December birding at Pt Lookout, Md

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Folks,

I met Ray Carter at Pt LO at about 0830 today, 12 Dec 98, and we birded the
State Park area and a few spots that were just a few miles outside the park
proper (like Longbranch Rd) ending about 1600.  The morning was windy from the
SE, 10-20mph, about 44 F warming to 49 by afternoon with the wind dropping to
near zero after 1030.  (The bay went from light chop with occasional white
caps to near glass.)  It was 95% overcast.

Highlights of the day were huge numbers of Northern Gannets diving 1 mile SSE
of the Point - at least 70 adults and possibly 140 if the other darker birds
in the flock were immature No. Gannets, huge numbers of sea ducks (Scaup,
Oldsquaw, Scoters, Goldeneyes, and Buffleheads), an Orange-crowned Warbler in
a guild of Chicadees, Kinglets, and Yellowrumps nr the fishing pier and a Palm
Warbler nr the Pt parking lot.  The species observed and numbers follow.

Red-throated Loon - 13
Horned Grebe - 145
Northern Gannet - 70 adults and prob. 70 imm. in huge feeding flock SSE of the
Pt
Double-crested Cormorants - 65
Great Blue Heron - 10
Tundra Swan - 7
Canada Goose - 42
Mallard - 9
No. Pintail - 2
Greater Scaup - 100
Oldsquaw - 500-1000?  more?? (everywhere!)
Black Scoter - 500
Surf Scoter - 125
White-winged Scoter - 4
Common Goldeneye - 116
Bufflehead - 500-1000?  more?? (everywhere!)
Hooded Merganser - 4
Red-breasted Merganser - 14
Black Vulture - 1
Turkey Vulture - 22
Bald Eagle - 5: 3 ad., 2 ad on nest nr SP boat launch area
Red-Shouldered Hawk - 1 (+1 in-route)
Red-tailed Hawk - 2 (+1 in-route)
Am. Kestrel - 1
Killdeer - 3
Boneparte's Gull - 150
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Forster's Tern - 15
Mourning Dove - 1
Barred Owl - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
No. Flicker - 5
Blue Jay - 10
Am. Crow - 50+
Fish Crow - 2
Carolina Chicadee - 22
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 4
Carolina Wren - 12
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 5
Eastern Bluebird - 7
Northern Mockingbird - 5
Starlings
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 90
Palm Warbler - 1
No. Cardinal - 30
Song Sparrow - 40
Swamp Sparrow - 7
White-throated Sparrow - 20
Dark-eyed Junco - 13
Red-winged Blackbird - 104
House Finch - 7
Am. Goldfinch - 7
House Sparrow

Kurt Gaskill, kurtcapt87@aol.com

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