Weekend at the Shore [longish]
Jlstasz@aol.com
Mon, 5 Oct 1998 18:53:21 EDT
Hi Folks!
I went to the Ocean City area for the weekend. Saturday (10/3) dawn at
Bayside, Assateague I. National Seashore was silent! Berwwen 6AM and 7AM not a
single chip note in the sky.....no thrushes, warblers, or anything else.
Morning birding through the campground was slow, but not without a few
goodies. The 3 immature White-crowned Sparroes were my first of the fall, as
were the Golden-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Slate-colored
Juncos, and a lone Hermit Thrush. The total of 20 Myrtle Warblers, the most
common warbler, indicates how slow that portion was. Western Palm was the next
most common with 12, and then 8 Cape Mays. Highlights were a Sedge Wren along
the Life of the Marsh Trail and an immature Clay-colored Sparrow in a mixed
sparrow/junco flock in the campground. 2 young Northern Gannets were offshore
over a pod of 16 dolphin/porpoise.
The Life of the Forest Trail was also slow birding, but a Blue-headed Vireo
was a County Bird [all I need is one in Dorchester now].
More good birding was in the State Park...walking north from the parking area.
Less than 1/4 mile up the gated road is a "Pedestrian Crossing" sign..and
about 70 feet further north on the east side of the road are a couple of
scrubby oaks and a small pine. The sparrow flock here included 5 Field, 8
Chipping, another immature Clay-colored Sparrow, and one Lark Sparrow. I
spent some time with the flock and over the next hour or so the bushes also
had Nashville Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue
Warbler, and both kinglets.
The flats in Sinapuxent Bay east of Eagle's Nest Campground [just south of the
OC Airport] were not very birdy....perhaps because of the immature Bald Eagle.
West Ocean City pond had 3 Long-billed Dowitchers and an assortment of
waterfowl. A story in its own, those who have the Iliff/Stasz Field List for
Maryland Birds should add a new category "blue-winged teal" [between where
Blue-winged Teal and Cinnamon Teal might appear in a normal checklist]. Based
upon a "possible" immature male Cinnamon Teal, Marshall joined me on Sunday
with most of the pertinent literature....after much staring and reading and
staring some more, tallied 6 Blue-winged Teal and 6 "blue-winged teal". At
this time I am not prepared to call any of the birds a Cinnamon Teal, and do
plan to spend time next month in Arizona and California trying to learn more.
I would note: none of the birds had a red eye.
Ocean City Inlet on 10/3 near sunset had flyby migrant Atlantic Brant (10),
Black Scoter (4 males), and one Pomarine Jaeger. If you want to see jaegers
without doing a pelagic, try late September and into October anywhere along
the coast [but inlets seem to be more profitable] near sunset. Jaegers are
visual predators/parasites and their host species are also visual
hunters....as the Sun heads west over the ocean, many of them do also.
Sunday (10/4) was rainy in the morning. I spent time searching for shorebirds
in agricultural fields, with essentially no luck. Although many fields had
been cut, only a couple were plowed. One cut cornfield along Ninepin Branch
Road had 50+ Savannah Sparrows. E.A.Vaughn WMA...the ponds east of
Girdletree...had more waterfowl and a few shorebirds....highlights were 2
Long-billed Dowitchers and an immature Baird's Sandpiper [another County
Bird!]. On my way back to West Ocean City Pond, to meet Marshall and study
"blue-winged teal" I stopped by the Rum Point Golf Course...about 1 mile south
on the South Pt. Rd. south of Rt. 611 [the road to Assateague]. The day before
(10/3) a Salisbury Birder found a Whimbrel and a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on
the driving range near the clubhouse....I was lucky and while driving in
stopped behind 2 cars with scopes...and got photos of an immature Buff-
breasted Sandpiper [another County Bird!].
A stop at Hurlock WWTP, Dorchester County produced few shorebirds, but my
first Ring-necked Ducks of the Fall.
All-in-all a pleasant weekend. I doubt if I will ever have a 3-County-Bird-
Weekend in Worcester again.
Good Birding!
Jim
Jim Stasz
North Beach MD
jlstasz@aol.com