Trappe Creek, MD, 5/4/99
Tyler Bell (Bell@acnatsci.org)
Wed, 05 May 1999 08:39:34 -0400
While doing some water sampling near Ocean City yesterday, we ran hard aground on a mud flat and had to be towed off by TowBoat U.S. In the interval between making the call and the arrival of our rescue boat, the tide ebbed considerably revealing extensive mudflats on all sides of the boat. As the water ebbed, the shorebirds flowed. Large numbers of Willets were streaming in to be joined by Black-bellied Plovers, Semi-palmated Plovers, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstones, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Dowitcher sp. and peeps. It was too far to the mudflats to ID the smaller birds with bins except the obvious ones.
The Seaside Sparrows were in full song and doing interesting aerial displays where they would flutter straight up from the grass while singing then drop back down. Most of the time they were out of sight but often one or more birds would perch up on the top of the grasses.
Cormorants were moving in large skeins heading north.
I wish I had brought my scope along but who would know that we'd be stuck in such an ideal spot for so long. I would recommend birding in this area but with a john boat!
Good Birding!
Tyler Bell
mailto:bell@acnatsci.org
California, MD
http://www.audubon.org/chapter/md/smas/