[MDOsprey] Crane, Grebe, and more

Jlstasz@aol.com
Mon, 8 Nov 1999 14:29:01 EST


Hi Folks!

I have recently been chastised for not reporting to MDOsprey. Here is bit.

Saturday I birded Tuckahoe SP, Caroline; Ridgely WWTP, Caroline, stopped off 
to check the Tarbutton Mill Rd. crane, Talbot; Easton WWTP, Talbot; Tanyard, 
Caroline; Hurlock WWTP, Dorchester; Rt. 12 fields, Wicomico/Worcester; EA 
Vaughn WMA, Worcester; Assateague I., Worcester; and finally OC Inlet, 
Worcester.  On Sunday I hit Assateague I., West Ocean City Pond, Berlin WWTP, 
Ironshire,  Libertytown WWTP, George's I. Landing and the Pocomoke WWTP in 
Worcester, then Deal I. WMA, Somerset, and finally, sunset on Old Rt. 50 in 
the Nanticoke R. Marshes, Wicomico. At each of these I took notes of the 
numbers of most species present [including European Starlings]. Here are the 
real highlights & some comments.

SANDHILL CRANE, Tarbutton Rd.,  Talbot Co. I waited about an hour for the 
bird to fly in to the pond area. Apparently it was out feeding in one of the 
back fields. It is an adult of the "tabida" subspecies, with no bands on 
either leg. 

"WESTERN" GREBE, Assateague. On Saturday about 3 PM I spent some time viewing 
the grebe discovered earlier in the week off of Assateague I. [ca. .1 miles 
N. of the State Park parking area]. There were no waves and only a slight 
swell; the lighting was excellent, with the sun behind me. With 10x 
binoculars and 20X scope, the bird was clearly a Western/Clarke's grebe. The 
neck was very long, equal to or slightly exceeding the body length, mostly 
white but with a black line down the back. The face was mostly white and the 
crown black. The entire bill was a yellow color. At 40X and 60X, some added 
detail could be seen, but the bird was .25 to .5 miles offshore, and details 
of the lore could not be seen.  To my eye, the bill was on the orange side of 
yellow, not on the green side of yellow. Bill color is cited as one of the 
principal features in distinguishing Western and Clarke's grebes.  I am 
familiar with both species and have photographs from an October 1998 trip to 
California.  Bill color alone is not diagnostic, and I have filed this bird 
away as "Aechmophorus sp." for the time being. I would appreciate comments 
from anyone else who has seen this bird.

THICK-BILLED MURRE, OC Inlet. I concluded Saturday with a sea watch at OC 
Inlet. Southbound were 50+ Northern Gannet, 100s of scoters heading south far 
offshore, and off the inlet, 40 Forster's Terns and 3 imm. Royal Terns. There 
were 8 fishing boats crowding both sides of the south jetty, so no ducks or 
shorebirds there. Shortly after sunset, at about 5 PM, but before it had 
gotten dark, I was scanning at 20X when I saw a black above/white below 
buzzing south. When first seen it was off of the Amusement Pier and I would 
estimate less that 100 yards offshore [it passed between the tip of the north 
jetty and the red channel marker]. By "buzzing" I refer to the flight style, 
with very rapid wingbeats. The body length was about equal to the wingtip to 
wingtip distance and the wings were centered from bill tip to tail tip on the 
body. The bulk of the body was at the center and it tapered to the front and 
the rear [i.e. the head was an extension of the body with no apparent neck]. 
The bill was dark, cylindrical-pointed, not flattened dorso-ventrally. I 
estimated the bird to be slightly larger than Forster's Tern, which I had 
been watching in this general area.  The flight was straight and level, low 
over the water, with no break in the wingbeats. The sides of the face, crown, 
nape, back, upper wing surface, rump, and tail were a uniform blackish; the 
underparts, including the lower part of the face, throat and breast were 
white. The wings were uniformly dark above.  I eliminated Common Murre 
because the upper parts were quite uniform and not paler on the head and 
neck, the facial area was extensively dark, and the bill a bit too stubby.  
This is the first murre I have seen from the Maryland shore.

EURASIAN WIGEON: On Sunday the previously reported drakes were seen at West 
Ocean City Pond and Deal I. WMA.  The OC bird is in best light in the morning 
and hiding in about 41 American Wigeon; it was close to the road on the north 
side of the pond. The Deal I. drake was in about 4,000 American Wigeon and 
about .5 miles away. 

BLACKPOLL WARBLER: An adult at the S-Curve on Assateague I. SP on 11/7 was my 
first November sighting.

AMERICAN ROBIN: Minimally 1000 on Assateague Sunday morning, with many moving 
north to Bayside Campground, then west across the bay. At sunset, an estimate 
of 10,000 heading west across the Nanticoke Marshes to roost somewhere in 
Dorchester County.

Siskins/Purple Finches: few.
Cave Swallow: None
Crossbills: None
Redpolls: None
Yellow-billed Loons: none.

Good Birding!

Jim

Jim Stasz
North Beach MD
jlstasz@aol.com