Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 22:54:05 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Mark Hoffman Subject: Re: Marbled Godwit Question Part 1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Norm - I'd like to follow-up on your post requesting information about finding Marbled Godwits (MAGOs) in Maryland. As a species by far most common in Maryland in Worcester County, your hitting my "home" turf. The status line in the yellow book is basically its status there. Also, it has always been one of my favorite species to see in Maryland, and finding one always makes for a red-letter day, so I welcome the chance to talk about this species. My Worcester database says I have seen this species on 15 occasions in the county. A quick query of the database comes up with a total of 85 county "records" (a complete listing, due to its length, is provided in a second email). I don't know the combined number or reports for other locations in Maryland (with Hart-Miller certainly being by far the best), but this species has only shown up a handful of times at locations like Sandy Point State Park, Deal Island, etc. Along the East Coast of the US, it is a very maritime species. In fact, there might be more "inland" records of Hudsonian Godwit for Maryland. For Worcester County, I have actually drafted a species account for MAGO for my Birds of Worcester County, Maryland (in prep.): MARBLED GODWIT (Limosa fedoa) STATUS: Rare spring and uncommon fall migrant, rare winter visitor. SPRING: Five records. 1, 1 May 1976 (WC, MOS May Count); 1, 8 May 1965 (WC, ANS May Count); 1, 10 May 1968 (OC, MOS Convention); 1, 14 May 1955 (OC, Stewart and Robbins); 1, 19 May 1956 (West OC, P. G. DuMont). FALL: Extreme arrival: 1, 26 Jun 1994 (AI/Fox Hill Levels, Hoffman); 1, 28 Jun 1978 (AI/North End, Wieboldt); 1, 16 Jul 1980 (AI/North End, Hoffman), regular thereafter. Normal period: Late-Jul to late-Oct. Peak: Late-Aug to mid-Oct. Maxima: 14, 31 Aug 1952 (OC, Griffin & Westhaver); 8, 6 Sep 1952 (OC, Power) and 27 Sep 1969 (OC/6th St. Flats, Warfield); 5, 19 Oct 1985 (AI, M. O'Brien et al.). Extreme departure: Occasionally occurs into winter, so departure status of some late individuals problematical. Remarks: Approximately 46 records as follows: Jun (2 records/2 individuals), Jul (6/6), Aug (13/28), Sep (18/38), Oct (9/18). WINTER: Has occurred in Nov (3 times), Dec (7), Jan (4), Feb (2) Mar (1), and Apr (1). Recorded to late-Dec in 1958 (1 individual), 1967 (3), 1970 (1), 1977 (1), 1980 (3) and 1996 (1) (all OC CBC); with singles lingering to Jan in 1978 , 1981, 1997; to Mar in 1971, and to Apr in 1997. All records in Jan-Apr of individuals known to be present in OC area since late-Dec, except for 1, 29 Jan 1994 (Skimmer Island, M. O'Brien and Hoffman) and 1, 19 Jan 1998 (OC, Jett), not preceded or followed by other sightings. Extreme departure: 1, 22 Dec 1996-15 Apr 1997 (OC, Mult. Obs.). HABITAT: Tidal flats. FINDING: Skimmer Island, AI/North End, Hungerford, Fox Hills Levels, Eagle's Nest. Additionally, given the interest is this species I would also add something along the following: Location Traditionally, the best area in Worcester County for Marbled Godwit has been the bayside flats along the northern end of Assateague Island. This is were the species was first "officially' recorded in the county in 1945 by Robert Stewart and the location of many subsequent records, despite the relative inaccessibility of this area. In the past, this area was birded by boat or by walking up the north end of Assateague from the State Park. Due to the closures of the north end of Assateague, this can only be done starting in the fall (I checked with the National Park Service, 410-641-3030, and they said access restrictions to the north end would probably be lifted just before Labor Day). MAGOs are still possible through October, so this would certainly be a viable approach. The hike is a long one, but wonderful. Logistics are described fairly well in Claudia Wilds' book, although there has been much additional over wash in the past decade. The only spot to get a view of the bayside flats along the north end of Assateague is from the Eagle's Nest Campground boat ramp area. Be sure and check in at the office, they seem very friendly. The large (buoy #11) flats are clearly visible to the southeast. Low tide and afternoon light is best. Several recent MAGO records are from these flats. The upcoming boat trips during the MOS Convention will visit these flats and should give a shot at this species, although on any given day your chances are not great. The sand flats on the west side of Skimmer Island (best visible from the west end of the Route 50 bridge) have also hosted many MAGO records. In particular, many of the birds that have wintered (at least partially) in the OC area did so on these flats and the shallow water between the flats and the mainland. However, although these flats are birded much more than the north end of Assateague, they seemed to be used much less by godwits in migration. They are certainly worth checking. Other good areas include the Hungerford Flats and the Fox Hill Levels. Both of these areas are in the Off-Road Vehicle Zone of Assateague Island National Seashore, so access is difficult if you do not have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, permit, etc. However, I would encourage anyone so inclined to visit these areas. They are wild and wonderful. Especially during July and August, you don't have to worry about running into any other people! (The million misquotes take care of that.) Walking access to the Hungerford Flats is doable and described in the Wilds' book (be sure to hit the Little Levels also). It is about an hour to the north end of the flats, but an all-day trip. I have visited Hungerford and/or Fox Hill on 51 different days during July to September over the years and seen Marbled Godwits on six occasions (12% of trips). Timing Although the database suggests your odds are fairly equal from mid-July through October, my personally bias favors July and August as the best time for Marbled Godwit. My fall records are in June (1), July (4), August (4), and September (2), while I have not seen the species in October (month listers take note!). Some of this is probably related to July and August being prime shore birding time, while once September roles around, land birding, vagrant hunting, etc. has gotten my focus. The species does sometimes (but not usually) stick around in one spot. A notable exception is that the birds that have wintered in the Skimmer Island area have been very reliable. One strategy for seeing this species in Maryland is to simply wait until some godwits try to winter there again. A quick follow-up trip after the OC Christmas Bird Count could work. Unfortunately, this only seems to happen every 10 years or so. (Marbled Godwits winter in good numbers and annually at the southern tip of the Delmarva in the Cape Charles area). A few of the fall migrants have stayed in the same place (Skimmer or Eagles' Nest) for several days. Also, some of my records (particularly from Assateague) are of fly-bys, which would very much be a hit-or-miss proposition. In summary, I would offer the following suggestions: 1) Bird the OC area, as normal during July to October, checking the Skimmer Island flats and Eagles' Nest. 2) Do the MOS Convention boat trips down Sinepuxent Bay (you could also do this area in a rental boat). Some of the "nature cruses" out of OC go down there also to see the ponies. 3) After the Assateague/North End closure is lifted, do the hike from the State park to the Inlet. 4) Do the hike to the Hungerford Flats from the end of the paved road in Assateague Island National Seashore. 5) Use a 4-wheel drive vehicle and explore Hungerford and the Fox Hill Levels on the south end of Assateague. None of these are guaranteed to get you and Fran a beautiful Maryland Marbled Godwit, but they will be a lot more fun than waiting for a twitchable one to show up some place more convenient! The ultimate sense of accomplishment, when successful, will only enhance your enjoyment of the bird. Good luck! Mark Hoffman Mhoff36100@aol.com Sykesville, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================