Eastern Shore trips - 1/9 and 1/11/98

Miliff@aol.com
Mon, 11 Jan 1999 19:21:37 EST


Hello all,

       I wanted also to post a couple quick trip reports for my other two days
on the Eastern Shore.  

      On Saturday, Jan. 9, Jim Stasz and I wandered our way down to Irish
Grove where we were to meet George Jett for our Big Day.  On the way down we
checked some fields in Talbot County, some locations in Wicomico County, and
Deal Island.  Highlights were:

* one juv. Golden Eagle spotted by Jim about 2 mi SSE of Choptank, in
Dorchester County.  Being the avid county listers we are, we followed the bird
on the maze of roads until it crossed the county line to the north, giving us
a new county bird and establishing Caroline County's first record!
* one Red-shouldered Hawk calling near Cordova, Talbot County.  Red-
shouldereds are rare in Talbot county.
* A nice flock of landbirds including 4 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and 4 Brown-
headed Nuthatches off Muddy Hole Rd..  We were ooking for the reported Blue-
headed Vireo here, without success.
* A Glossy Ibis, 2 Great Egrets, 1 American Bittern, and 6+ Short-eared Owls
at Deal Island

Today, 1/11/98 I spent the afternoon working my way down to Cambridge where I
hoped to see the Brown Pelican reported by Dave Czaplak and Mary Ann Todd.  
On the way I had:

* A very nice landbird flock .2 mi from the bridge at Tuckahoe S.P., in
Caroline County.  It included numerous chickadees, titmice, juncos, Myrtle
Warblers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 1 sapsucker, 1
Hairy Woodpecker, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, and 1 male Pine Warbler.  Lots of
bittersweet berries, cedars, and loblolly pines makes it seem like a great
situation for something rarer...
* An ad. Lesser Black-backed Gull at Tanyard, Caroline County (my 19th county
for the species) with about 1000 other gulls bathing in the marsh on the south
side of the rd..  
* one second-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull at Cambridge, roosting on the
sandspit where the Brown Pelican wasn't today (but was on Saturday)
* Assorted other ducks in Cambridge including Canvasback, 1 Redhead, both
scaup, Bufflehead, Com. Goldeneye, Oldsquaw, Surf Scoter (10), Mallard, Am.
Wigeon, Ruddy, Canada Goose, Horned Grebe (1)

Good birding,

Marshall Iliff
miliff@aol.com