Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2000 02:28:19 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Mark Hoffman Subject: Maryland/Worcester County March Big Day-Part 5-Analysis MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Misses from "category A" list: Cattle Egret, Northern Pintail, Harlequin Duck (thought it was staked-out), American Woodcock, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing. Misses from "category B" list: Great Cormorant (should still be at the Inlet), American Bittern (always hit-or-miss), Green Heron (would be early), Tundra Swan (gone?), Greater Scaup (gone? always scare along coast), White-winged Scoter (least common scoter on coast), Common Goldeneye (gone? not very common along coast, even in winter), Cooper's Hawk (hit-or-miss), Merlin (a few winter, migrants not until April, hit-or-miss), Peregrine Falcon (not on the watertower), Northern Bobwhite (hit-or-miss, tried at Vaughn), Willet (too early), Red Knot (not regular this winter at the Inlet), Western Sandpiper (seen 3/22 at Figg's Landing), Least Sandpiper (normally arrives late-March), Little Gull (seen 3/22 at the OC Inlet), Black-headed Gull (no coastal reports), Black Skimmer (normally arrives early April), Barn Owl (around, but more luck needed), Northern Saw-whet Owl (three banding on Assateague prior weekend), Chimney Swift (sometimes arrives late-March), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (hard to pin down), Blue-headed Vireo (a late-March bird might be a wintering individual), Northern Rough-winged Swallow (very possible, given early spring), House Wren (still around, just couldn't find), American Pipit (erratic), Orange-crowned Warbler (surely still around after great winter for them, but not staked out), Palm Warbler (more difficult as winter progresses), Black-and-white Warbler (early April migrant), Common Yellowthroat (more difficult as winter progresses, migrants not till mid-April), Vesper Sparrow (scare at anytime other than October along immediate coast), Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow (around, but hard to pin down on a fast-paced big day), Seaside Sparrow (rare in winter along coast), Purple Finch (usually a late-March flight, but very scare this winter). Seen March '99 missed March '00: Cattle Egret, Tundra Swan, Greater Scaup (Cambridge), Common Eider, Harlequin Duck, Common Goldeneye (Cambridge), Common Merganser (Blackwater), Willet, American Woodcock (Elliot Island), Red-headed Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Blackwater), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Egypt Road), American Pipit (Egypt Road), Seaside Sparrow (Irish Grove). Seen January '00 missed March '00: American Bittern, Tundra Swan, Ross's Goose, Northern Pintail, Redhead, Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Peregrine Falcon, Semipalmated Plover, Willet, Western Sandpiper, Black-legged Kittiwake, Northern Saw-whet Owl, House Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1), Gray Catbird, American Pipit, Palm Warbler, Clay-colored Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Harris's Sparrow. Seen March '00 missed January '00: Snowy Egret, Mute Swan, Black Scoter, Osprey, Northern Goshawk, Wild Turkey, Sora, Piping Plover, Pectoral Sandpiper, dowitcher (sp.), Common Snipe, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-throated Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Le Conte's Sparrow, Rusty Blackbird. JANUARY VS. MARCH We failed to match the January 2000 total of 138. It may seem incredible that a 31 March run could underperform early January, and it is worth taking a look at some of the cause for this. Last year's January/March duo was barely won by March (136 to 135, so this is not just a one-year phenomina). On the surface, March has several key advantages. Foremost, is the extra 2+ hours of daylight. The benefits are obvious. Other pluses include the increased level of singing/breeding activity by residents or early migrants. Species like Wild Turkey, Eastern Phoebe, and Pine Warbler, all present in January, are well established on territory and in full song in late-March. Note, however, that one of the January 2000 phoebes at Vaughn was singing, while our lone bird on 3/31 was not! (Although, it was mid-afternoon). Another March advantage is the arrival of migrants. But the number of species in this category is fewer than you might think. We totaled only nine species that are either basically impossible (Pectoral Sandpiper, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush) or very rare (Piping Plover, Laughing Gull and Royal Tern) in January. Many species we think of as "arrivals" in spring winter (at least through early January) near the coast (e.g., Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Glossy Ibis, Blue-winged Teal, Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Forster's Tern, Eastern Phoebe, House Wren, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat). Some of these species are likely more common in early-January than late-March, as migrants have yet to arrive and wintering numbers have been reduced through harsh conditions (e.g., House Wren, Common Yellowthroat). Also, as discussed in the beginning, the value of the intense field work of the Christmas counties adds multiple species to the January effort. Enjoy! Mark Hoffman Sykesville, MD Mhoff36100@aol.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================