Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 10:31:33 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Blackwater & Rigby, Mar. 31 & Apr. 1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Rigby's Folly near Royal Oak, Talbot County, March 31, 2001. 7 A.M. - 7 P.M. Overcast. 42-48 degrees. Wind 0-5, calm much of the time. 8 Common Loons (several giving the yodel call, heard much less frequently than the familiar tremolo), 35 Horned Grebes (varying from winter to almost full breeding plumage), 240 Canvasbacks, 3530 Surf Scoters (what a spectacle; surpassed here only by 3730 on March 18, 1997), 2 ad. Bald Eagles (Liz A. saw one flush off "our" nest, the first real hint of its being truly active this year, although we try to avoid the area), 335 Herring Gulls (2nd highest property count; these were sitting, dipping, and wheeling among the scoters, perhaps trying to cull sick ones), 1 screech & 1 horned owl. Mammals: 5 Gray Squirrels,1 Red Fox (also seen the previous night; carrying a vole today; in addition I heard a fox calling at 6:55 P.M.), 2 rabbits (Thumper and Peter Cottontail doing their Easter warm-ups). Lots of Spring Peepers calling. Blackwater N.W.R., April 1, 2001. 7:30-11:15 A.M. Overcast. 41-47 degrees. 7 folks on the bird walk here including Liz A. and Levin Willey. 55 shovelers, 11 Common Mergansers, 10 coots, 11 Forster's Terns, 3 imm. White-crowned Sparrows. After the walk Levin found an ad. Little Blue Heron and 11 Glossy Ibis that Liz and I backtracked to see. Also at the refuge: 7 Fox Squirrels (incl. one with blackish underparts), a Nutria, a distant Sika Deer, 1 Red-bellied Turtle, a few calling S. Leopard & Chorus Frogs and Spring Peepers, and an active Meadow Vole family (at least 5 incl. 3 young) scurrying around in the tulip bed right in front of the Visitor Center windows. On the way back to Rigby from the refuge we saw 300 or so Ruddy Ducks in Tar Creek off of the Tred Avon River. Probably a lot more present but we could only see so much of the creek from the road. At Rigby that afternoon the visible scoters had diminished to 1390 but the cans were closer allowing a higher estimate of 330. 5 Gray Squirrels. One mile north of the intersection of Rts. 301 and 213 just west of 213 were 290 Snow and 10 Blue Geese in a field of winter wheat. I've never seen snows in this area before. On the way back to Philadelphia Liz and I stopped at the Beaver site mentioned the past 2 weeks that is between milepost 118 and 119 on Rt. 301 in Kent County (it's at c. mile 118.4). This was earlier in the day than the previous dusk visits so we saw more of the setup this time. We were delighted to see an adult and 2 kits (tomorrow's hope) swimming around. The 2nd dam mentioned last week is actually a large lodge. We noticed several big trees (c. 1' in diameter) that had been girdled and nearly gnawed through. There's an article, "Warm welcome", by Peter J. Marchand, in "Natural history", March 2001, pp. 30-31, that describes Beaver lodges. There I learned that they are commodious, considerably warmer in the cold months than the ambient air temperature outside, they are smooth inside allowing comfortable crawling, and that the author was actually able to crawl inside one a little. "the most massive communal nest of any animal ... the interior turned out to be a marvel of neatness and cleanliness ... The walls and ceilings were evenly trimmed ... One a zero degree day I once recorded a lodge temperature of 60 ... " Marchand believes that "staggered foraging times [by members of a lodge] may maintain an equable indoor temperature, guaranteeing a warm welcome whenever a beaver returns to its lodge." Beavers do not hibernate. Also along 301 we saw an ad. Bald Eagle near mile post 105 and 2 ad. near m.p. 121. Time was we'd never see eagles along the 33+ mi. stretch of 301 we navigate on the way back to PA. On Fri., March 30, 2001, Levin counted 57 Great Egrets coming to roost in the drowned willow forest of pool 3 at Blackwater, incl. one group of 18. On April 1 in Salem County (southwest NJ), George A. and Matt Sharp saw a roosting Barn Owl, 4 Ross's Geese, a Yellow-headed Blackbird, and some Brewer's Blackbirds. It's been a cold, wet, late spring, don't you think? The plants are a bit behind schedule. Best birding to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA 19119. ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================