Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 11:37:10 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: pelicans, Royals, Rigby 7/31 - 8/2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline A nice boating trip, 8 of us, including Bob Ake and banders Dave Brinker and John Weske, to areas west and south of Crisfield, MD, in Chesapeake Bay, most of them in Virginia, and also to Skimmer Island, Ocean City, MD, late in the day: July 31, 2003, Thursday. Hazy verging on foggy, to hazy to fair, winds light, temp. up to the low 80's, good banding weather. South Point Marsh, Accomack Co., VA. We banded in the middle and 2nd largest of the 3 pelican colonies here. This is c. 5 mi. s. of Ewell, Smith I., MD. Today we banded c. 290 Brown Pelican chicks here plus 7 young Double-crested Cormorants. Combined with 200 some banded earlier in July (and June, I think) plus the 752 tagged on July 10 that totals at least 1,242 pelican chicks banded at South Point Marsh this summer. With a recovery rate of perhaps 10% that means c. 125 will be heard from again. Also seen here: 16 oystercatchers, 1 Sanderling, 8 Seaside Sparrows, 2 Clapper Rails, 18 American Black Ducks, and Mute Swan broods of 3 and 5 cygnets respectively. I tried to record the contents of all nests that still had eggs, which seemed like many for this late in the season. Brown Pelican: 26 nests - 7 with 1 egg, 14 with 2 eggs, 3 with 3 eggs, 1 with 1 egg and 1 young, and 1 with 2 eggs and 1 young. Double-crested Cormorant: 108 nests - 9 with 1 egg, 41 with 2 eggs, 47 with 3 eggs, 1 with 4 eggs, 3 with 1 egg and 1 young, 5 with 2 eggs and 1 young, and 2 with 1 egg and 2 young. I estimated 80 large cormorant chicks, in sight from one spot, undoubtedly far below what 's actually there. In 3 weeks or so a last trip will be made to band the remaining late-hatching pelican chicks. Shanks Island, Accomack Co., VA. This is about a mile south of the South Point Marsh pelican colonies. Revisited the considerable Royal Tern colony here discovered on July 9. This still consists mostly of birds on eggs so a return trip to corral the young royals is warranted. A tight colony of 200 or so nests, mas o menos. Saw a few large, juvenile Black Skimmers here, able to fly. Ewell, Smith I., MD. The usual celebratory lunch at Ruke's. 7 Yellow-crowned Night Herons, 1 female Belted Kingfisher (a post-breeding bird since they don't breed here). This year most of the YCNHs seen have been on the eastern approaches to Smith Island flying over Big Thorofare. On the way back to Crisfield John banded 2 Osprey chicks on the no. 3 green marker between Ewell and Tylerton. It's really late in the year to be able to do this and these 2 Osprey chicks weren't even that large. "work boats from Ewell, scrapers on Big Thorofare, soft crab your cities." About a week earlier Dave Brinker et al. banded 54 pelican chicks at Pry I., a satellite of South Marsh I., Somerset Co., MD, where there have been up to c. 75 nests this year, the first time they have bred here. They also banded 8 pelican chicks on the s. end of Barren I., Dorchester Co., MD (part of Blackwater N.W.R.), where a few birds bred last year at Whitewood Cove. By this time next year I predict this island will have completely eroded away. Little Fox I., Accomack Co., VA, c, 6 mi. s. of Crisfield, MD. We revisited here briefly but could only find 3 Royal Tern chicks to band to add to the 437 banded on July 9. Presumably the c. 41 nests with eggs here on July 9 failed to hatch. There are perhaps 200 hundred Laughing Gull juveniles hatched out here but I did not find any nests with eggs today. Also seen: 1 Sandwich Tern (sitting with the royals but no sign of nesting), 2 oystercatchers, and a Least Sandpiper. I found a Snowy Egret nest in a 'Baccharis halimifolia' bush with 3 chicks the size of small green peppers. Strange to find a single snowy nest by itself, the first time I remember finding such away from a mixed heronry. Not seen: Seaside or Song Sparrows, Willet, or Marsh Wren. This island has become too small to support them, I'd guess. "I sing of the