Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 20:13:32 EST Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Marshall Iliff Subject: Maryland's Second January Big Day attempt - a new record! (long) Comments: cc: voice@capaccess.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hello All, Last Saturday (8 Jan 2000) a team of four attempted Maryland's second January Big Day. The benchmark was last year's record of 135 that was set by myself, Jim Stasz, and George Jett. While we felt that that was a laudable number, we believed that with a new strategy, combined with a few good stakeouts from the CBCs this year, that we might be able to improve on that number. Blessed with perfect weather (no wind, 40-55 degrees) and a bit of luck, we were quite pleased to conclude with a new record of 138. The entirely new dawn strategy netted us some species missed last year, but was equally costly as we had some silly misses as well which the old route would almost guarantee (Red-shouldered Hawk, Rusty Blackbird, Vesper Sparrow). Any January Big Day will struggle greatly against the clock, since the scant 10 hours of daylight provide little time for anything but the most efficient seeking of new species. A Worcester County focus this year (started at E.A.Vaughn WMA rather than Irish Grove) netted us a few extra species for that county and resulted in a record breaking January day for one MD county as well, with our 130 in Worcester superceding Mark Hoffman's previous (1994?) record of 121. This year's team was myself (MJI), James L. Stasz (JLS), George L. Armistead (GLA) from Philadelphia, and Matt Hafner (MH) out of Harford County. We thought we had successfully recruited Mark Hoffman, whose Worcester County expertise surely would have helped with a few extra species, but family obligations necessitated a last minute bailout. Maybe next year he can join and we can make a really serious attempt... Below I provide a (lengthy) summary of the day and route followed, then the complete species list (annotated), then an annotated list of the misses. THE ROUTE: Our meeting time was an ungodly 2:00 a.m. but due to various slowdowns we didn't hit the road until 3:00 a.m.. In typical fashion, George, Matt and I allowed ourselves only one hour of sleep since George's slides from Panama held our attention for several hours after Matt's 10:00 p.m. arrival. This held well with my first rule of Big Daying, that none should be attempted on a good nights sleep... First order of business was a Mute Swan attempt at the east end of the Bay Bridge, but either the ambient light was insufficient or the birds weren't there. American Black Duck became the day's first bird, though. An owling effort at Easton WWTP produced only Great Horned Owl and Canada Goose, but being somewhat ahead of our projected schedule we gradually realized we would have time for more and more owling efforts. The Nanticoke River marshes at Vienna yielded Virginia Rails and a long King Rail and Colbourne Mill Rd. along the Worcester/Wicomico County border produced our first Eastern Screech-Owl, if not the hoped-for Barred Owl. With still a few minutes to spare we bolted for Truitt's Landing Rd. hoping for a fancy rail (Sora, for example) and were rewarded with our only Wood Ducks of the day. Still in the predawn light we hiked into E.A. Vaughn WMA (central section, 2 mi north of Stockton), where Harris's Sparrow, Le Conte's Sparrow, and some other hot birds were found on the Chincoteague CBC (see Mark Hoffman's recent post). This represented the only significant departure from the previous year's (10 Jan 1999) strategy, where we jumped from Irish Grove to Vessey Orchard to Hickory Point as quickly as possible. Our Vaughn strategy had several advantages we thought: 1) less driving and more birding 2) better chances at both sharp-tailed sparrows and equal or better chances at some other marsh birds 3) a couple recent stakeout rarities 4) a good chance