FERRY NECK, MAY 2-13, 2013, mostly at Rigby’s Folly.
MAY 2, THURSDAY. 69 Turkey Vultures on the way down. Just 1 Least Sandpiper at the route 309 X 481 wetland. Arrive at our place 3:30 P.M. Considering there’s only 5 hrs. of daylight remaining, and I don’t wander from the yard, this is a satisfying list (36 species):
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK 1, common loon 1, snowy egret 1, Canada goose 1, mallard 3, turkey vulture 7, black vulture 1, osprey 8, laughing gull 2, least tern 1, mourning dove 3, chimney swift 3, red-bellied woodpecker 1, tufted titmouse 1, fish crow 12, blue jay 1, northern mockingbird 1, cedar waxwing 11 (groups 7 and 4), starling 4, grackle 20, red-winged blackbird 2, brown-headed cowbird 2, cardinal 4, white-throated sparrow 3, eastern kingbird 1, barn swallow 15, purple martin 2♂, tree swallow 1, chuck-will’s-widow 1, wild turkey (distant gobbling 19 times), great blue heron 2, green heron 1, bald eagle 1, American robin 1, bluebird 2, American crow 1.
0.70” in the rain gauge since last time. An exquisite sunset and dusk, as if we’re in the North Woods. Stayed out on the dock after dinner until 8:45 P.M. clear, NE 5-10 becoming calm, 70-57°F.
MAY 3, FRIDAY. An adult Bald Eagle at treetop level over the edge of the bank as seen from our bedroom. See an adult Herring Gull plunge dive, total immersion, then come up with a 4” fish. Never seen that before. Our rogue titmouse, not satisfied with taking on the house windows, attacks the car glass as well. A Green Frog remains in the Field 1 goose pit in spite of my placing as sloping board it could use to bust out of there. Clear, NE15, 56-64°F.
MAY 4, SATURDAY. Liz sees a Broadhead Skink and a Mourning Cloak.
MAY 5, SUNDAY. A day of rest. A ♂ Cooper’s Hawk, 22 cormorants migrating, against my advice, into the 10+ m.p.h. NE wind, 2 Red-tailed Hawks. An adult Bald Eagle. A Spring Azure. 4 squirrels. A cottontail. 7 White-throated Sparrows.
MAY 6, MONDAY. Overcast, E10+, 56°F. at start. Liz sees a Great Horned Owl. 9 deer in Field 4. Anhydrous ammonia applied to the field by John Swaine’s assistant. For $1 I purchase the massive Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World (1961 ed., 8.8 lbs., 2,148+ pp.) from the St. Michaels Library. Sure, it’s all on computers now, but I don’t want to spend ALL my life messing with a keyboard. Take an hour or so to fix (power drill, finishing nails) the picnic table and 2 benches given us many years ago by Alberto Menocal.
MAY 7, TUESDAY. A good soaker, 1.4” of rain. Rain, often heavy. Overcast, high 50s – low 60s, E10-15. At Lucy Point Surf Scoter 5, Diamondback Terrapin 2. Gray Squirrel 2 young, deer – 2 in Field 2, 7 in Field 7, Eastern Cottontail 2. White-throated Sparrow 12. Wild Turkey 1. Spring Azure 1. At this time of year the rabbits are SO tame I bet I could catch one with a crabnet.
MAY 8, WEDNESDAY. Mostly overcast, clearing slowly, calm or SW5, low ceiling, damp, hazy, light rain at 6 PM., 58-71°F. At Lucy Point: 15 Surf Scoter (resting not diving), 6 Common Loons, 2 Common Terns, 22 cormorants migrating, the lingering Common Goldeneye, a Red-tailed Hawk, an ad. Great Black-backed Gull, and 4 terrapin.
Around the yard or from the dock: a ♀ Cooper’s Hawk, 2 Royal Terns, 5 catbirds, 4 White-throated Sparrows, 2 Cedar Waxwings, a White-eyed Vireo, 4 Myrtle Warblers, a crested flycatcher, an Orchard Oriole, a yellowthroat, 3 Snowy Egrets, 11 terrapin, and a Broadhead Skink that I was able to touch. A ♀ Box Turtle at Royal Oak.
MAY 9, THURSDAY. A rather full and rewarding day. 64 species (our May and all-time one day record is 94 species, May 9, 1999, Marshall Iliff, George Armistead, and myself. This is notable because we missed the 1st couple of hours of daylight as well as the last 1 hour or so! On this date Marshall and George found a Chuck-will’s-widow nest with 2 eggs [photographed] and a Red-tailed Hawk nest with 1 young, both in Woods 5).
