Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 10:53:16 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: central Bay terns & pelicans MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii A group of us spent the day in central Chesapeake Bay, mostly in VA, just south of the MD/VA line on June 12. Our purpose was to band Royal Tern and Brown Pelican chicks under the direction of black belt banders John Weske and Dave Brinker. A crew of 4 from National Geographic ("big yellow") recorded much of the action for the NGS TV program. Other news: Skimmer Island, Ocean City, MD. July 11. John Weske told me his group banded 417 Royal Tern chicks here. Fisherman I. NWR, VA. John told me his group banded 1,287 Royal Tern chicks here, I believe on the same date. July 11 after the cold front visibility was excellent and from the platform at the end of 413 in Crisfield I could clearly see (in MD): the target ship S.S. America (14 mi.), Rhodes Pt. on Smith I. (9 mi.) and (in VA): Tangier I. (13 mi.), Little Fox I. (7 mi.) and Watts I. (12 mi.), the latter recently acquired by Blackwater NWR. Some of the staff from Assateague I. (I forget whether they were NPS or NWR personnel) said the VA part of the island had fledged 46 Piping Plover so far. Little Fox, I., VA. 3 mi. s. of the MD/VA border. Twelve of us spent the morning here corraling and banding 968 Royal Tern chicks, slightly less than last year. There are still c. 24 Royals incubating their single eggs. There are numerous Black Skimmers here still incubating eggs. I estimated c. 85 adults and saw at least 8 nests. Most unusual here were 3 Red Knots, presumably early adult migrants with no trace of breeding plumage. Also present: 300 or so ad. Laughing Gulls (many nests; I saw 2 with 2 eggs each), 2 Least Sandpipers, the Osprey nest platform had 3 large young, nesting Common and Forster's Terns, a female Mallard, and 5 Red Admirals. Except for the Royals we tried to stay away from others birds' nests. South Marsh Point, an extension of Smith I., MD, but in VA c. 1.5 mi. s. of the MD/VA line. 18 or so of us in 2 groups banded pelican chicks. The group I was with tagged 305; the other party's numbers I did not get but one person there estimated c. 200, for a total of just over 500. Counting birds banded earlier in the summer, plus perhaps 200 at Spring I., Dorchester Co., MD, that would total over 1,700 Brown Pelican chicks banded in the central Bay this summer with one more banding expedition planned for c. the 2nd week of August. I saw 2 pelican nests still with 2 eggs, a cormorant nest with 3 eggs and another with 2 eggs and a recently hatched young. Also seen at South Point Marsh: 3 Short-billed Dowitchers, 1 N. Harrier, 2 Black-bellied Plovers, 1 Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, 11 Mute Swans, 6 A. Black Ducks, and 24 Am. Oystercatchers plus 20 Red Admirals. They're still everywhere, incl. 1 seen from Ruke's Restaurant in Ewell, Smith I., MD, where we had our traditional celebratory lunch of crab cake sandwiches and also saw 10 or so YCN Herons as expected. At our Philadelphia Buddleia at any given time the past few weeks there are 1-4 Red Admirals present. Willets call it a season. They're just about gone already. The only one I saw was in Crisfield the evening of July 11, doing its sky dance as if the breeding season was just beginning. On the way home I saw an Am. Kestrel at s. Salisbury, presumably an early post-breeding migrant. Incidentally, I find the Pines Motel in Crisfield a fine place to stay. It's 0.4 mi. off the main road, quiet, attractive, with nice roomy rooms, and there are catbirds, House Wrens, swifts, and squirrels on the grounds. And there are nice Loblollies there. Head out the motel drive, hang a right, and that is a short cut to the s. side of the marina and the launching ramps. This was an excellent outing with great company in some of the most remote areas of the Bay under ideal weather conditions. Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA 19119. Any off-list replies, please, to: harryarmistead@hotmail.com. ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================