Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 00:29:57 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Marshall Iliff Subject: Maryland Big Day 19 May 2001 (Part I) Comments: To: Georgearmistead@aol.com, Phoebetria@aol.com, VLEmanuel@aol.com, jfontain@lamar.colostate.edu, brian_gibbons@juno.com, lehmfinn@bellatlantic.net, GreatGrayO@aol.com, hawk-owl@yahoo.com, zeledonia@worldnet.att.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hello all, Harry and Gail have already spilled a few of the beans about the two Big Days run this past weekend. I will spill half of the rest of the beans, and will hope that Paul Pisano or one of the other 18 May team members can provide a more detailed account of their 196 day. Route: We began our day at 12:00 at the Frostburg Sheetz where the resident Common Nighthawk cooperated by calling overhead at 12:07. From there we proceeded to a favorite field area for nightbirds and a few other species (12:35-2:00). We moved on to Hammel Glade (2:48-3:02) where a Sora that I had several days earlier failed to call among the frog chorus. We spent our time from 3:25-4:10 looking for Northern Saw-whet Owl to no avail, before moving on to an Upland Sandpiper breeding location where one was prompted to sing at 4:37 exactly, as it had the night prior. At 4:45 a Willow Flycatcher sang, which saved us a later trip to look for this species. At 5:30 we arrived in the rain to greet the dawn chorus on Backbone Mountain. Singing was delayed by the rain and our needed species began singing 10 minutes later than the previous morning, which was overcast but not rainy. Finally at 5:41 a Winter Wren joined the Slate-colored Juncos and Mourning Warblers, and we dashed off for Blue Ribbons Rd. in the Pleasant Valley where we had a kestrel nest. After 5 minutes at the kestrel nest, we hit a Red-headed Woodpecker spot (Red-headed Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch) and a Vesper Sparrow location, leaving at Vesper Sparrow. We followed those with stops at the Oakland Sewage Plant (Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Northern Rough-winged Swallow), the Youghigheny at Herrington Rd. (Northern Waterthrush), Cheeks Lane (Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet), Swallow Falls SP (Purple Finch, Acadian Flycatcher), Maple Glade Rd. (Hairy Woodpecker, Canada Warbler, Least Flycatcher), Muddy Creek at Cranesville Rd. (Pine Siskin), and Snaggy Mtn. Rd. (Golden-winged Warbler) before breaking north. We sequentially birded Deep Creek Lake (Cliff Swallow), New Germany Rd. (Cerulean Warbler), and Little Meadows Lake (Ruby-throated Hummingbird) before rejoining I-68 an hour ahead of schedule at 9:00. The only misses at that point were Common Raven and Ruffed Grouse. Being ahead of schedule we made a 20 minute detour to Finzel Swamp (9:10-9:30) which added only Broad-winged Hawk. After that we had a quick stop at Terminus in Cumberland (9:45-9:50) where the White-rumped Sandpiper and Dunlin from the day before were still present. We then hit Rocky Gap (10:00-10:25) which was a complete bust for migrant warblers. At 11:00 we embarked on our Hancock route through the orchards of Washington county, where Blue-winged Warbler came easier than ever. Little Pool was the next stop where Warbling Vireo took a mere 12 minutes, but Belted Kingfisher failed to appear at our lock location outside Hagerstown. From there we made tracks on the highway arriving in Annapolis ahead of schedule at 1:10. As quickly as possible, we loaded our small motorboat with all the essentials (cooler, scopes, snacks, my sandwich (strangely George and Matt elected not to bring their sandwiches!), and left the Western Shore in our wake. Straight across the Bay to the Poplar Island archipelago, where we found our two species of scoters, a Common Loon, and a few other species new for the day. From there we cruised up the Choptank River, running down three Black Terns in the process. Cruising along the Cambridge waterfront we found a Whimbrel, several shorebirds, and a lingering Canvasback that George had scouted out. We were a tad behind schedule getting the boat back on the trailer at 4:07, but we cruised on to Elliott Island and had one of those perfect Big Day runs, netting everything we needed in 30 minutes and never spending more than 2 minutes on any one bird. A flyby