Canada goose 4, wood duck 1, surf scoter 1, common loon 2, double-crested cormorant 1, great blue heron 1, snowy egret 3, cattle egret 1, GLOSSY IBIS 8 (about the 9th yard record), black vulture 2, turkey vulture 10, osprey 12, bald eagle 1, spotted sandpiper 1, laughing gull 8, ring-billed gull 1, common tern 2, Forster’s tern 3, least tern 2, unID’d Sterna tern 3,
mourning dove 6, chuck-will’s-widow 1, chimney swift 5, ruby-throated hummingbird 2, red-bellied woodpecker 2, hairy woodpecker 1, eastern kingbird 2, red-eyed vireo 2, blue jay 4, American crow 4, fish crow 3, purple martin 4, tree swallow 5, barn swallow 12, Carolina chickadee 2, tufted titmouse 3, Carolina wren 4, ruby-crowned kinglet 1,
eastern bluebird 2, wood thrush 1, American robin 1, gray catbird 7, northern mockingbird 3, brown thrasher 1, European starling 8, cedar waxwing 11,
northern parula 1, yellow warbler 1, magnolia warbler1, black-throated blue warbler 1♀, myrtle warbler 3, American redstart 1♀, 1♂, ovenbird 1, common yellowthroat 1,
eastern towhee 1, chipping sparrow 1, white-throated sparrow 3, northern cardinal 1, rose-breasted grosbeak 1♂, red-winged blackbird 25, common grackle 35 brown-headed cowbird 8, orchard oriole 2, Baltimore oriole 1♂, American goldfinch 3.
Paul & Priscilla Thut join us for some of this, Priscilla chipping in with the Magnolia Warbler.
NON-AVIAN TAXA: A small skink, with the 5 stripes, at risk from a grackle but escapes into the undergrowth around the Black Walnut. 33 terrapin in the cove. 2 Tiger Swallowtails, 1 Spring Azure. A ♀ Box Turtle. A Red Fox carrying its prey, possibly a baby rabbit. 2 young, 2 adult Gray Squirrels. 4 deer at the bend of the driveway, 2 of them bucks. 1 Cope’s Gray Tree Frog and some Fowler’s Toads calling at dusk (8:30 P.M.) near the drive bend.
Liz and I see 2 Muskrats apparently fighting, face to face, then lunging at each other, several times one becomes completely air born.
“ ‘Tis government property, Madam,’ I said.
She showed me a letter that drippingly read:
‘All rights and all privileges, Lizzie, my dear,’
Signed General Muskrat, the Chief Engineer.” –
‘A Locktender’s Lament’ as sung by Burl Ives, way underappreciated for his acting and singing talents. In this case the “Madam” is a mermaid at Lock Number 10. The locktender’s son marries a catfish and has triplets in this charming ditty. The mermaid was too late.
Overcast, damp, fair, then clear then fair again, 58-77°F., 67°F. at 9 P.M., SW5+. Now when I say fair I intend to mean a day with a mixture of clouds and sun, a nice day.
MAY 10, FRIDAY. Not seen during yesterday’s rather vigorous efforts: Scarlet Tanager, 3 Great Crested Flycatchers, a Pine Warbler, and a Blue Grosbeak. Also: a redstart, 3 Common Yellowthroats, and 6 catbirds. At Lucy Point 20 Surf Scoters (actively diving) still linger, plus 7 Common Loons. 2 Tiger Swallowtails, 1 Spring Azure. 2 leopard frogs. Clear, SW<5, 64-79°F.
MAY 11, SATURDAY. On my triumphant return from Dorchester County: a Red Fox kit on the drive in front of the house, 10:03 P.M. Liz counted birds here, which will be sent to Les Coble, Talbot County spring bird count compiler, 26 species, incl. the lingering (lame?) ♂ Common Goldeneye, 2 Killdeer, 2 Least Terns, a thrasher, and a Pine Warbler. The White-throated Sparrows, conspicuous every previous day, apparently have moved on.
MAY 12, SUNDAY. A day of rest. Clear or fair, 60°F. at start, 60s all day, NW20, cold. A Snapping Turtles shambles across the lawn, the first I’ve ever seen in the yard. A sub-adult ♂ Cooper’s Hawk flies right over, at shotgun range. My Parker side-by-side IS uncased, but that is because the starling season is open. 1 Common Loon.
Tree young Gray Squirrels – tomorrow’s hope - feed below the SquirrelBuster feeder that hangs from the Magnolia grandiflora. A lot of feed is dislodged from this by titmice, white-throats, and cardinals. These young squirrels are beyond cute (what is beyond that, adorable?). They look sharp with fresh pelage, well-delineated eyerings, and bushy tails to die for. Already they have mastered the postures and attitudes of an adult: the banners-to-the-sky pose, the Weltanschauung position, scampering … you name it. It is fun to watch their antics from the kitchen window, at a distance of about 8 feet.
MAY 13, MONDAY. 53°F., NW15-20, fair, cold. A Greater Yellowlegs on The Pond overflow into Field 7, a thrasher, a Veery on the drive 10 feet in front of the car, great view. 3 Painted Turtles in the Woods 4 vernal pool.
A Mud Turtle on the road at Bellevue X Ferry Neck roads. At the small routes 309 X 481 wetland: 17 Semipalmated Plovers, 5 Least Sandpipers, a Solitary Sandpiper, a Great Blue Heron, and a pair of Canada Geese with 7 large but still downy goslings.
Best to all. – Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
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