Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2001 22:13:22 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Mark Hoffman Subject: Assateague-08/29/2001 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Worcester Birders -- The weather forecast for Tuesday night/Wednesday morning seemed promising (a weak cold front passing through the area during the night with winds shifting to northwest), and with a little help from grandma, I made yet another August '01 jaunt to God's Country. Marshall Iliff was already on the Shore, so we agreed to meet at Assateague's Bayside early in the am. I got there at 6 am, while Marshall rolled in at bit later (mental note, get him an alarm clock for when he sleeps in his car). Dave Powell, of Harford County fame, was vacationing in the area, so he joined us as well. As hoped, the morning flight as Bayside was very good. Marshall had a couple "clickers" to count things, which Todd Day had "loaned" him, and they came in handy for the innumerable redstarts. The final redstart click for Bayside was 51, but I rounded the total back off to 50, as it is hard to tell just how many birds you are actually seeing as the small flocks skirt through the gaps between the cedars or circle overhead giving their all so distinctive flight notes. For someone who wants a new version of "warbler neck" I highly recommend it. No vegetation to get in your way. The same reason I like pelagic trips. Anyway, warbler diversity was much improved from my prior trips this fall and we tallied 11 species here, including Worcester fall arrivals of Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Bay-breasted and Northern Waterthrush, the latter long overdue. The Bay-breasted (MLH and MJI only) was a new Worcester County fall arrival record by two days (prior record, 8/31/94, 1, AI/Bayside, Hoffman and M. O'Brien, Unpub. Obs.). Not a tremendous amount of mid- to late-August land bird data, other than my own, as the Ocean City Operation Recovery banding effort was only in operation a handful of times during the final two days of August. Other Bayside highlights were two flyover Prothonataries and one Yellow-throated Warbler out by the Point. The Protho is by far the most common "swamp" warbler out here, with Hooded, Kentucky and Louisiana Waterthrush all being great rarities. A flyover Summer Tanager, that Marshall spotted, was much better than the Prothos, as it was only the third record for Assateague, according to the data base. This species was banded at the Ocean City Operation Recovery Station in fairly good numbers, with 19 records, between Sep 8 and Oct 5. Another goodie was yet another Lark Sparrow (my 12th on Assateague and Marshall's 8th, as if anyone was counting**), a state bird for Dave. It was on the shoulder of the main road, a couple hundred feet east of the final (loop "C") exit from the camping loops to the main road. I tried to get a photo but the bird disappeared into the brush to the south. In the same modus operandi as Jim Stasz, who has a photo of every gull he has ever seen, I try to get a photo of every Lark Sparrow I see on AI. **Note: Despite all the birding I've done on Assateague, Marshall is awfully close in the "sparrow wars" (Bonnie loves that kind of talk). The record must reflect that a high percentage of his birds were found/staked out by yours truly, like this one, skewing comparability of the data. Note to Bonnie Ott - With all your flycatcher reports, its clear you are not in your "sparrow mode" yet. Remember, as proven by these Assateague birds, Lark Sparrows are very early migrants (they are already being seen in Florida as well), so I think you need to redirect your attention downward about 90 degrees. I'm sure you would like to relish one of these beautiful guys in Howard! We then birded the Ferry Landing Road woods, adding Yellow and Pine Warblers and Ovenbird to the day's warbler list. Then we hit the State Park/North Area. We relocated the Lark Sparrow I found here on the 24th and seen again by Iliff et al. on the 25th. At first it was on the west side of the oyster road, just north of the phrag patch. We left it alone, and had another LASP just north of the State Park/National Seashore boundary (there is a nice little wet area here, surrounded by dead shrubs that looks perfect for Alder Flycatcher -- I think you know what my "most wanted" Worcester County bird is). We came to the grand conclusion there must be two LASPs in this area, and a hat trick for the day would be a new personal best for both Marshall and me. But then the blasted bird had the nerve to fly the considerable distance back to where we first found him! Talk about messing with our heads -- not to mention the database. We added Chestnut-sided Warbler up here as well, as our only solace. We ended up with 15 species of warblers for the day. Marshall wanted to bird the "Ash-throated Flycatcher field" behind the National Seashore Headquarters, so we did that as well. It was pretty slow by then. This area sure looks like it could harbor something good, so if you are in the area... After that we split up, I did the Berlin Sewage Ponds briefly on the way home, as well as the Salisbury/Rt. 50 borrow pit, at Marshall's encouragement. Marshall said he had gotten official permission for