Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 10:48:30 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Elliott Island 7/28/01 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii July 28, 2001 (Sat.), Elliott Island Rd., Dorchester County. 5 A.M. - 7:15 P.M. 19.4 miles from Vienna to Elliott village (84.5 mi. driven, 2 walked). Cool and breezy most of the time. 60-80 degrees F. Calm to start then winds 5-15 from NE. Variously fair with changeable, and beautiful, clouds. Delightful weather. 101 species. Carol Erwin & Harry Armistead. 10 Brown Pelicans at the pound nets. 1 Least Bittern (see flying). 32 Tricolored Herons (good count for here). 9 Glossy Ibis. 4 Green-winged Teal (most unusual sighting of the day). 7 Blue-winged Teal & 1 Gadwall (both species have been in decline here.). 36 Ospreys. 32 Bald Eagles (1 or more in sight almost every time we did a thorough scan; the best count I've ever had here; probably underestimated by 3 or 4 birds.). 0 Northern Harriers (2 or 3 pairs nest here; unbelievable to miss them; Hal, Marshall, Jim ... anyone ... any theories; do local birds leave [and go where?!] after they finish breeding?). 1 male Cooper's Hawk (soaring above us for several minutes; 2nd most unusual sighting of the day.). 8 Red-tailed Hawks (this was an excellent day for soaring birds.). 3 Wild Turkeys. 4 (only) Northern Bobwhite. 6 Virginia Rails (We didn't do much railing.). 2 Common Moorhens (at the "moorhen spot"). 1 Willet (probably NOT the Western race.). 7 Stilt Sandpipers (at the moorhen spot; 3rd most unusual sighting of the day). 1 Black-necked Stilt. 1 imm. GBB Gull (100th species of the day). 5 Yellow-billed Cuckoos. 4 Eastern Screech-Owls. 5 Great Horned Owls. 1 ad. Red-headed Woodpecker. 2 (only) Northern Flickers (99th species). 3 Pileated Woodpeckers. 28 Eastern Kingbirds. 12 Purple Martins (85th species). 20 Bank Swallows. 1 Brown-headed Nuthatch (perched on wire above us, NOT in response to spishing or screech-owl calling ... must have been my funny hat.). 45 Marsh Wrens (many still singing). 9 Cedar Waxwings. 1 Black-and-white Warbler (probably a breeding bird, although early migrants show up here in late July). 1 Prothonotary Warbler (in Elliott village, where they do not breed). 1 Worm-eating Warbler. 1 Summer Tanager (still singing). 10 Blue Grosbeaks and 10 Indigo Buntings (both still singing). 13 Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows. 30 Seaside Sparrows (singing has ceased). 0 Eastern Meadowlarks. 18 Boat-tailed Grackles. 3 (only) Orchard Orioles (notorious for disappearing and ceasing song in mid-summer, when they go "underground".). No suitable habitat, right now, along the road for Horned Larks or Grasshopper Sparrows. Herptiles: 1 Northern Water Snake, 1 Diamondback Terrapin, 1 Eastern Mud Turtle, 1 Common Snapping Turtle, 4 Eastern Painted Turtles. Froggies (by call): 2 Carpenter, 3 Bull, a few choruses of Southern Leopards, and scores of Greens. Mammals: 3 Nutria (heard only), 3 Gray Squirrels (in Vienna), 4 cottontails. Butterflies: 2 E. Cabbage Whites, 6 Red Admirals, 1 Variegated Fritillary (a road-struck [not by us] one which died on us), 1 Silver-spotted Skipper, 1 Tiger Swallowtail, 1 Black Swallowtail, 10 Clouded Sulphurs, 7 Monarchs, 4 Buckeyes, 6 Red-spotted Purples, 1 unidentified "fold-winged skipper". Many hundreds of dragonflies, which I do not know how to ID. Marsh Mallows (hibiscus) are starting to bloom - beautiful, large white flowers in the brackish marsh. From atop the roof of my Suburban (eyeballs at an elevation of c. 11 ft.) 3 large beds of Sea-Pinks (a.k.a. Marsh-Pinks), a lovely gentian, were visible to the west from "Gadwall Bend" in the Spartina patens marsh near Fishing Bay, giving these vast, wet grasslands a subtle, pinkish blush in spots. There are 2 or more species; I don't know which one is involved here. Bill Burt first made me aware of these uncommon little flowers with his exquisite photograph of scores of their blossoms against a field of S. patens meadow. Now I know, I think, exactly where he took the picture. New Elliott I. book: "Elliott's Island, Gray's Island and Langrall's Island cemeteries" by Freddie T. Waller (96 pp., 40 photos and charts; ISBN 0-9672947-1-1) available from Freddie Waller, 2315 Elliott Island Rd., Elliott Island 21869; 410-376-3642; dogwdbooks@shorenet.net. No price but available with donation to Elliott United Methodist Church (I'd suggest at least $25). "Proceeds go to support and sustain the church that served these islands." ... "includes complete transcriptions of all surviving inscriptions in eleven cemeteries on the three islands ... " I haven't seen it, will order my copy soon, but how could you go wrong? Waller is co-author of "Elliott's Island: the land that time forgot" (by A. M. Foley, Dogwood Ridge Books, 1999, 216p.). Clymene Moth. Found dead on our lawn at Rigby's Folly, Ferry Neck, Talbot County, July 22, 2001. Looks like a fresh wood chip or shaving, quite striking, and, mercifully, easy to ID. According to one website clymenes have been verified in MD only in counties adjacent to D.C. even though Charles V. Covell's Peterson field guide says they occur throughout the East. Nice photographs by David Czaplak and Paul Opler, respectively, at: http://www.odolep.com/8107Cly.jpg and http://www.greatplains.org/npresource/distr/LEPID/moths/MD/1757.htm. Those are the URLs that show from the printouts I did after looking in several search engines under "clymene". Or, see color plate 15 in the Peterson guide. Best to all. 'til the next time.-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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================