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Subject:

Dorchester County May 1

From:

Henry Armistead

Reply-To:

Maryland Birds & Birding

Date:

Mon, 3 May 2004 10:54:44 -0400

"Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue.  A couple of Blue Grosbeaks on May 2.  Cathy saw a Spotted Turtle
in the driveway ditch, also on May 2.  Bob and Cathy heard 2
Chuck-will's-widows at dusk on April 30.  I heard one as I was unloading
the car at the end of the very long day at 10:30 P.M. on May 1.  Only 5
Surf Scoters on April 30 (vs. 1,120 on April 23) but 3 Common Terns, a yard
year bird.

DORCHESTER COUNTY MAY BIRD COUNT LXXIII:

Saturday, May 1, 2004, southern Dorchester County May Count 73.  Cathy
Carroll, Bob Ringler, Jared Sparks, and myself in one party.  Midnight -
8:45 P.M.  205 mi. by car, 3 on foot.  Winds unfortunately were too strong,
SW 20 m.p.h. all day letting up slightly at dusk.  53 - 80 degrees F.  Fair
becoming mostly overcast in the morning then fair but hazy in the afternoon
then mostly overcast late.  Light rain off and on after 7:35 P.M.  132
species.  Bob recorded assiduously all day, writing numbers in Roman
numerals (which he also, mercifully, totalled  ... into Arabic ones).  Fred
Lobdell covered other areas of Dorchester County and will be mailing in his
totals later.

Thanks go to Glen Carowan, refuge manager of Blackwater, for granting
access to restricted areas of the refuge.

A day with no or little flight.  We were hampered by the high winds that
made it hard to hear birds or see any sitting in the distance on Bay
waters.

1 Brown Pelican (Hooper's Island; the island where they have nested for the
past several summers off the south end of Barren Island has almost
completely eroded away).  1 Tricolored Heron.  0 Black-crowned Night Herons
(a "bad" miss).  187 Mute Swans (mostly near Swan Harbor on Hooper's
Island).  12 unidentified scoters.  44 Ruddy Ducks (Elliott Island -
Fishing Bay).  44 Bald Eagles.  7 Wild Turkeys vs. a pathetic 3 bobwhite (I
used to get quail on 40+ out of 50 breeding bird survey point counts here).
 0 Black Rails (because of the winds it was hard to hear if they and many
other birds might have been calling in the distance).  2 King Rails (nice
loud, clear calls near Vienna).  9 Clapper & 21 Virginia Rails.  6 Common
Moorhens.  5 Black-necked Stilts (Elliott Island).  0 Solitary & Spotted
sandpipers.  1 Semipalmated Sandpiper (the vanguard).  1 White-rumped
Sandpiper.  580 Dunlin.  2 woodcock and 2 snipe.

1,224 Laughing Gulls.  21 Least & 77 Forster's Terns.  1 Yellow-billed
Cuckoo (usually much commoner by the time the 2nd May count is done = 2nd
Sat. in May).  9 Chuck-will's-widows & 2 Whip-poor-wills.  We missed Barn
and Barred Owls.  1 Red-headed Woodpecker (from the new boardwalk/blind at
Blackwater; Jared observed it flycatching).  0 pewees and Acadian
Flycatchers (both arrive later, and the Acadian is declining here anyway).
16 Brown-headed Nuthatches.  10 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.  1 Brown Thrasher
(scarce here in May).  1 ea. of Blue-winged, Yellow-throated,
Black-and-white & Prothonotary warblers.  9 Prairie & 6 Worm-eating
warblers.  6 Summer Tanagers.  0 Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows (They
become much easier to find a week or so later on in May).  10 Blue
Grosbeaks & 2 Indigo Buntings.

Group species totals (these are not good totals):  16 shorebirds, 13
warblers, 6 raptors, 2 owls, 2 nightjars, 5 woodpeckers, 6 heron types, 8
sparrows, 11 waterfowl, 2 flycatchers.

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT:  Our night list was 21 species including
a kingbird in flight giving its full series of calls at 1 A.M. and a
singing Pine Warbler at 2 A.M.

1 Northern Water Snake.  1 Garter Snake.  1 c. 3' Red-bellied Water Snake
(on Smithville Road; had been hit but not squashed; I put it in the grass
and hope it will survive).  A few roadkill Black Rat Snakes.  Several each
of Painted and Red-bellied turtles and 1 Snapping Turtle.

Mammals.  No Nutria seen or heard!!!  A few each of White-tailed Deer and
Sika Elk.  1 Gray Squirrel (at Blackwater on Wildlife Drive; I hardly ever
see grays here).  2 Woodchucks: 1 especially fat one near the entrance to
Wildlife Drive, another one just after turning east off of Griffith Neck
Rd. onto Henry's Crossroads; I hardly ever see 'Whistlepigs" in Dorchester
County.  1 Opossum and several dead ones including a female with several
very small young that were still alive.  A roadkill Raccoon or two.

The Carp are starting to mass near the outflow pipes of Pool 1 at
Blackwater.  BUTTERFLIES:  Tiger Swallowtails were widespread.  Some
Cabbage Whites and Orange Sulphurs.  Bob identified 2 species I would not
have had a clue about:  Juvenal's Duskywing and Henry's Elfin.

Our route (it's the same every time):  Elliott I. Rd. midnight to 3:30 A.M.
 Griffith Neck Road to Bestpitch and Greenbriar 3:30 A.M. - 5 A.M.  Greater
central Blackwater N.W.R. area but also including Old Field Road, Robbins,
Shorter's Wharf, and some of Cambridge including the base of the Malkus
Bridge 5 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.  Moneystump Swamp unit (off of Smithville Rd.)
of Blackwater in the early afternoon.  Hooper's Island in mid-afternoon.
Elliott I. Rd. 5 - 8:45 P.M.

We ran into Terry Allen, who was leading a birdwalk at Blackwater.  They
had seen an American Bittern.

Sunday, May 2.

Route 309 ponds between Rts. 481 & 213 goin' west:  Pond 1:  1 ea. of Snowy
Egret, Great Blue Heron & Least Sandpiper, 2 Canada Geese plus 6 Lesser
Yellowlegs.  Pond 2:  1 great blue, 1 Red-tailed Hawk.  Pond 3:  1 great
blue.  Pond 4:  2 great blues, 2 Mallards, 6 Painted Turtles.  Pond 5:  A
pair of rather late Ring-necked Ducks, 2 adult Canada Geese and 5 downy
goslings, 2 American Black Ducks and a Horned Lark.  The bigger of the 2
ponds SE of Rts. 301 X 213:  2 Lesser Yellowlegs and 7 Least Sandpipers.

DORCHESTER COUNTY MAY BIRD COUNT LXXIV is Saturday, May 8, 2004.  I would
welcome any assistance.  If interested please e-mail me.  I'd be able to
provide beds for 2 more people at Rigby.

Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225.  215-248-4120.  Please, any off-list replies to:


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