Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 21:58:48 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Talbot & Dorchester Feb. 18 & 19, 2001 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Feb. 18, 2001, Rigby's Folly, Ferry Neck, Talbot Co., MD. Cold, clear & breezy but calm in late P.M. 1 Hutchins (= Richardson's race of the CG) Goose in cove (13th record), 2 Wood Ducks (earliest ever), 215 Surf Scoters, a lovely ad. male harrier, 12 Red-breasted Mergansers (courting, as are the goldeneyes), 2 adult Bald Eagles (seen in neighborhood of the nest all day; here's hoping), 1 ratty imm. female sapsucker, 6 downies (ties 3rd highest), 3 Carolina Wrens (I think they took a bit of a hit this winter; what do you think?), 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets (feeding in tree trunks; 1 was puffed up beyond spherical; a good winter for them); 21 bluebirds (a single flock); a catbird (first Feb. record); 1 thrasher (called 6:02-6:04 P.M., a typical winter crepuscular thing for them to do) and 55 starlings feeding on Red Cedar berries as if they were waxwings. 46 species. 11 does, 2 bucks, 2 Gray Squirrels. One of the bucks is missing its left antler, reminding me of my classmate Wright Horne, whose high school nickname was Left Antler. Signs of spring: 3 small forsythia blossoms; 4 or 5 pussy willow "fuzzies"; some daffodils up 8" or more; onion grass up 1" - 3" in last year's soybean fields. Here in Philadelphia Mourning Doves have been cooing for several weeks, titmice singing for about 2 weeks, and there has been sporadic cardinal, House Finch, and chickadee song. Northeast Dorchester County (north of Route 50), Feb. 19, 2001, 7 A.M. - 2 P.M. 60 mi. by car, 3 on foot. 53 species. Kind of bleak here in February. Huge fields with most woods near to water courses although there are some big woodlands, mostly lumbered, that should be full of Prairie Warblers in summer. Goal was to look fields over carefully. Tundra Swans: 240 on Marshyhope Creek near Brookview, 1155 in one group next to intersection of Wheatley Church and Sharptown Roads. 2 Wood Ducks at Chicone Creek. Only 3 does and 1 Gray Squirrel today (woods are often a long way apart; it's a long scamper for a little squirreleepoo to get from one woodlot to another.) Trash birds: at the intersection of Indiantown & Jones Thicket Roads is a gross area where huge swine grunt and root in the fields and among piles of garbage. Here there was a group of 52 Black Vultures on the ground with them plus 2200 Ring-billeds in attendance and 450 starlings. Nice. Ambiance. A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, a swinery, and thou. Other highlights here in the northeast, such as they were: 8 imm. & 3 ad. Bald Eagles (didn't expect to see this many), only 3 Killdeer, 4 pileateds (all drumming), 37 Horned Larks (no > 4 at any spot), only 16 bluebirds, 7 Hermit Thrushes, 57 American Pipits (1 flock) and no kingfishers, juncos, meadowlarks, or cowbirds. At the Hurlock sewage ponds I failed to see the Snow Buntings Marshall Iliff found last week but did see 5 Green-winged Teal, 9 shovelers, 6 Ring-necked and 105 Ruddy Ducks, and 3 Lesser Scaup. Where the Sharptown Rd. crosses the Nanticoke River here is beautiful bottomland forest, mostly maples 30-40' high but with some white cedar and even some beech in the drier spots, plus lots of greenbrier. The mood is of a southern river bottom forest. Redstarts used to nest here the last time I checked (in the late 1960's) and I would guess still do. Today was mostly raptors: an ad. red-shoulder, 4 red-tails, and 3 imm. eagles. Miscellaneous, verging on off topic: English Ivy. Can someone tell me about this? It's taking over some areas of Rigby. It kind of looks nice, provides shelter, and I've seen some birds feeding in it but I know it's not supposed to be a good plant to have around. Swan banding. In "the Pelican post", Winter 2001 issue, newsletter of the Cape Hatteras Bird Club. 129 Tundra Swans were banded last Jan. 17 (and 10 previously banded ones released), the results of one (ONE !!) cannon net shot at the Alligator River N.W.R. They've also got bears, bobcats and Red Wolves. It's over 100,000 acres. This all blows me away. Jupiter, saturn and venus (really bright) are more or less aligned after sunset, at least it looked that way after a bottle of Wild Goose Amber. Phragmites. In "Records of New Jersey Birds", Winter 2000-2001 issue, pp. 122-124, there is an article: "Phragmites use by birds in New Jersey" by noted birder Richard Kane. While acknowledging that phrags are a prime, unwanted invader of marshlands that for the most part have very harmful effects on birdlife nevertheless in NJ some 32 species have been found nesting in it including such uncommon nesters there as Pied-billed Grebe, both bitterns, all herons except great blues, Green-winged Teal, ruddies, Soras, and moorhens. Obviously phrags completely change the character of the marshes it invades - many of the tidal marshes in Delaware are wall-to-wall phrags now - but, as evidenced here, it isn't ALL bad. Blockbuster birding to you.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA 19119. 215-248-4120. ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================