Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2003 21:54:44 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "George M. Jett" Subject: Charles Co. Birds This Weekend Comments: To: SMAS Comments: cc: Miliff@aol.com, Zeke Zarnosky MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Folks Over the weekend Gwen and I got out both days. On Saturday I led a trip for MOS. The weather was not as bad as predicted. Most people cancelled. We still had a fine day with the five attendees with a day total of just over 100 species (our target number). We started at 7 A M and finished shortly after 5 PM. Not too bad considering the weather prediction and the limited time of the event. The highlight for me was a Brown Pelican that Gwen pulled out of the mist over the Potomac River at Cobb Island. Waterfowl and shorebirds were scarce and some common birds were missed (Barred & Screech Owls, Phoebe, both Kinglets, Whips/Chucks, and Red-headed Woodpecker). No preparation for this trip was made. We just meet and went birding. Had I planned, started early, and birded later, we might have been able to find the Phoebe, and others to break the big day April county record. I think it is 111 in Frederick. Maybe next year if we try. The species list: Red-throated Loon, Morgantown (M) Common Loon, Cobb Island (CI) Pied-billed Grebe, Allen's Fresh (AF) Horned Grebe, M Brown Pelican CI Double-Crested Cormorant, Mattawoman, etc. Great Blue Heron - several places Great Egret, Mattawoman, Bumpy Oak Wetlands Green Heron, Rt. 228 Mitigation Ponds, etc. Mute Swan, Port Tobacco Marina (PTM) Canada Goose - lots of places but confirmed nesting bird at Festival Way Shopping Center, behind the mall. Atlas guy - listen up. Wood Duck, Bumpy Oak Mallards - lots of places but confirmed nesting bird at Festival Way Shopping Center, behind the mall. Atlas guy - listen up. Lesser Scaup, Breeze Point Sewage Treatment Plant (BPSTP) Red-breasted Merganser, PTM, C Ruddy Duck, Chapel Point State Park (CPSP), BPSTP Black Vulture, CPSP Turkey Vulture, many places Osprey - nesting all along the rivers. I need to take out the Atlas block map and record some day soon. Bald Eagle, Mattawoman, AF Northern Harrier, AF Cooper's Hawk, Popes Creek Rd. - not seen by all. Red-shouldered Hawk, Myrtle Grove State Park (MG), CPSP Red-tailed Hawk, AF and other places American Kestrel, AF 2 Wild Turkey - two standing on the railroad tracks at Bumpy Oak Wetland. The hunters were in the woods, and they came out into the tracks near the birders. Such a lovely animal. American Coot, CI Killdeer, Popes Creek Rd, BPSTP Greater Yellowleg, Rt. 228 Mitigation Ponds Spotted Sandpiper, Mattawoman Creek Rd. Wilson's Snipe, AF, BPSTP Laughing Gull, CI Bonaparte Gull, Popes Creek Ring-billed Gull, lots of places Herring Gull, M, etc. Great Black-backed Gull, CPSP, M Royal Tern, CPSP, M Forster's Tern, M, CPSP Rock Dove, Festival Way Shopping Center, Popes Creek Rd. Mouning Dove, etc Barn Owl *- 6 in the box on private property. *Now this is up for debate. We never saw the birds, and they never made a sound while we stood next to the box. Is this countable? I know there are 6 young Barn Owl in the box. That was confirmed earlier in the week. I won't disturb a nest box for a list. Counting these birds is like when a tree falls in the woods, and no one hears the tree fall, does it make a sound? Yes. You decide if this species belongs on the list. I added them. Chimney Swifts - lots of places Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Rt 228, Myrtle Grove, House Belted Kingfisher, Popes Creek and somewhere else. Red-bellied Woodpecker - lots of sightings Downy, several locations Hairy, Bumpy Oak and Home Pileated Woodpecker - Bumpy Oak Wetlands (BO) Northern Flicker, Swan Point Rd., BO Eastern Kingbird - BO Purple Martin, M, CI Tree Swallow - BO, etc. Northern Rough-winged Swallow, BPSTP, BO Barn Swallow, BO, House, etc. Blue Jay, lots of places Fish Crow - CI, Swan Point American Crow - Some where along the way. Carolina Chickadee - Forests, etc. Tufted Titmouse - w/ Carolina Chickadees White-breasted Nuthatch - BO, Carolina Wren - etc. House Wren - CI Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - lots Eastern Bluebirds, wire birds along the way, BO American Robin - yards of them. Wood Thrush - Festival Way Shopping Center, etc. Northern Mockingbird - many places Brown Thrasher - several singing birds on territory European Starling - Do you really want to know? White-eyed Vireo - many spots, BO, Swann Point, etc. Yellow-throated Vireo - Mattawoman stop at Rt. 229 Red-eyed Vireo - Mattawoman Cr. Rd., near Pisgah Northern Parula - first at BO Rd. Many singing lots of places. Yellow Warbler - Port Tobacco and Rt. 6 Pond Yellow-rumped Warbler - most places and most singing. Pine Warbler - several locations including Swann Point Rd. Prairie Warber - the first was at the north end of Bumpy Oak Rd. Others elsewhere. Black & White Warber - Myrtle Grove and House American Redstart - BO Ovenbird - numerous locations Northern Waterthrush - CPSP - not typical song, some dispute, no one killed over dispute Lousiana Waterthrush - Myrtle Grove was the first of the day. Common Yellowthroat - BO wetlands was the first I think Hooded Warbler - only heard by the bionic ears of Gwen along Bumpy Oak Rd. before the wetlands Yellow-breasted Chat - one singing at Myrtle Grove Blue Grosbeak - nice find at BPSTP Northern Cardinal - lots of places Rufous- sided Towhee - several locations Chipping Sparrow - whereever the habitat was Field Sparrow - Rt. 228 wetland was the first Song Sparrow - BO plus Swamp Sparrow - BO Savannah Sparrow - BPSTP White-throated Sparrow - in the brush lots of places and some were singing. Red-winged Blackbirds - first I think were at the Festival Way shopping center. Eastern Meadowlark - a large field on the corner of Rt. 257 where you turn off toward Cobb Island. Rusty Blackbird (8) along Morgantown Road. Common Grackle - too many places Northern (Baltimore) Oriole - single person sighting at Myrtle Grove Brown-headed Cowbird - BO and other locations House Finch - first sighting was at Myrtle Grove. American Goldfinch- many places but a hugh flock at the end of Mattawomen Creek Road. House Sparrow - several locations along the way. On Sunday after photographing the BEAUTIFUL LINCOLN'S SPARROW in my backyard, Gwen and I headed down to Nanjemoy to see what else was in. We had not gone into that area on the Saturday MOS trip. Also, we had our first female Rubythroat arrive. The male was doing the courtship display for her. Additonal birds for the Sunday Nanjemoy area were: Red-headed Woodpeckers - down Rt. 224 near Thorne Gut Also Yellow-throated Vireo were there - Big Day data Gray Catbird - Rt. 224, north end Yellow-throated Warbler - Liverpool Point Rd. Prothontary Warbler - down Rt. 224 near Thorne Gut Wormeating Warbler - heard by Gwen from three miles away from the road. Getting old can be tough. Summer Tanager - Sandy Point Road and Rt. 224. Scarlet Tanager - House predawn, and Rt. 224 Orchard Oriole - Liverpool Point Rd. And finally, Whip-poor-will - at the house. Nice to hear them so close last night. Enjoy the animals and plants you encounter. George ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================