at all woodpeckers, mimids, and House Wren. Disadvantages might be the sacrifice of some swamp birds which Hickory Pt. can be good for (Purple Finch, Rusty Blackbird, Barred Owl, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker) and the risk of missing shorebirds (usually present at Irish Grove) and Vesper Sparrow (which is easy at Vessey Orchard). Our strategy worked well, and in our birding from 7:00-9:00 we netted the bare bones species (Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Gray Catbird, House Wren) plus a number of "bonuses" (Great Egret, American Bittern, Ross's Goose, HARRIS'S SPARROW, American Pipit). It was disappointing but not particularly surprising to miss Vesper Sparrow and Le Conte's Sparrow, both of which had been present for the CBC run 29 December. On leaving E.A. Vaughn we dashed to a spot on the state line where Mark Hoffman had found Pine Warbler, Western Palm Warbler, and Vesper Sparrow on the CBC, and we managed to get both of the former, but missed the latter. From there we crisscrossed Nassawango Creek thrice, getting Hairy Woodpecker, Barred Owl, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Pintail, and Winter Wren at Nasswango Rd., nothing new at Red House Rd., and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Furnacetown. On to the Newark Landfill (Lesser Black-backed Gull, only Worcester County Fish Crows, Black Vulture) without Wild Turkey and Red-shouldered Hawk, both of which we ended up missing. A quick stop at Evans Rd. got the White-crowned Sparrows, and a run down to Assateague got us Red-breasted Nuthatch and Sharp-shinned Hawk, if not Northern Saw-whet Owl and Brant. We allotted a full half hour to the Eagle's Nest Campground mudflats and the shorebirding was as good as it has ever been in January. We had c. 500 Dunlin, 50 Black-bellied Plover, 50+ Sanderling, 2 Western Sandpiper, 2 will, and 2 Semipalmated Plover, the latter a (probable) 2nd January record! Undoubtedly those were the same plovers counted for the Ocean City CBC two weeks prior. We spent extra time at Ocean City Inlet and our persistent offshore scanning was rewarded with an adult Black-legged Kittiwake. Interestingly, I had seen an adult from shore off Assateague on the Ocean City CBC, and on the following day (9 Jan 2000) we had up to three off Assateague - it seems apparent that a number of these birds have recently moved close to shore. Personally, I have only once previously seen Black-legged Kittiwake from shore in MD. Others at Ocean City were Harlequin Duck (2), Northern Gannet, American Oystercatcher, Surf & White-winged Scoter (no Black), Double-crested Cormorant (no Great), Common Loon, Red-throated Loon, Bonaparte's Gull, Ruddy Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper and Forster's Tern - a fair haul, though an eider would have been nice. Next to the kittiwake the biggest surprise was a flyby Greater Scaup, a very tough bird on our chosen route. Skimmer Island area amazingly could not produce a Brant and we pretty much resigned to a miss on that one. A Tricolored Heron there was good for the Worcester Big Day list (they are a sure thing at Deal Island). West Ocean City Pond cleaned up most of our delinquent puddle ducks, and added Redhead and Black- crowned Night-Heron as well. We popped into the now famous Wal-Mart sparrow fields, but I had taken poor directions and we ended up on the wrong side of the parking lot for the Clay-colored Sparrows. Only Killdeer was new (a near miss!). We then ran to Ocean Pines where Pied-billed Grebe and Ring-necked Duck were new, though Eurasian Wigeon and Mute Swan (on the CBC) were absent. With a few minutes before the 3:00 departure for Deal Island, we tried the other side of the Wal-Mart field and found the Clay-colored Sparrow fairly easily, though Matt was on the wrong side of the field at the wrong time (and missed a State bird!). Needing to bolt, we headed off to Deal resolving to try for the Clay-colored on Sunday, as well as the "possibles" of Lincoln's Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Grasshopper Sparrow that Jim had glimpsed [further visitors take note!]