Bay. my song is of the islands ere they wash away." Skimmer Island, Ocean City, MD. Charlie Vaughn joined the remnants of today's Crisfield banding party today for a total of 5 of us on a revisit to the Royal Tern colony on Skimmer Island. We banded 211 Royal Tern chicks, a good total for a second visit. During the first visit on July 9, 263 royals were banded (= a total of 474). Also at Skimmer I. was a Sandwich Tern (but no sign of nesting) and c. 515 Sanderlings, numerous Tricolored and other herons, skimmers, oystercatchers, et al. John Weske said c. 1,000 royals have been banded at Fisherman's I. N.W.R. so far. He was to return there on August 1. John also indicated there were under 500 Brown Pelicans nests on Fisherman's. These numbers are down from what they have been in most recent years. Also in Northampton County, VA, John said there was a moderate-sized Royal Tern colony on the north end of Wreck Island. He is still negotiating with the state for permission to band there. In the 8 or so years I have been tagging along with John and Dave on these combined tern-pelican banding roundups of these many thousands banded I can only recollect one bird dying, that a pelican that unaccountably died while I was holding it. Aug. 1, Fri., a work day in Philadelphia. "Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near Bellevue: A weekend of harmless family activities including 4 short boat trips. Wife, Liz, and daughters Anne and Mary were on hand. The almost daily light to moderate rainfall has left areas of the property lawns and trails so boggy that they cannot be mowed. Mildew has become pervasive in the past week or so. August 1, Saturday. Hot and humid. 2 rain storms today, otherwise mostly cloudy to somewhat fair, 76-85 degrees F., winds SW 10-20. Nice adult Pied-billed Grebe in Irish Creek. There are only 7 records for Rigby. Off Holland Pt. at the mouth of Irish Creek was a flock consisting of 5 female and 1 male Black and 2 male Surf scoters. 1 Cooper's Hawk at Rigby. These apparently post-breeding coops seem to show up with some regularity in late July and August on the Eastern Shore. 10 Royal Terns at Benoni Pt. and 80 Mute Swans at Rigby. A Least Tern at Wooden Pt. right after the passage of a thunderstorm, during which we were stuck in the boat at Benoni Pt. A little scary. Saw 2 Diamondback Terrapin. Caught a 12" Striped Bass from the dock at dusk, when the (2?) Green Tree Frogs, referred to in my post for July 26, were heard again. Several Osprey nests around Oxford still contain large young, probably capable of flight. Still, this is late for that. Loads of little Fowler's Toads everywhere. Our fields still not ploughed, disked, or planted, nice and grassy. Still a few fireflies at dusk. [that's 3 "stills" in 4 sentences, Harry. Watch it!] Cicadas sawing away. 3 sightings of an ad. Bald Eagle in 3 spots, possibly the same bird. "July is hot in Virginia, a parched leather farmer who cuts wood all day long with a cicada saw." -Stephen Vincet Benet in "John Brown's Body." (won the 1924 Pulitzer Prize). That's from memory so probably not entirely correct. August 2, Sunday. Weather, about the same as yesterday. We saw a juvenile Turkey Vulture from the boat in the wrecked shambles of a duck blind, perhaps where the nest is. About as big as the adult perched nearby but some of the downy, white plumage still showed through the black body feathering. Butterflies seen right around the front porch in or near the boxwood: Tiger Swallowtail, Red-spotted Purple, Question Mark, Monarch, Silver-spotted Skipper, and Red Admiral. Various minor tragedies involving the boat trailer. I learned that the entire 2,100 lb. rig can be tilted up by using a large crowbar by a person of average strength. Even considering that the wheels and axle act as a sort of second fulcrum I was surprised to be able to do this. As my cousin, Peggy Driggs, who was present for this fiasco, said: "Isn't having fun a lot of work." Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA 19119-1225. 215-248-4120. 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