Blue-winged Teal was the most unusual and surprising, although George had one on Thursday. Almost back on schedule, we turned around at 5:00 at "Gadwall Bend" and headed straight to the Pocomoke. A flyby Sharp-shinned Hawk was one of the biggest surprises of the day. In the Pocomoke we had but 6 species to clean up, and despite an evening lull in birdosng, we managed to spish up or bump into Summer Tanager, Kentucky Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Yellow- throated Warbler, and Pine Warbler between 6:00-6:18. Back on schedule suddenly, we turned north towards Ocean City hitting Snow Goose at Goody Hill Road pond (6:39), Ruddy Duck at Berlin W.T.P. (6:53), Glossy Ibis at Rte. 611 pond, a few shorebirds etc., but no Piping Plover at Eagle's Nest flats (7:15-7:35), Little Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, and Blackpoll Warbler (finally!) at West Ocean City Pond (7:43-7:55). We arrived late at Ocean City Inlet and barely scraped by with Red-throated Loon and Pacific Loon (8:05-8:20) before closing the day at Skimmer Island (8:25-dusk). In the rapidly waning light we picked out 4 1st-winter Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a subadult Great Cormorant, and a couple Tricolored Herons dropping into the reeds. As the light waned to darkness, a last minute brainstorm took us to 3rd Street in Ocean City where scoping of the back side of Skimmer Island produced a small group of Brant, identifiable by their silhouettes against the water. At 201 species, we realized we were within shooting distance of the record of 206. We needed Chuck- will's-widow, Eastern Screech-Owl, Whip-poor-will, Black Rail, King Rail, Least Bittern, White-throated Sparrow, Sedge Wren, Bicknell's Thrush, all conceivable nocturnal species. At 9:00 we got Chuck-will's-widow, Eastern Screech-Owl fell by 9:08, and with Whip-poor-will singing at 9:35 we thought we were on track. Alas, we decided to bird southern Worcester and Somerset for the remaining species and none cooperated. Strategy: The use of the boat was novel in Maryland big days and was certainly worth the added logistical effort, if only for the thrill of planing across the flat calm Bay giving a welcome change of pace at that mid-day point in a Big Day where your enthusiasm wanes and your energy disappears altogether. The species we added (scoters, Black Tern) were of higher quality than those we might have seen on a car crossing, and birding the Cambridge waterfront was good for several more good finds. The trip by boat is 1:30, about the same time as a crossing by car. We could not bird the Poplar Island impoundments, but if we could that could be included and might add some rarer shorebirds or additional ducks. Substitution of Elliott Island for Deal Island was unconventional but a recognition of the changes that have occurred at Deal. Where Pied-billed Grebe, Common Moorhen, and Black-necked Stilt used to be guaranteed, and where American Coot and several additional ducks could be counted on, almost all have disappeared and we found NONE of the above in scouting efforts. Thus Elliott betters Deal, since Black-necked Stilt, Barn Owl, and Common Moorhen are all gettable, while only Peregrine Falcon is sacrificed. Future Maryland Big Days may mirror this route. We skipped Hurlock, since it had only Snow Goose and Ruddy Duck, both of which could be gotten elsehwere. Including Ocean City at dusk was spectacular, especially given the remarkable concentration of gulls, cormorants, terns, and other birds at Skimmer Island. Unfortunately we ran out of time there and could have used an additional 15 minutes of light (8:10 to dusk) to fully cover the myriad birds on the flats. Our seawatch at Ocean City was also too late, since we suspect that Northern Gannet, which had been present in abundance during the previous week (up until the previous day!) were not in evidence at 8:05-8:20. Future runs should visit OC no later than 7:30 and should consider birding Ocean City Inlet, THEN West OC Pond, THEN Skimmer Island, THEN Eagle's Nest. At West Ocean City Pond we were frustrated to FINALLY encounter some migrant warblers, obviously the result of a massive fallout which had hit coastal areas from Cape May to southern Virginia (hundreds of warblers on the Chesapeake Bridge-Tunnel). Our 5 minutes of birding only revealed to us that a large