Date:         Fri, 26 May 2000 23:07:05 EDT
Reply-To:     Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Sender:       Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
From:         Marshall Iliff <Miliff@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Maryland's Newest hotspot: The Poplar Island Impoundments
Comments: cc: georgearmistead@hotmail.com
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MDOsprey,

    Last Thursday George Armistead and I pirated my family's small Sea Ra=
y
jetboat and trailer and made for Lowes Wharf near Tilghman Island.  Our
intention was to explore the brand new and IMMENSE impoundment contructed=
 at
the Poplar Island archipelago.  Our hope was to find that good shorebird
habitat had been created.  George and his father had ventured there in Ma=
rch
(and Harry once even last fall) and stated that the habitat looked good.
Unfortunately our time was very limited so we only had two hours on the
island.  Still, it was a lot of fun and the place clearly had great
potential.  Lowes Wharf is located due east of the islands and the boat t=
rip
is only about 2 miles.  Although the winds were high, even my little boat
managed it easily and we made the trip in 7 minutes or less.

SPECIES LIST:

I kept good notes on the species and numbers in a microcassette recorded,=
 but
have not yet transcribed the totals.  The following totals are from memor=
y,
but should be a fair representation of what we saw:

2 Common Loons (in the bay around the islands)
300+ Double-crested Cormorants (active colony with numerous nests, the ol=
d
colony island is now part of the impoundment so the cormroants have moved=
)
1 female OLDSQUAW (in the impoundment, interestingly, on my only previous
trip here 4 Jul 1997 Jim and I had 3 Oldsquaw here in the Bay around the
islands)
10 Killdeer
150 Semi Plovers
8 Black-bellied Plovers
1 Greater Yellowlegs
4 Lesser Yellowlegs
5 Eastern Willets (may be nesting)
400 Semi Sandpipers
30 Least Sandpipers
6 Ruddy Turnstones (in addition to 3 on the beach at Lowes Wharf)
40 Dunlin
15 Sanderlings
10 White-rumped Sandpipers
2 STILT SANDPIPERS
30 Short-billed Dowitchers
1 Caspian Tern
2 Royal Terns
4 Least Terns (at least one apparently tending a nest)
4 Common Terns (at least one pair engaged in courtship flights etc. that =
may
suggest nesting)
100 Herring Gulls (at least 30-40 pairs nesting)
100 Great Black-backed Gulls (no signs of nesting, though some apparently
paired adults were seen)
Ospreys
3 Chimney Swifts
Barn Swallows
Red-winged Blackbirds

IMPRESSIONS:

My only other visit to the Poplars was with Jim Stasz in the same trusty =
boat
4 July 1997.  This was my first look at this archipelago which then inclu=
ded
5 islands in a ring.  The southernmost was the largest and well forested,
with a heron colony on the east edge.  Proceeding countewrclockwise, the =
nest
iosland was riprapped and had a house on the south edge.  This is where t=
he
comorants now nest.  The next island was just adjacent to that one and is=
 low
and marshy.  Farther out was another tiny marsh hammock where we found a
Herring Gull nest and a Willet nest.  Cutting back south along the west s=
ide
of the ring one passed some sunken barges which Herring Gulls were nestin=
g on
(see the relevant issue of Field Notes for a photo of a Herring Gull on a
barge).  Finally, there was a small sandy island with dead snags and some
vegetation where a huge cormorant colony was located.  These latter two
islands, and the barges, now form the backbone of the east dike of the
impoundments, which stretch far out into the Bay.
We saw evidence of 3 impoundments, and suspect a fourth which we did not =
have
time to investigate (at the extreme south end, by the loading dock).  The
more westerly is the largest, stretching almost the entire north-south le=
ngth
of the oblong impoundments.  Surveying the impoundments will not be as ea=
sy
as at Hart-Miller which allows an easy figure-8.  Here the two
mega-impoundments are long north-south affairs with the easterly one divi=
ded
in the middle.  Thus, there are three north south dikes to walk, along wi=
th a
crossdike.  Time will tell what the best route will be, but it may involv=
e
splitting into two parties with two-way radios.

LOGISTICS:

    We did have a chance to talk to some of the workers who had absolutel=
y no
problem with us birding here or making return visits.  They did suggest t=
hat
they would prefer to have people present on the island in case anything
happens, suggesting that visits should be limited to working hours
Monday-Saturday.  They do not work Sundays so do not plan any visits then.

    Lowes Wharf is the only sensible launching point.  Ramp fees are $5. =
 I
know nothing about the possibility of renting a boat or making arrangemen=
ts
with the work boat for the crew on the island.

    The best landing point (for a small boat) is the sandy beach on the e=
ast
side of the impoundment.  Use the southern end of the most northerly beac=
h
and you will be very close to the crossdike and will have a view of two
impoundments on disembarking.  The entire west dike is rip-rapped and uns=
afe
to approach closely.  As with Hart- Miller, bring plenty of sunscreen, fo=
od,
water, perhaps a chair, a scope, and bug repellent.  I was troubled to no=
tice
that the island has already been populated by those annoying ankle-biters=
 so
prevalent on Hart-Miller.

OTHER:

    My small boat only (legally) holds 4 people, but I do plan to make ot=
her
trips out there.  If I ever have space anyone is welcome to join and I wi=
ll
try to post a note (probably at short notice) to that effect.

    If anyone else makes a trip on their own PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep
detailed notes on the species you see.  I would like to create a database=
 of
sightings like that maintained for Hart-Miller Island by Bob Ringler, Ric=
k
Blom, Bob Dixon, and most recently, Gene Scarpulla.  It will provide
fascinating comparison with its neighbor to the north.

    Interestingly, the impoundments seemed to not harbor quite as many
shorebirds as one might expect given the appearance of the habitat.  Inde=
ed
Hart-Miller at the moment appears to be harboring several times more peep=
 and
a greater diversity than George and I saw at Poplar.  Obviously, Gene's
surveys are more thorough and George and I were hampered by our time limi=
t.
Still, We wondered whether there is some maturation factor in these
impoundments, and whether Poplar is so new that microorganism shorebird f=
ood
has not yet fully colonized the mud.  Do Bob, Rick, Gene or others have a=
ny
thoughts on this especially as it related to Hart-Miller's history.

A great place for a Saturday boating trip or a concerted Curlew Sandpiper
search.  We did not see Brown Pelicans or storm-petrels, but I predict bo=
th
before the summer is out (Hart still needs both!).

Good birding,

Marshall Iliff
miliff@aol.com

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