
How many other refuge birdwalks in the U.S. offer views of 10 Bald Eagle nests within the space of 3 miles (although some are defunct)?
TRANSQUAKING RIVER marshes E of Bestpitch Ferry Bridge: Dunlin 95, Green-winged Teal 35, Eastern Meadowlark 2, American Kestrel 1, Greater Yellowlegs 1, Great Blue Heron 1.
DRAWBRIDGE ROAD just S of DeCoursey Road: 3 Tundra Swans in a wheat field.
Back at Rigby’s Folly, 2:30 P.M. - , overcast, low 50s, wind SE 10, a ♀ Eastern Towhee. Two Gray Squirrels (nutcrackers sweet). 6 A.M.: an Eastern Cottontail on the driveway on the S side of Field 4. Spring Peepers in a couple of spots.
APRIL 1, MONDAY. Clear becoming mostly overcast by c. 2 P.M. with very light sprinkles once, 47-65°F., SW5 becoming NW15 c. 4 P.M.
American Wigeon 1♂, Green-winged Teal 8 (migrants in configurations of 2, 4, 2), Cooper’s Hawk 2, Northern Harrier 1, Bald Eagle 5, Black Vulture 4, Osprey 7 in sight simultaneously), Common Goldeneye 2♀, House Finch 2, Lesser Scaup 2, Common Loon 5, Tree Swallow 5, Ruddy Duck 210, Canvasback 2, Forster’s Tern 2, Double-crested Cormorant 2, Bufflehead 30, Red-tailed Hawk 2, Mallard 9, Canada Goose 6, White-breasted Nuthatch 1.
While we’re on the dock an immature Bald Eagle comes by and snatches a tiny, c. 4” fish from the cove’s surface, then is pursued by another immature eagle. There are Raccoon footprints on the white bench by the big Willow Oak. In the lawn vegetation are 4 Spring Azures and a 2’ Northern Watersnake, which coils and bares its fangs when I touch it. A lovely adult Northern Gannet spends several minutes far up Irish Creek – the first time I’ve ever seen that – and plunge-dives once opposite Edwards Point. Something has completely emptied the Squirrel Buster feeder by the Magnolia grandiflora.
DEATH BY CHIMNEY. Atlantic Chimney cleans and inspects the chimneys with flues leading to the living room and master bedroom. In the bedroom flu are 4 long-dead European Starlings (the best kind) and a Gray Squirrel. The company man says he was encountered Wood Ducks, bats, Chimney Swifts, a Pileated Woodpecker, and vultures (sp?) in the course of his work elsewhere. He knows of one case in which a thief, no doubt inspired by Santa Claus, attempted to enter a house by way of a chimney, got stuck, and died there. The Atlantic Chimney folks seem very professional.
APRIL 2, TUESDAY. Clear, 42°F., NW 15+. White-breasted Nuthatch 3 (2nd highest count for here). Osprey 9 (in sight simultaneously). Bald Eagle 1 adult. Common Loon 2. At the bend in the driveway: 4 deer. In Woods 2: a Mourning Cloak. In Woods 4: a Painted Turtle sunning out of the wind. 1 Great Black-backed Gull. 1 Laughing Gull. 1♀ Eastern Towhee. Leave by 10:30 A.M.
Two Wild Turkeys in a field by the Manour (yes, spelled thusly) of Ratcliffe (Route 33) near Easton. An adult Bald Eagle in a field W of Route 309. At the routes 309 X 481 wetland only a Canada Goose and a Painted Turtle; often there are snipe and teal here at this time of year. Near Ruthsburg 29 deer in one group and 2 American Kestrels. Near Hope a Horned Lark. On the way home 82 Turkey Vultures and just 4 Red-tailed Hawks.
Looking down from the 2nd floor the width of the boxwood my mother planted in the late 1940s is impressive, in some cases12 feet.
CHOPTANK RIVER MOUTH. What is happening out there? Numbers of waterbirds are a small fraction of what they usually are.
In other years I have had counts or estimates of: 69 gannets on March 16, 2000. Over 1,000 Canvasbacks several times. 1,075 Lesser Scaup March 10, 2012. 9,125 Long-tailed Ducks on March 17, 1995. 9,540 Surf Scoters on March 9, 2012. 600 Common Goldeneyes and 2,000 Buffleheads on January 23, 1993. 40 Common Loons on April 20, 1984. 383 Horned Grebes on April 19, 1980. 275 Red-breasted Mergansers on January 27, 1990.
This winter my highest counts of all of these species have been 5% or less of those totals. There are also far fewer gulls. Some days I don’t see ANY.
Best to all. – Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
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