. An extra fast run to Deal Island was slowed only when a flock of birds flushing from the roadside contained the hoped-for Chipping Sparrows. Once at Deal Island we headed straight for Chance where a Bay view is provided and where we found our needed Common Goldeneye and Oldsquaw. Otherwise we managed a Peregrine Falcon on the hack tower, a Blue-winged Teal flock by the Recycling Station, and Little Blue Heron, Glossy Ibis, American Woodcock, and some spectacular Short-ears before dusk. We failed to find Rough-legged Hawk, Common Snipe, Least Sandpiper, Sora, Eurasian Wigeon (no wigeon at all!), or Snowy Egret (which was present over New Year's). The dusk displays of a hoard of American Woodcock, mingling with calling Eastern Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, and Short-eared Owl amounted to an exhilarating end of the day. But the day had not ended just yet. En route to our rooms at the Francis Scott Key Motel in Ocean City we swung by Assateague where Jim's last minute brainstorm took us to the side of the Assateague causeway and produced the gargling calls of a Brant flock (#137). We finished up whistling for Saw-whet Owls at a couple specific Assateague pine groves and were treated to a gamut of barks, whines, and twitters from at least three different birds. None gave the tooting call (except for the electronic one in the National Seashore to our south) but one perched obligingly close allowing us to spotlight it. The results pleased all concerned, and I for one was amazed that our finish was as close to last year's number (expecting it to be higher). I think part of this was an illusion created by the feeling that we saw more species since we spent more time birding (and less time driving). We also had some very high quality birds this time (Harris's Sparrow, Black-legged Kittiwake, Semipalamated Plover, Willet, Ross's Goose, Clay-colored Sparrow, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Glossy Ibis, Little Blue Heron) that contributed to our feelings of success. Still, once we started comparing the lists, we did have a number of misses from last year. The lesson to be learned is that January Big Days are very tough to get a good number on and invariably some silly misses will accrue. I once felt that 150 would be possible if everything worked out. I guess I still believe that, but am still waiting to even crest 140. At no time did I feel like we were really wasting time that could have amounted to a better species list. I have trouble imagining a better run than this past one, though a day or two of advance scouting would improve the results undoubtedly. This year we did no scouting other than participating in the Ocean City and Chincoteague CBCs - it would have been valuable to scout the Wal-Mart field (confusion over the directions cost us time) as well as Assateague and Ocean Pines Pond (which we may have been able to cut had we scouted them previously - the extra time at Deal or the Inlet would have been valuable). On the species list the species in ALL CAPS are those which were bonus birds for the day and we do not expect to get on our next attempt. On the misses list, the ones in ALL CAPS are the ones we expect to get next time around and were sorry to miss this year. The species list is _roughly_ in taxonomic order, though because of the way I composed it, it includes bits and pieces of new and old taxonomy... The List: Total = 130 Worcester County + 7 Somerset County only + 1 Wicomico County only = 138 Personal totals = MJI (136), GLA (136), JLS (135), MH (132) * = missed on 1999 attempt (So) = Somerset County only (Wi) = Wicomico County only (1/4) = seen by one of four Big Day participants Common Loon [Eagle's Nest Campground, Ocean City Inlet] Red-throated Loon [Ocean