Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 11:52:30 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Ferry Neck Sep. 6-7 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. September 6-7, 2003. Liz & Harry Armistead. Once again, what seemed to have the makings of 2 great flight days produced disappointing results, except for the Veeries. Sat., Sep. 6, clear to fair, 65-79 degrees, NW 10-15 - NE 10 - NW 5. Spectacular vermilion clouds after sunset. A gem of a day. 61 species. 93 Veeries (2nd highest property total; all other high counts have been within the range of Sep. 5-10; heaviest calling was between 5:45 and 6:10 A.M.). 2 Great Egrets which lingered feeding at the head of the cove until after 8 P.M.; usually they lift off and head west towards Poplar Island well before then. 4 Bald Eagles (2 ad., 2 imm., all in sight at one time). 1 Cooper's Hawk. 20 Chimney Swifts. 7 catbirds. 21 waxwings. 1 Canada Warbler. Black Rat Snakes' arboreal doin's. One 4 footer 5 feet up in a white pine had cloudy, milky-colored eyes, which I think means it was getting ready to shed. Another 4.5' was dangling in and out of a bluebird house then completely disappeared inside of it. Five Painted Turtles sunning on a log at Frog Hollow. Lots of Southern Leopard Frogs (some actively calling) and Fowler's Toads. Sun., Sep. 7. Clear to fair, 64-81 degrees, calm - NW 5-10. Another gem. 60 species. 70 Veeries. 1 Common Loon in flight going due east, probably an early arrival because we haven't seen any here since May. 1 female Surf Scoter, the only bird of note seen on a 1-hour, 5-mile boat trip. 3 Bald Eagles (on both days we saw one chase a fish-bearing Osprey, today's stooping 5 times on the Osprey; outcomes not able to be witnessed either day, slipped behind the trees). 2 Great Horned Owls. 4 Eastern Wood Pewees (ties 5th highest for the yard). 1 Yellow Warbler. 2 Chestnut-sided Warblers. 4 Magnolia Warblers. 1 Canada Warbler. 3 Diamondback Terrapin. 6 deer (4 does, a small buck, and a rather small fawn). 2 Gray Squirrels. Butterflies for the weekend (many of these just singles): Monarch, Red-spotted Purple, Tiger Swallowtail, Question Mark, Spring Azure, Buckeye, Silver-spotted Skipper, Pearl Crescent, Orange Sulfur, Cabbage White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, and at least 3 other skipper species I do not know how to identify. Our one marsh hibiscus with the big white flowers at Lucy Point is just barely alive and did not bloom this year but the one with the smaller pink flowers at our ersatz boat-launching ramp is doing well and was attended by several skippers (sp.). More Horseflies than I've ever seen here this weekend, easy to slap but disconcerting. Still a great deal of standing water on the ground. Got badly infested with chiggers again. Both mornings the skies were crystal clear at 5:30 A.M. with good views of Orion, Cassiopeia, and the Pleiades. Most of the constellations' names seem to me to be very fanciful, derived from rather contrived patterns. They're a stretch. Yesterday morning it occurred to me that the Pleiades looks almost exactly like a toilet seen from the side, its front to the right, and the lid unnaturally back 45 degrees off of perpendicular. Those 7 stars really do look like something. Flushed with pride. That's one dispassionate, prosaic view of part of the Heavens - one probably best left unsaid but there it is. Still numbers of what I call the 4 Labor Day Weekend species around: Bobolinks, redstarts, Baltimore Orioles, and Veeries. 1 screech-owl and 1 Traill's type Flycatcher both days. In spite of the big Veery flights none were actually seen. Tides higher than expected in view of the NW weather system perhaps due to the distant influence of Hurricane Fabian? Question. Does anyone know if Chimney Swifts will still use chimneys if they have chimney caps (those raised lids) in place? 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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================