Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 10:14:26 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Dorchester May count LXXII, May 10 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline Sat., May 10. 72nd Dorchester County May Bird Count. Harry Armistead, Lynn Davidson, Mel Baughman & Hal Wierenga. Midnight - 9 P.M. 205 mi. by car, 3 on foot. 157 species (6th or 7th best ever). 134 species by the time we left Blackwater at 1 P.M. (record is c. 142). Night list: 31 species (the record here is 43). Overcast most of the day with winds variously either NE or SW 10-15 m.p.h. until noon, occasionally NW in late morning, becoming SW 15-5 in the P.M. and calm at dusk. Rain, mostly heavy, for an hour in mid-morning. Briefly fair with temperature rising to 70 c. noon, climbing to 75 or so in mid-afternoon before falling to c. 72 at dusk. One of the best nocturnal thrush flights I have ever witnessed, certainly the best ever for a spring night. Our night totals follow the grand totals: Veery 210 (200); Gray-cheeked Thrush 3 (3); Swainson's Thrush 65 (65); Wood Thrush 38 (35). The night was overcast, warmish with NE winds 10-15, 58-53 degrees F. The most outstanding feature of today's bird count was this thrush flight. We heard thrushes at every stop during the night ... that would be 45-50 stops. Getting 10 Veeries during the day was also very notable; normally just one or two is cause for a moderate celebration. Preliminary totals (I need to consult with my team members on some of this): Common Loon 14. Brown Pelican 60 (still hanging around the s. end of Barren I., where they bred last summer, even though this little marshy tump is much diminished). Mute Swan 145 (mostly at Hooper's I., incl. a pair with 6 small downy cygnets). Green-winged Teal 18. American Wigeon 2. Canvasback 2. Black Scoter 3 females (first count record). Ruddy Duck 45 (these last 3 species all at Elliott I. on Fishing Bay). Bald Eagle 30. Peregrine Falcon 2 (Clay I. hacking tower s. of Elliott I.). Clapper Rail 17. Virginia Rail 36. Sora 1. Common Moorhen 5. Black-necked Stilt 8 (Elliott I. marshes). Least Sandpiper 250. Dunlin 650. White-rumped Sandpiper 5. RED-NECKED PHALAROPE 1 male (these last 2 species at the new Maple Dam Rd. impoundments; only 2nd May count record for the phalarope; well seen by all 4 of us through scopes as it spun and fed on the water). Least Tern 3 (nesting on top of a motel e. of Cambridge this year). Black-billed Cuckoo 1. Barn Owl 2 (Elliott I.). Common Nighthawk 1 (towards dusk at Elliott; I'm not sure if they breed in Cambridge anymore). Chuck-will's-widow 13. Red-headed Woodpecker 2. Hairy Woodpecker 4. Pileated Woodpecker 7. Acadian Flycatcher 1. Eastern Kingbird 40 (several fields had flocks resting on the ground or on corn stalks; a good flight of them today). Bank Swallow 12. Brown-headed Nuthatch 9 (5 locations). Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2. Magnolia Warbler 2. Black-throated Blue Warbler 1. Blackpoll Warbler 2. Worm-eating Warbler 4. Northern Waterthrush 2. Canada Warbler 1 (Moneystump Swamp unit of Blackwater N.W.R.). Summer Tanager 8. Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1. Blue Grosbeak 12. Grasshopper Sparrow 10. Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow 10 (Elliott I. marshes). Seaside Sparrow 85. Swamp Sparrow 7 (at 4 locations, probably breeding birds). Bobolink 10. Baltimore Oriole 5. Notable misses: Least Bittern, Glossy Ibis, Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall, Lesser Scaup, Black Rail 0 (We are thinking, after the pathetic remnant numbers of the past few years combined with none heard this May, that they may be gone from the Elliott I. marshes.), King Rail, American Oystercatcher (usually found every time at Hooper's I. from Swan Harbor Rd., where Jared and I saw one on May 3.); Pectoral Sandpiper; Barred Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-throated Warbler. 7 heron types, 10 waterfowl, 8 raptors, 3 rails, 18 shorebirds, 5 terns, 3 owls, 6 woodpeckers, 4 flycatchers, 4 swallows, 2 vireos, 17 warblers, 9 sparrows. Except for the shorebirds, terns, and woodpeckers these are not especially good totals. With a better showing by waterfowl, shorebirds, warblers (3 more of each would not be out of the question or unprecedented) plus a few others from the list of the missing above we could have broken the one party record of 168 George and I set a few years ago. Also of interest: A great, swelling chorus (like a giant awakened) of Green Tree Frogs when we left Elliott I. c. 9 P.M. when the Fowler's Toads were also tuning up. Carpenter Frog heard only once. Young Red Fox kits seen three times. 3 Fox Squirrels. About 50 deer, mostly Sika Elk. 2 Muskrats, 6 Nutria. 2 Diamondback Terrapin and 5 Red-bellied Turtles. Several Pearl Crescents but few other butterflies. Jared Sparks covered Dorchester Co. north of Route 50, driving 88 miles there. Counts of his representing all-time highs for Dorchester May counts have their numbers spelled out. Species he found that we didn't were eight Snow Geese, 1 scaup (sp.), 1 Eastern Phoebe, 2 rough-winged swallows, and two Palm Warblers. Some of his interesting counts included: 11 Spotted Sandpipers, four-thousand eight-hundred Laughing Gulls, thirty-three Horned Larks, 168 Barn Swallows, 10 Prairie and 6 Worm-eating warblers. Jared is the first of my "guests" to ever do 2 Dorchester May counts in one year. At Blackwater we ran into Terry Allen, Levin Willey et al. I haven't seen their list yet but they told us they had good views of a Wilson's Warbler and a peregrine. Thanks again to Glenn Carowan and the Blackwater N.W.R. staff for giving us access to some normally closed areas. "Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near Bellevue. May 9, Fri. Hal, Lynn, Liz & Harry Armistead. 8 Common Loons, 1 Spotted Sandpiper, 1 Royal & 1 Least Tern. May 11, Sun. Mary, Liz & Harry Armistead. Solitary Sandpiper 1, Blackpoll Warbler 1. A flight of unid. butterflies took place today, probably anglewings, all heading due north. Also saw 3 Spring Azures & a Tiger Swallowtail. Lots of Fowler's Toads hopping around and some standing water on the field edges is full of hundreds of tadpoles. 1 Red Fox, 1 Northern Water Snake, a Spotted Turtle, a Gray Squirrel, and a Green Frog seen at close range. May 12, Mon. Liz & Harry Armistead. Carolina Wrens have built a precarious nest over our front door sill with one egg. The nest fell today and I replaced it about a foot away on a light fixture. Starlings are nesting in a hollow in a black locust next to the house. From 1-2 Least Terns have been present since Friday. A d.o.r. Opossum was being tended by 2 Turkey Vultures. Found another Spotted Turtle at Frog Hollow which we showed to Ben Weems, Mike Davidson and his lady friend who happened by at the moment. After having seen 81 Diamondback Terrapin on May 2 none were seen in this 4-day period. Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA 19119-1225. 215-248-4120. 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