City Inlet (10)] Pied-billed Grebe [Ocean Pines (4)] Horned Grebe [Eagle's Nest Campground (2), Chance (5)] Northern Gannet [Ocean City Inlet (8)] Double-crested Cormorant [Ocean City Inlet (1), Deal Island (46 - on tower from Chance)] *American Bittern [Vaughn (1 flushed from marsh), Deal (1 - MJI, GLA)] Great Blue Heron [many locations] Great Egret [Vaughn (2 flybys at dawn), Deal (15+ in several groups at dusk)] Tricolored Heron [Skimmer Island (1), Deal Island (8)] *(So) LITTLE BLUE HERON [Deal (1 ad. flying by at dusk, spotted by GLA)] Black-crowned Night-Heron [West Ocean City Pond (1 im), Deal (15)] (So) GLOSSY IBIS [Deal Island (11, one flock)] Black Vulture [many locations] Turkey Vulture [many locations] Tundra Swan [many locations] Snow Goose & Blue Goose [Vaughn (1500, flyovers at dawn)] *ROSS'S GOOSE [Vaughn (1 white bird flying by with Snow Goose flock @7:15, spotted by JLS)] Brant [#137, missed at Ocean City and Assateague by day, last minute save as we stopped to listen for them at the Assateague Causeway at 8:00 p.m.] Canada Goose [many locations] Wood Duck [Truitt's Landing Rd. (2 heard before dawn at 6:20 a.m.)] Gadwall [West Ocean City Pond, Ocean Pines] American Wigeon [Eagle's Nest Campground (2), West Ocean City Pond, Ocean Pines] Am. Black Duck [many locations] Mallard [many locations] *(So) BLUE-WINGED TEAL [Deal (5 in one flock, spotted by GLA)] N. Pintail [Nassawango Cr (3 flyovers with Mallards), West Ocean City Pond] N. Shoveler [West Ocean City Pond, Berlin Sewage Ponds (30)] Green-winged Teal [Vaughn (10), West Ocean City Pond, Berlin Sewage Ponds (1 male)] REDHEAD [West Ocean City Pond (2, at least one pair)] Canvasback [West Ocean City Pond [300], Ocean Pines (40)] *Greater Scaup [Ocean City Inlet (1 male flyby with a Surf Scoter)] Lesser Scaup [Pocomoke Sewage Ponds [2] - could have missed this one easily] Ring-necked Duck [Pocomoke Sewage Ponds (30), Ocean Pines (20)] Harlequin Duck [Ocean City Inlet (2 ad. males, difficult to see, found by MH)] Surf Scoter [Ocean City Inlet (8 in water, 100+ flybys), Chance (100+)] *White-winged Scoter [Ocean City Inlet (5+ flybys)] (So) Oldsquaw [Chance (100+), none (!) at Ocean City] Bufflehead [many locations] (So) Common Goldeneye [Chance (5+)] Hooded Merganser [Vaughn (50+ flybys at dawn), West Ocean City Pond] Red-breasted Merganser [all coastal locations] Ruddy Duck [Pocomoke Sewage Ponds, West Ocean City Pond, Ocean Pines] Bald Eagle [Vaughn (1 ad.)] N. Harrier [many locations] Sharp-shinned Hawk [Assateague (1), Chance (1)] Red-tailed Hawk [many locations] Am. Kestrel [many locations] (So) Peregrine Falcon [Deal Island (1 on hack tower)] Virginia Rail [Irish Grove [2], Deal Island [15]] *(Wi) King Rail [Vienna marshes (1) - note: heard only] (So) (2/4) Clapper Rail [Deal (1 - MJI, GLA only) - note: heard only] American Coot [West Ocean City Pond, Ocean Pines, Berlin Sewage Ponds, Deal (500+)] Black-bellied Plover [Eagle's Nest Campground (50)] *SEMIPALAMATED PLOVER [Eagle's Nest Campground (2) - spotted by GLA - SECOND January record (!) and surely the same 2-3 seen on the Ocean City CBC 28 Dec 1999] Killdeer [almost missed! One at Swan's Gut Rd. was believed to be flying over Virginia airspace and not counted, only other ones found were at Wal-Mart sparrow field at 0230 p.m.!]] American Oystercatcher [Ocean City Inlet (15), Skimmer Island (15)] *WILLET [Eagle's Nest Campground (2) - very distant, spotted by MH, 3rd straight winter at location but still a very rare winter bird for MD] Greater Yellowlegs [Vaughn (6), Deal (5)] LESSER YELLOWLEGS [Vaughn (1 flyover), Deal (9) - decidedly the rarer yellowlegs in winter] Ruddy Turnstone [Ocean City Inlet (20)] Sanderling [Eagle's Nest Campground ( Dunlin [Eagle's Nest Campground (500), Deal] WESTERN SANDPIPER [Eagle's Nest Campground (2+) - always a long throw] Purple Sandpiper [Ocean City Inlet (5+)] Am. Woodcock [Vaughn (1 - GLA only), Deal (5-8 displaying at dusk, a