number of migrants were present - it did not produce anything new for us except the Blackpoll Warbler. Finally, our route through Worcester and Somerset utterly failed with all our hoped for nocturnal species. We would have been better off cutting for Elliott at 9:30, where we stood to gain Black Rail, King Rail, Least Bittern, and possibly something else like Sedge Wren (found there by O'Brien et al. the previous night). While the route we chose could produce the same species, Elliott is probably more consistently good at night and has many more individuals of the species we sought. Perhaps on our next attempt we will have refined the perfect route...? Competing routes: On May 18, the day before our run, Michael O'Brien, Paul O'Brien, Paul Pisano, and Ottavio Janni made their annual Big Day run. Their route was the traditional one, without a boat, heading from Garrett to Ocean City to Deal Island. It sounds like Deal Island was not productive and that our choice of substituting Elliott was a worthwhile change. Their day ended with an excellent 196, and from a conversation with Michael today, I gather had the following differences: Team O'Brien et al. got Common Raven, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Black Scoter, Black Rail, Sedge Wren, Tennessee Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow Team Iliff-Armistead-Hafner got Little Blue Heron, Blue-winged Teal, Broad-winged Hawk, Canvasback, White- winged Scoter, Surf Scoter, Upland Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black Tern, Caspian Tern, Short-eared Owl, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Winter Wren, Mourning Warbler, Kentucky Warbler Selected Highlights: * One Black-billed Cuckoo sitting next to the road near Hancock, Washington County, was a LIFE BIRD for Hafner (who had heard some 15+ by this date), and gave Iliff and Armistead their best looks ever. * One of our most surprising successes, we were amazed to hike into an area with nesting Short-eared Owls at 1:00 a.m. and successfully hear them giving their display flight and a few raspy barks. When first heard we did not recognize the muffled wing claps that this bird delivers from 300+ ft in the air as it displays to its mate. A life experience for all of us and one we will never forget. * As we boarded the boat Matt spotted two terns over my creek and shocked me by proclaiming them Least Terns! Least Tern has been expanding in the Annapolis area for the past 4 years, and is a bird I have expected in my yard, nbut this was my first sighting for yard bird #212. Earlier that week I had #211, a Black-bellied Plover that flew over calling at 8:10 while I was loading my car for the scouting trip to Garrett! * Alternate-plumaged Pacific Loon at Ocean City Inlet was still present to complete the loon triumverate! * Of 11 species that we were looking for at Elliott Island, we had at least one at each of 4 spots and none took more than 1 minute of scanning to find. It would be hard to imagine a more successful run to Elliott! * Although it produced no new species for us, it was a joy to hear a remarkable nocturnal flight on the night of 19 May along the coast. Starting at 9:00 p.m. warbler chip notes began to be heard overhead, and peaked at 20+ calls per minute. Strangely thrushes were not heard until 11:30, when 3 Gray-cheeked Thrushes called up until midnight. Warbler notes still are a mystery to the three of us, but a few Savannah Sparrows, a Spotted Sandpiper, and a couple other identifiable calls were heard as well. * Perhaps the most memorable moment was imagining what onlookers must have thought of the spectacle we created at Ocean City Inlet. Picture this: A car screeches into the crowded inlet parking lot and three guys piled out like a SWAT team, ran in 3 different directions, and began scanning variously with binoculars and telescopes. After a minute of this behavior, the elder (Armistead) whipped around and shouted, "HERE'S THE PALO!!!". The younger one immediately sprinted to the telescope, high fives were exchanged, at which point the car screeched up, the three men reloaded the car just as quickly as they had unloaded, and screeched away. Best, Marshall Iliff *********************** Marshall Iliff miliff@aol.com Annapolis, MD ************************ ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================