Hi Everyone,
I spent a couple hours on Twilley's Bridge and Bear Swamp Roads in the
Nassawango area of Wicomico County this afternoon (21 Apr 2013). It was
clear, windy, and chilly, but a little pishing helped me cross paths with a
few warblers, vireos, and other recent arrivals. Most birds were not
singing, so I would have encountered many fewer species if I had just
passively traversed the area.
The highlight in the grasslands near the airport, at the western end of
Twilley's Bridge Rd, was a Northern Bobwhite that was singing loudly and
fairly persistently close to the road. I don't really expect to encounter
bobwhites anywhere these days, so that was a nice surprise. I also had 4
Barn Swallows and 2 Eastern Meadowlarks here. I didn't hear any
Grasshopper Sparrows, but they'll be there any day now if they aren't there
already.
Some of the birds in the forest east of the grasslands were
White-eyed Vireo--1
Brown-headed Nuthatch--1 (I can't remember ever having one of these on
Twilley's Bridge Rd before; no eBird records for this road either).
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher--12
Pine Warbler--2 (including a female carrying nesting material)
Prairie Warbler--1 (silent and away from typical nesting habitat; a through
migrant?)
Black-and-white Warbler--2
Yellow-throated Warbler--1 (lores were yellow)
Common Yellowthroat--1 at Twilley's Bridge
A "lifer" moment on Twilley's Bridge Rd was watching a groundhog climb
partway up a tree after it appeared to be startled by my presence. I've
seen plenty of groundhogs of course, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen
one try to climb a tree. I took a few pictures with my phone to
commemorate the occasion.
Additions on Bear Swamp Rd were 2 Barred Owls, a Yellow-throated Vireo, 3
Louisiana Waterthrushes, and a Worm-eating Warbler.
Five Wild Turkeys were along Johnson Rd on my way home.
Have fun,
Ron Gutberlet
Salisbury, MD
<rlgutberlet...>
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