[MDOsprey] OC - 08/31/99
Hoffman, Mark (MHOFFMAN@dnr.state.md.us)
Wed, 1 Sep 1999 18:05:36 -0400
Birders -
I made a somewhat abortive trip to Ocean City, Tuesday, August 31. My
original goal had been to catch the tail end of the passerine flight at
Bayside from the big front that went through Sunday. But with Hurricane
Dennis far offshore NC, I had no choice but to spent a considerable time
staring at the ocean. Oversleeping didn't help either, and I did not get to
OC until 0910. The waves were huge, but wind manageable. Unfortunately, as
the police continually closed greater and greater parts of the inlet parking
lot, the on-lookers and traffic became a major annoyance. I resettled up at
83rd St. (which is one of the very few crossovers where you can sit in you
car and still see the ocean-which was needed because of the wind).
Nonetheless, the birds were all the usual suspects. Very little moving in
the strong winds.
Skimmer Island** was mostly flooded, but did have a good flock of mainly
Caspian Terns. The total there plus the inlet was 53; my Worcester data base
shows only 3 larger one-day counts (highest 65).
A brief landbird stop at the 100th St. woods was the highlight of the day,
with a nice mixed passerine flock that included two Worcester record-early
Philadelphia Vireos (prior Worcester County fall arrival record September
1), a just slightly early Cape May Warbler (only 4 prior August records,
earliest 8/24), and a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Guess I should have spent the
day on the Island after all ...
Regards,
Mark Hoffman
**I've seen some confusion related to this name (e.g., Greg Miller's recent
post), so let me explain. Formerly, the flats in the bay west of 2nd to 4th
Street in Ocean City were referred to as the "4th Street Flats". However,
the sand build-up over the past 15 years has created a permanent island.
This island (as "new" land) has been claimed and patented by the Maryland
Department of Natural Resources and is now part of the Sinepuxent Bay
Wildlife Management Area system. As part of the land claiming process, the
island was named Skimmer Island, and this would now be its proper name.