Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 10:21:22 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Elliott Island January 26 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline "Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near Bellevue. Jan. 25, 2003, Sat. 3:45 P.M. - 6:15 P.M. 31 - 28 degrees F., clear, wind 5-0 m.p.h. Ice as far as the eye can see but with some open leads in the central Choptank River. Still 1 inch of snow in shady spots. 23 species. During the course of the night my bedroom gradually warmed up from 27 degrees to a balmy 56 by 4:45 A.M., when I got up to go to Elliott Island. 1 dead mouse from the house trapline. 65 tundra Swans (As I watched the sunset, a beauty, from Lucy Point I heard them utter 7 different calls; they were amicably sharing an open area with 65 Mute Swans; someone, I forget who [Blackwater refuge would know] is studying the interactions of these 2 swans but as far as I can see the Mutes are not aggressive towards the Tundras). 145 Canvasbacks. 35 Surf Scoters. 70 Buffleheads. 1 ad. Bald Eagle. 2 Great Horned Owls (calling at 2:50 P.M. and again at dusk). 1 male kingfisher (landed right over me, calling, and took sometime to notice my camouflaged presence). 1 Brown Thrasher (calling 20 minutes after sunset in their usual, crepuscular fashion). 3 Gray Squirrels. Elliott Island Rd., Dorchester County, MD. Jan. 26, 2003, Sun. Variable skies but mostly fair and sunny, 23 - 42 degrees F., winds SW 5-10. Most waters frozen but some fairly extensive open areas at the mouth of Fishing Bay. An inch or 2 of old snow, especially in shady or protected areas. 62 species. 6:45 A.M. - 5:45 P.M. 70 miles by car, 4 by foot. Snow began at 7 P.M., making the drive back to Philadelphia tiring. Great Blue Heron 36 (surprising to see this many, perhaps some were forced out from farther north). 2 adult Black-crowned Night Herons (flushed at Green Island Hunt Club c. 8:30 A.M.). This is where John Weske lived in the summer of 1963 to work on his Cornell masters thesis: "An ecological study of the Black Rail in Dorchester County, Maryland", September 1969, 52 pages. John captured 11 of these rails; measurements and dates are listed on page 52. This hunt club (on the edge of Pokata Creek on the east side of the road), the 3rd building as one heads south through the marsh, is now in total disarray, as is the 2nd one. The first is still well maintained. A c. 3 mile circular dike heads out from Green Island. The north arc is breached by a tidal gut after about 100 yards. The south arc has been breached after about 1.25 miles. Before these breachings one could walk all the way across the Elliott Island marshes to the edge of the Nanticoke River, the last couple of hundred yards through rather easily-crossed marsh. After much initial hoopla, Ducks Unlimited signage, etc., this dike system seems to have been abandoned. I don't think the dikes have done the Black Rails any good but the southern arc still provides a nice, albeit rather bumpy and pot-holed, walk through the marshes. The southern breach used to be narrow enough so that if one got a running start s/he could jump from one side to another. Now it is 15-20 feet across. But to return to the matter at hand: Snow Goose 1140 and Blue Goose 56 (in Vienna right next to the town's streets). In Fishing Bay between the ice formations, seen at considerable distance and the result of extensive scopeing: 6 Lesser Scaup, 38 Common Goldeneye, 4 Buffleheads, 16 Red-breasted Mergansers and 285 Ruddy Ducks. Raptors: 29 Bald Eagles (incl. several on ice formations in Fishing Bay and the Nanticoke River, scenes of great winter desolation, Fuertes-like settings). 17 harriers. 2 sharpies. 4 Cooper's (one a huge, seemingly goshawk-sized ad. female with beautiful brick-red underparts). 2 Rough-legged Hawks (1 each of dark and light phase, much typical hovering over the marshes, with striking, white tail bases). 2 screech, 4 horned and 3 Short-eared Owls (1 actively hunting at 9:30 A.M.). 2 kingfishers. 20 flickers, including a FLOCK of 18 seen from the bridge to Elliott, flying into the woods. 445 robins. 2 thrashers. 4 Fox and 82 Song Sparrows (most of the songs - 82 seemed like an awful lot- frequenting the road shoulders). Only 2 Boat-tailed Grackles. The missing: Hooded Merganser, Blue Jay, bluebird and meadowlark. One huge Nutria by the roadside was the only mammal. Saw 9 old marsh wren nests. Found a dead adult Swamp Sparrow. I presumed it died from cold or starvation. The nice old wooden house where the "Cokeland" sign used to be is burned down. Sic transit ... During the deer season the yard there used to fill up with trailers. A little bit of song today from some of the red-wings and House Finches. Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA 19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Please, any off-list replies 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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================