Date: Sun, 4 May 2003 18:52:51 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Dorchester County May 3 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. May 2, 2003, Friday. Jared Sparks & Harry Armistead. Hazy and warm, 57-80 degrees F. Partly sunny. Light winds. 49 species. Red-throated Loon 1 (latest ever). Red-necked Grebe 1 (latest). Surf Scoter 24. Bufflehead 2. Indigo Bunting 1. These 5 species we would not see on May 3 in Dorchester County. A pair of Canada Geese with 3 small, downy goslings swimming in our cove. Also: 81 Diamondback Terrapin (a new high count, by a lot; 60 in sight simultaneously from Lucy Point, their snouts held out of the water). "I CAN'T BELIEVE I ATE THE WHOLE THING" - I was watching a Muskrat placidly swimming across the cove, about 200 feet from shore. There was a big swirl on the surface about 10 feet from the Muskrat. Soon afterwards the Muskrat appeared to dive. I scanned the surface for minutes afterwards but it did not reappear. I think it was eaten by a big Striped Bass. Lots of Fowler's Toads seen today. Found a Spotted Turtle on the Olszewski trails. 2 Black Swallowtails. 1 Water Snake. 1 Box Turtle. May 3, Saturday. 71st Dorchester County May Bird Count. Jared Sparks & Harry Armistead. Midnight - 9 P.M. 195 miles by car. 3 by foot. 68 degrees F. at start dropping through the course of the night to c. 50 at 5 A.M., up to 61 in the afternoon, then back down to c. 50 by 9 P.M. A cold, windy day, overcast day with NE winds of 15-20+ m.p.h. A little rain around midnight. Finally clearing just before sunset. 137 species. Night list: 15. Saw 97 deer: 3 White-tailed Deer, the remainder (94) presumed to all be Sika Elk, including one field with 37. Amphibians: Cricket, Green Tree (4), Gray Tree (1), Carpenter (3), Bull, Green, and Chorus frogs plus Spring Peepers. The windy, cool, overcast night after a period of drying conditions did not make for much of a frog chorus. approximate numbers: American Bittern 1. Glossy Ibis 1. Mute Swan 36 (including 2 pens on their nests at Elliott I. at Gadwall Bend and the Moorhen Spot). Green-winged Teal 65. Bald Eagle 32. Red-shouldered Hawk 1 (Moneystump Swamp unit of Blackwater N.WR., has bred here previously). Wild Turkey 9. Clapper Rail 14. Common Moorhen 3. Black-necked Stilt 7 (Elliott I.). White-rumped Sandpiper 1. American Woodcock 4 (talk about cute: an adult with 3 young capable of flight on the shoulder along Shorter's Wharf Rd.). Caspian Tern 9. Royal Tern 11. Barn Owl 1. Barred Owl 2 (calling spontaneously in mid-afternoon in Moneystump Swamp). Red-headed Woodpecker 2. Pileated Woodpecker 8. Bank Swallow 6. Brown-headed Nuthatch 9. Northern Waterthrush 1 (Robbins). Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 male (Moneystump Swamp). Summer Tanager 4. Blue Grosbeak 4. Bobolink 15. Modest results from a big effort. This cold, windy, overcast day of a late spring was not conducive to great results. 8 heron types, 8 waterfowl, 7 raptors, 3 rails, 16 shorebirds, 5 terns, 4 owls, 6 woodpeckers, 2 flycatchers, 4 swallows, 2 vireos, 14 warblers & 7 sparrows. Most of these are poor totals. The route, the same every year, is: Elliott I. Rd. midnight-3:30 A.M. Griffith Neck Rd, incl. Bestpitch Ferry Bridge and Greenbriar, 3:30-5 A.M. Central Blackwater N.W.R. but incl. Shorter's Wharf, Egypt & Old Field roads and parts of Cambridge, 5 A.M. - 1 P.M. Moneystump Swamp and Smithville Rd. in early afternoon. Hooper's I. in mid-afternoon. Then the long haul back to Elliott I. to end the day 5:15-9 P.M. Also: Groups of 1 and 2 baby Red Fox kits, most appealing little animals, and a grown Red Fox carrying what I thought might have been a woodcock, all along Elliott I. Rd. 1 Fox Squirrel at Blackwater. Missed: Tricolored Heron, Least Bittern, any diving duck, any falcon, Black Rail, Sora, Field Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Today was the first test of my "The Birder" hearing aids. I wore them comfortably for 21 hours. I could not believe how much they improved my hearing of bird (and insect) sound. It will take weeks more of use before I can really pass judgement but I was very pleased initially, on this windy day, to be able to hear well such high frequency vocalizers as: Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue, Prairie, Black-and-white, Yellow-rumped & Pine warblers, Chipping Sparrow, and Bobolink. At night I did not have the hearing aids turned up enough and missed many of the birds Jared heard. During the day with more amplification I was able to hear most of the birds Jared did. Jared's hearing is good. For over 10 years I have had what could reasonably be considered this birding disability. Now, although it is not as if my ears are what they were when I was 20, this is partially compensated for. Rigby's Folly, May 4, Sun. A big Red Fox. 2 Opossums last night at 10 P.M. when we returned to Rigby after our Dorchester marathon. 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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================