great finale to the day)] Bonaparte's Gull [Ocean City Inlet (50)] Ring-billed Gull [many locations] Herring Gull [many locations] G. Black-backed Gull [many locations] LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL [Newark Landfill (2 ad., 1 2nd winter)] *BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE [Ocean City Inlet (1 ad.) - 1 mi offshore, found by MJI)] FORSTER'S TERN [Ocean City Inlet (1)] Rock Dove [many locations] Mourning Dove [many locations] E. Screech-Owl [Colbourne Mill Rd (1), Vaughn (2), Deal (1)] Great Horned Owl [Easton WWTP (1), Colbourne Mill Rd. Wicomico County (1), Vaughn (2), Deal (2)] Barred Owl [Nasswango Rd. crossing of Nasswango Cr. (1, called up at 10:30 a.m.)] Short-eared Owl [Vaughn (1), Deal Island (5+, spectacular finale to the day were the flyby herons, displaying woodcocks, and feeding Short-ears at Deal - a strange three-note barking vocalization after dark was believed to be a Short-eared Owl variation by at least MJI - other birds were giving usual barking notes also] *NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL [Assateague (after failing to find a roosting bird by day, we successfully called in three (one was spotlighted) between 730-815 pm)] Belted Kingfisher [several locations] Red-bellied Woodpecker [several locations] Yellow-bellied Sapsucker [Furnacetown (1 male, possibly same as for December Big Day)] Downy Woodpecker [several locations] Hairy Woodpecker [Nassawango Rd. crossing (1)] Northern Flicker [several locations] Pileated Woodpecker [Vaughn (2), Nasswango Cr (2+)] Eastern Phoebe [Vaughn (2, 1 singing), 2 at other locations] Horned Lark [Snow Hill (2), spotted from car by GLA] Blue Jay [several locations] Am. Crow [several locations] Fish Crow [Newark Landfill (30), Deal (500+)] Carolina Chickadee [several locations] Tufted Titmouse [several locations] Brown-headed Nuthatch [Eagle's Nest Campground (2)] Red-breasted Nuthatch [Assateague (4)] White-breasted Nuthatch [Nassawango Creek crossings (4+)] Brown Creeper [Hickory Point [1]] Carolina Wren [several locations] Winter Wren [Vaughn, Nassawango Creek crossings (5)] (1/4) House Wren [Vaughn (1, by GLA)] Sedge Wren [Vaughn (2)] Marsh Wren [Vaughn (4), Deal (5)] Golden-cr. Kinglet [Swans Gut Rd., Nasswango Cr - very scarce this year, amazingly almost missed in 1999] (2/4) Ruby-cr. Kinglet [Vaughn (1 - by MJI, GLA only) - amazing that no others were encountered)] Eastern Bluebird [several locations] Hermit Thrush [several locations] Am. Robin [several locations, including 300+ in fields near Princess Anne] Gray Catbird [Vaughn (5), Deal (3)] N. Mockingbird [several locations] Brown Thrasher [Vaughn (12), Deal (2)] (2/4) Am. Pipit [Vaughn (1 flyover by MJI,JLS only)] E. Starling [everywhere] Yellow-rumped Warbler [everywhere] *Pine Warbler [Swans Gut Rd. (2) - found by M. Hoffman on Chincoteague CBC] *Western Palm Warbler [Swans Gut Rd. (2) - found by M. Hoffman on Chincoteague CBC] N. Cardinal [several locations] Eastern Towhee [Vaughn (10+), 5-mi branch Rd. (5) - almost missed in 1999] Field Sparrow [Vaughn, Wal-Mart sparrow field] Savannah Sparrow [several locations, especially Wal-Mart sparrow field (100)] Chipping Sparrow [Hickory Point [50], Pocomoke Sewage Ponds [25]] (3/4) CLAY-COLORED SPARROW [Wal-Mart sparrow field (1 - by MJI,GLA,JLS), initially found by Greg Miller on the Ocean City CBC] *Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow [Vaughn (1)] *(1/4) Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow [Vaughn (1 - JLS only), 3 other sharp-tailed sp. probably this species] Fox Sparrow [Vaughn (15+), 5-mi Branch Rd. (5)] Song Sparrow [many locations] Swamp Sparrow [many locations] White-throated Sparrow [many locations] White-crowned Sparrow [Evans Rd sparrow spot [8+], Wal-Mart Sparrow Field (2)] *HARRIS'S SPARROW [Vaughn (1 im) - found by JLS on Chincoteague CBC 29 Dec 1999, 1st Worcester record] Dark-eyed Junco [many locations] Red-winged Blackbird [many locations] E. Meadowlark [Vaughn (300!!!! - single flock in marsh, by far the highest total I've ever seen in the state), other locations too) (So) Boat-tailed Grackle [Deal (40+)] Common Grackle [many locations] Brown-headed Cowbird [Newark Landfill] House Finch [Vaughn (4), other locations as well] Am. Goldfinch [several locations] House Sparrow [many locations] The Misses: GREAT CORMORANT [got in 1999, none at Ocean City!], Mute Swan [tried for in predawn at Bay Bridge & Cambridge on way over], EURASIAN WIGEON [got in 1999, no luck at Eagle's Nest or Ocean Pines, both of which had birds on Ocean City CBC], BLACK SCOTER [amazingly none at Ocean City Inlet, one distant flyby flock was probably this species, but we were watching the kittiwake at the time -- oh well], Common Eider [one male on Ocean City CBC was not present], King Eider [none this year except a flyby on Ocean City CBC], Common Merganser [extremely difficult on Lower Eastern Shore east of Dorchester], COOPER'S HAWK [no luck], RED-SHOULDERED HAWK [no luck despite much birding along Pocomoke and Nasswango Cr, several seen next day], ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK [should have been gettable with a little more time at Deal, we ran out of time and could not check the best areas], Merlin [seen next day near Vaughn], NORTHERN BOBWHITE [usually found at Vaughn, extremely tough in recent years], WILD TURKEY [we arrived at the best area too late in the day (11:00 am and 3:20 p.m.), 9 seen next day near Salisbury], Sora [no luck at Vienna or Truitt's Landing predawn], Least Sandpiper [got in 1999 at Pocomoke Sewage Ponds, did not check George's Island Landing which had some for the Chincoteague CBC and also 31 Dec 1999], Red Knot [just one on Ocean City CBC was on Assateague and would be difficult to scope from the mainland], dowitcher sp. [fewer on this year's CBCs, the 20+ on Ocean City were inaccessible], COMMON SNIPE [none at Vaughn or Deal, several seen at latter location by Greg Miller and John Churchill while we were stationed at dusk only 1 mi away], Laughing Gull [seem to leave Eastern Shore even before Western Shore, and they are 1 week gone on Western Shore], Little Gull [no luck], white-winged gull sp. [no luck], Barn Owl [no luck at one stakeout], Long-eared Owl [no luck], Red-headed Woodpecker [would need to scout this one out, very hard to find on Lower Eastern Shore in winter, we did not visit one spot I had luck at last winter], Tree Swallow [seen in previous two Januaries, apparently not present this year], CEDAR WAXWING [seems embarrassing, but previous Jan attempt and the recent Dec attempt both _almost_ missed this one], Orange-crowned Warbler [possibly seen by JLS at Wal-Mart field, several locations from Ocean City CBC were too time-costly to check, one found on Assateague next day by GLA], COMMON YELLOWTHROAT [two stakeouts did not come through], Seaside Sparrow [in constrast to the sharp-tailed sparrows, Seasides are extremely hard to find in winter], LE CONTE'S SPARROW [stakeout at Vaughn was not found by the four of us, a different one was found the next day however!], Lincoln's Sparrow no stakeouts known this year and no luck turning any up], Snow Bunting [no luck scoping Assateague from Ocean City], Lapland Longspur [got in 1999, little effort made at Ironshire and Assateague, the latter of which had 9 on the CBC], RUSTY BLACKBIRD [got in 1999, typically fairly easy at Hickory Pt., but hard to find elsewhere], PURPLE FINCH [no luck despite decent flight year, Hickory Pt. would have helped], PINE SISKIN [no luck despite decent flight year] Good birding, Marshall Iliff miliff@aol.com Annapolis, MD ================================================================= To unsubscribe send a message to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ================================================================= =========================================================================