me to stop at a birding location in Wicomico County without fear of reprisal by the locals. As someone who loves waders, this was a treat, if only we could move it a few miles to the east! But maybe I should be more generous with the good-natured Tri-County folks. The lone American Golden-Plover was still there, along with two Stilt Sands and 7 White-rumps. I did not see the Buff-breasted posted to MDOsprey. (Mental note: this is my #2 most-wanted Worcester bird, screw the locals, move the pond!!) Another nice day along the coast! Weather: Clear, NW wind, 10-15, temp mid-70s to mid-80s. 08/29/2001 Assateague Island/Bayside 0600-1000 Brown Pelican 20; Double-crested Cormorant 20; Great Blue Heron 1; Great Egret 5; Snowy Egret 8; Little Blue Heron 1; Tricolored Heron 25; American Black Duck 2; Mallard 2; Blue-winged Teal 6 (MLH); Northern Shoveler 10; Osprey 1; Peregrine Falcon 1; Northern Bobwhite 10; Black-bellied Plover 2; Semipalmated Plover 2; Killdeer 1; American Oystercatcher 4; Greater Yellowlegs 2; Lesser Yellowlegs 6; Willet 1; Ruddy Turnstone 3; Semipalmated Sandpiper 1; Least Sandpiper 25; Pectoral Sandpiper 1; Laughing Gull 300; Herring Gull 50; Great Black-backed Gull 15; Caspian Tern 5; Royal Tern 15; Forster's Tern 1; Mourning Dove 8; Chimney Swift 1; Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2; Belted Kingfisher 1; Downy Woodpecker 1; Eastern Kingbird 20; White-eyed Vireo 5; Red-eyed Vireo 3; Fish Crow 10; Purple Martin 2; Barn Swallow 1; Carolina Wren 5; House Wren 2; American Robin 2; Gray Catbird 45; Northern Mockingbird 1 (arrival?); Brown Thrasher 10; European Starling 10; Cedar Waxwing 25; Magnolia Warbler 2; Cape May Warbler 1 (MLH); Black-throated Blue Warbler 2; Yellow-throated Warbler 1 (MJI); Prairie Warbler 1; BAY-BREASTED WARBLER 1 (MLH and MJI, record Worcester fall arrival date); Black-and-white Warbler 2; American Redstart 50; Prothonotary Warbler 2; Northern Waterthrush 1; Common Yellowthroat 8; warbler (sp.) 10; SUMMER TANAGER 1; Eastern Towhee 15; LARK SPARROW 1; Song Sparrow 10; Northern Cardinal 4; Bobolink 5; Red-winged Blackbird 5; Boat-tailed Grackle 30; Orchard Oriole 2 (actually quite late, with only two later WC records, 1, 09/03/1961, OC/OR Station observed, CSR et. al. and 1, 09/21/1964, OC/OR Station observed, CSR et al., although the latter record might be questionable [a typo] as it was not published in Maryland Birdlife despite being significant); Baltimore Oriole 10; House Finch 2; American Goldfinch 5. Assateague Island/Ferry Landing Road 1010-1110 Brown Pelican 2; Double-crested Cormorant 5; Snowy Egret 2; Little Blue Heron 3; Tricolored Heron 4; Green Heron 1; Osprey 1; Clapper Rail 1; Ruddy Turnstone 3; Least Sandpiper 4; Short-billed Dowitcher 4; Laughing Gull 50; Herring Gull 10; Caspian Tern 5; Mourning Dove 3; Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1; Belted Kingfisher 1; Downy Woodpecker 1; Eastern Wood-Pewee 3; White-eyed Vireo 2; Red-eyed Vireo 3; Purple Martin 2; Tree Swallow 3; Carolina Chickadee 2; Carolina Wren 3; House Wren 1; Gray Catbird 10; Yellow Warbler 1 (MJI); Magnolia Warbler 4; Yellow-throated Warbler 1; Pine Warbler 15; Prairie Warbler 1; Black-and-white Warbler 4; American Redstart 6; Ovenbird 1 (MLH); Common Yellowthroat 5; Northern Cardinal 2; Boat-tailed Grackle 10; Baltimore Oriole 2; American Goldfinch 2. Assateague Island/State Park/North 1130-1230 Brown Pelican 4; Double-crested Cormorant 5; Great Egret 10; Sanderling 1; Laughing Gull 100; Herring Gull 10; Royal Tern 5; Mourning Dove 2; Downy Woodpecker 1; Eastern Wood-Pewee 4; White-eyed Vireo 1; Fish Crow 1; Carolina Chickadee 2; Carolina Wren 2; House Wren 2; Gray Catbird 5; Brown Thrasher 1; European Starling 4; Chestnut-sided Warbler 1; Magnolia Warbler 4; Black-and-white Warbler 1; American Redstart 8; Common Yellowthroat 6; Eastern Towhee 4; Field Sparrow 15; LARK SPARROW 1 (as previously, photos); Song Sparrow 6; Northern Cardinal 1; Red-winged Blackbird 4; Boat-tailed Grackle 1; Brown-headed Cowbird 1; House Finch 20; American Goldfinch 4. Assateague National Seashore Headquarters Field 1230-1330 Brown Pelican 2; Double-crested Cormorant 10; Great Blue Heron 1; Little Blue Heron 1; Green Heron 2; Turkey Vulture 25; Canada Goose 20; Bald Eagle 1; Red-tailed Hawk 1; Killdeer 1; Solitary Sandpiper 1; Laughing Gull 120; Herring Gull 60; Great Black-backed Gull 40; Caspian Tern 5; Royal Tern 12; Forster's Tern 5; Mourning Dove 2; Eastern Screech-Owl 1; Chimney Swift 1; Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1; Eastern Wood-Pewee 1; Eastern Kingbird 1; Fish Crow 2; Purple Martin 2; Tree Swallow 60; Bank Swallow 2; Barn Swallow 10; Carolina Chickadee 5; Tufted Titmouse 3; Carolina Wren 6; House Wren 8; Northern Mockingbird 6; Common Yellowthroat 15; Chipping Sparrow 20; Field Sparrow 20; Northern Cardinal 4; Bobolink 25; Red-winged Blackbird 6; Brown-headed Cowbird 1; American Goldfinch 20. Berlin Sewage Ponds 1350-1400 Black Vulture 3; Canada Goose 1; Mallard 1; Northern Shoveler 2; Laughing Gull 15; Herring Gull 5; Rock Dove 4; Tree Swallow 30; Barn Swallow 5; European Starling 8; American Goldfinch 2. Good birding, Mark Hoffman Sykesville, MD Mhoff36100@aol.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================