Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 08:44:14 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Dorchester waterfowl March 11 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii March 11, 2001, Sunday, Dorchester County waterfowl chase. Earlier this week I decided to try my first-ever waterfowl big day here. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Still does. A 6 A.M. to 5 P.M. effort resulted in 27 waterfowl species. I would have been very pleased with 25. The narrow focus on waterfowl resulted in quite a few missed landbirds but 85 species in toto was not too bad anyway.: 375 Tundra and 14 Mute Swans; 4500 Snow (plus 350 Blue), 3000 Canada and 1 Ross's Goose; 5 Wood Ducks; 90 Green-winged and 2 Blue-winged Teal; 25 American Black Ducks; 410 Mallards; 35 Northern Pintails; 120 Northern Shovelers; 2 Gadwall; 8 American Wigeon; 565 Canvasbacks; 3 Redheads; 47 Ring-necked Ducks (at Pool 1, Blackwater); 1 male Greater (probably a few more present at Cambridge) and 625 Lesser Scaup; 55 Long-tailed Ducks; 65 Surf Scoters; 30 Common Goldeneyes; 260 Buffleheads; 2 Hooded, 16 Common and 12 Red-breasted Mergansers; and 105 Ruddy Ducks. Strategy and results. Blackwater N.W.R., c. 6 to 10 A.M. = 16 species including all the 9 expected (but not guaranteed) dabbler species. Cambridge 10:30-12:15 = 8 additional species: cans, 3 Redheads, 1 male Greater Scaup, lots of lessers, Bufflehead, goldeneyes, Surf Scoters, and LT Duck - these all at close range right from the waterfront in town. 12:45-1:15, It's off to Hurlock wastewater treatment ponds, tra-la-la, land of the sky blue waters, gives new meaning to the term "eau de toilette" (faux eau) = 2 new species, to wit, 110 Ruddy Ducks and a Ross's Goose; 2:30-4:30 at Hooper's Island = one more, last species - Red-breasted Merganser. Waterfowl that were missed. Brant used to be quite common here but not since the 1950's. White-winged and Black Scoters are uncommon in Dorchester. Any other species would be downright rare, such as Eurasian Wigeon, white-fronted goose, any of the 3 "jetty ducks". As it turned out including Elliott Island was not necessary although it would have been if Gadwall and hoodies were missed elsewhere. Also of interest. At Cambridge: 1 Double-crested Cormorant (in "Wigeon Lake"), 2 Laughing Gulls (1 in full breeding plumage, the 2nd one still with a tattered but mostly dark head), 4 Bald Eagles seen along the town waterfront (2 adults and 2 immatures). At Blackwater: the Orange-crowned Warbler someone (who I thank profoundly) found a few days ago which today was foraging around the only Loblolly Pine c. 200 feet east of Stop 9 on Wildlife Drive, on the south side of the dike, 7 Chipping Sparrows (together, did not act as if on breeding territory), 2 imm. White-crowned Sparrows (at Visitor Center feeders), a Fox Sparrow, and 7 Rusty Blackbirds (at the "Prothonotary Spot" on Egypt Road, singing). At Hooper's Island: 2 American Oystercatchers, 13 Bonaparte's Gulls, 6 Forster's Terns (these 3 species seen from Swan Harbor Road) and 37 Rock Doves (at Fishing Creek bridge; don't laugh - an excellent count for this county). The 4500 Snow Geese. c. 2500 arrived at Hurlock just as I did. They landed in the ponds. I was scopein' and hopein' through them for half an hour to find the Ross's. Then I drove straight and fast back to Blackwater, where the flock there of 2,000 or so snows was still in place. That's my best personal estimate for snows in Dorchester. Used to be not too many years ago that most of the Snow Geese here were Blues. Now it's the other way. Back in the 1950's and even in some years in the 1960's there were few of either form. Other day totals: 7 Common Loons, 23 Horned Grebes (some in pretty good breeding plumage), and just 7 Ospreys (not wholesale yet but perhaps in another week or so. One was carrying a 12 inch fish and skydancing directly over the new and hideous Dorchester County Visitor Center in Cambridge). A brief glimpse of a butterfly, possibly an anglewing. 2 Gray Squirrels. 1 Fox Squirrel (on the side of Hip Roof Road by the first turn as one goes towards Hooper's Island). 1 batty bat, seen c. 100 feet up over an open field at 1:30 P.M. on the outskirts of Cambridge in broad daylight. 3 Red-bellied Turtles and numerous Painted Turtles at Blackwater. A robust chorus of Chorus Frogs in the ditch by the entrance to the Blackwater Visitor Center and I heard several groups of calling Southern Leopard Frogs and some Wood Frogs as well. Heard a Mourning Dove calling continuously today from 5 A.M. at Rigby, before first light, perhaps due to the time of day combined with a nearly full moon. 30-64 degrees today. Winds SW 10-25-5 m.p.h. Clear. A most lovely day to be afield. I hope your day was as satisfying as mine was.-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 ========================================================================= ===========================================================================