Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 20:04:02 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Stan Arnold Subject: E. Shore, 9-10 March (long) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Folks, Joan DeCarli and I did a sweep of numerous places around the E. Shore = this weekend. No great finds-- Lesser Black-backed Gull was about the = best we could do. NOTHING TO ADD TO COMPLIST, Fran, but there were a = lot of birds, with lots of waterfowl staging for the trip north, and the = definitive arrival of birds such as Osprey, Laughing Gull, and Tree = Swallow. The excessive wind on Sunday made viewing problematical. A = not-so-short tally of where we looked and what was seen follows: SAT., 9 MARCH QUEEN ANNE'S CO.: Kent Narrows--Lots of waterfowl, mostly scaup: Horned Grebe (10), = Pied-billed Grebe (3), Canada Goose (20), tundra Swan (50), Mute Swan = (15), Canvasback (5), Greater Scaup (2000), Common Goldeneye (100), = Long-tailed Duck (12), Ruddy Duck (150), Osprey (1), Boat-tailed Grackle = (5) Rte 309 Ponds--nothing but Tundra Swans, along with a flotilla of snow = goose decoys at the first big pond, and three hunters crouched behind a = blind. I thought hunting season was over. TALBOT CO.: Rte 331 Bridge over Choptank R.-- a pair of adult Bald Eagles sitting = side-by-side in a tree overlooking the river, viewed from Tanyard Marsh = on the Caroline Co. side CAROLINE CO.: Tanyard Marsh-- NO Waterfowl! The marsh had the common gulls and Common = Snipe (10). A pair of Ospreys flew up and down the river, and circled = over the bridge DORCHESTER CO.: Rte 331, in field along highway, abeam the Beulah Landfill: Laughing = Gull (3) among many Ring-bills, Herrings, and Great Black-backs Hulock WWTP-- Snow Goose (5000), dropped in, wave after wave. Also N. = Shoveler (150), Greater Scaup (5), Ruddy Duck (400), and Tree Swallow = (1). WORCESTER CO.: Assateague Island Nat. Seashore, Off Road Vehicle Zone, entire stretch = of beach (only made one or two stops to scope the ocean, thus the low = numbers of some species) -- Red-throated Loon (12), Common Loon (5), N. = Gannet (15--one 2nd year, all others adults), scoter (2000, of which = only Surfs could be identified), Bufflehead (50), Sanderling (34), and = unusually small numbers of Ring-billed, Herring, and GBB Gulls. We checked the crossovers from 8 to 15 (reverse order): ORV Zone, Crossover 15 (at state line) -- Am. Black Duck (500), = Bufflehead (200), N. Harrier (1), Belted Kingfisher (1) Crossover 14 (Pope Bay) -- all access beyond the dunes closed Crossover 12 (Green Run) -- ditto Crossover 11-- goes nowhere interesting Crossover 10/253 (new numbering scheme?) (Fox Hills Level) -- = Black-bellied Plover (22), Dunlin (330), Herring Gull (300), E. = Meadowlark (1), Boat-tailed Grackle (25) Crossover 8/234 -- N. Harrier (1); NO waterfowl Leaving Assateague Nat. Seashore -- A MERLIN flying right in front of = the car's windshield. Close, but fast! SUN., 10 MARCH 2002 (high winds just about restricted the view to birds = that were big and close) WORCESTER CO.: Ocean City Inlet -- Red-throated Loon (25), Common Loon (2), DC = Cormorant (2), Surf Scoter (50), RB Merganser (15), Ruddy Turnstone = (only 1!), Purple Sandpiper (4), Bonaparte's Gull (tight flock of 200 = feeding and swarming about; no goodies among them) Skimmer Island -- Great Blue Heron (2), DC Cormorant (20), Brant (90), = Blue Goose x ??? hybrid?? (very reddish orange bill and legs, black & = white back and flanks; strange looking), Am. Oystercatcher (6), N. = Harrier (1), lots of the common gulls W. Ocean City Pond -- BC Night Heron (11--all imm), Gadwall, Am. Wigeon, = N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, GW Teal, Am. Coot, Greater Yellowlegs (7), = gulls SOMERSET CO.: Rumbly Point Rd.-- DC Cormorant (1), NO waterfowl in bay that could be = seen under the turbulent conditions; only mallards and black ducks in = the marsh. Also Bald Eagle (1 imm), N. Harrier (4), E. Meadowlark (1) Deale Island WMA -- Tricolored Heron (9), Tundra Swan (360), Gadwall = (20), Am. Wigeon (thousands--we scanned as best we could under the poor = seeing conditions, but could not produce a Eurasian), N. Pintail (30), = N. Shoveler (150), GW Teal (300), Greater Yellowlegs (37), Lesser = Yellowlegs (1), YB Sapsucker (1 in yard at beginning of Riley Roberts = Rd.) Hwy 667 -- plowed field with Laughing Gull (5) among the other three = common species Hwy 431 (main hwy to Crisfield) -- Wild Turkey (7 [young?] toms, three = of which were doing a most amusing circle dance); I find the fields = along this highway to be the most reliable place in the state to view = turkeys. WICOMICO CO.: Borrow Pit along US 50, west side of Salisbury -- Laughing Gull (18), = LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (1 adult), and the other three common gulls Despite lack of rarities, it was an enjoyable outing. Stan Arnold Glen Burnie blackrail@earthlink.net =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =========================================================================