Tuesday, June 1, 2004.  Boat trip to some lower Bay islands (all in
Dorchester County, except as noted).  7:30 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.  Clear, winds
west 15+ m.p.h., air temp. in 70s to low 80s, water temp. 71-74.  A gem of
a day.  Mary Konchar and myself.  36.3 miles by boat.

My first visit to the islands after Hurricane Isabel.  Her damage was not
as bad as I had anticipated, and feared.  Strange to see not one Laughing
Gull, Forster's or Common Tern the entire boat trip.

Diamondback Terrapins were common around all these islands and we saw
Orange Sulphurs and Cabbage Whites at most places.  I was disappointed not
to see or hear kingbirds, cardinals, Carolina or House wrens on any of the
islands.  Perhaps some of them were done in by Isabel.  Their island
populations have been marginal for years.  Saw more oystercatchers today
than I'm used to, fewer harriers.  I used to find oystercatcher nests or
see their small young with regularity but for whatever reason do not
anymore.  Bear in mind - I only visit these places 1-3 times a year, making
brief stops to minimize disturbing the wildlife, so one can only see so
much under such circumstances.  However, these observations do go back 35
years or so, so some commentary seems appropriate.

Trumpeter Swan.  The adult bird, of uncertain provenance, is still hanging
around the yard just south of the Shorters Marsh unit of Blackwater N.W.R.
on the road south of Shorter's Wharf.  Yikes - with my system of
abbreviations I've never before had occasion to notice that Trumpeter Swan
and Tree Swallow would both be TRSW.

Bloodsworth Island (U. S. Navy).  30 species.  Water 71.2.  Circa 120 Great
Blue Heron nests, most of them on the nesting platforms constructed by the
U. S. Navy and others in early September 2002.  18 or so platforms were in
existence prior to then.  They are hugely successful.  Also:  10
Black-crowned Night Herons (probably some nesting), 3 Clapper Rails, 30
Seaside Sparrows, 10 Marsh Wrens, 45 Boat-tailed Grackles, 1 harrier, only
1 Fish Crow, 4 Royal Terns (on pound net stakes), 40 Brown Pelicans
(likewise), 1 ad. Bald Eagle, and 4 lingering Surf Scoters.  Breeding
landbirds:  3 Song Sparrows, 1 catbird, and 2 yellowthroats but missed
kingbird and Carolina or House Wrens this time.  Late shorebirds:  1
Spotted Sandpiper and 1 Short-billed Dowitcher.  Unusual not to at least
see a Yellow-crowned Night Heron (YCNH) or two.

Spring Island (part of Blackwater N.W.R.).  10:15-10:45 A.M.  Since I had
not secured a refuge use permit we did not land but circled the island
closely on the high tide, which I have been told is kosher.  Apparently no
pelicans or cormorants nesting here now.  17 species.  85 cormorants, 65
pelicans, Mute Swan broods of 4 & 8 downy cygnets, 1 ad. Yellow-crowned
Night Heron, 9 black ducks, 2 Mallards, 5 Semipalmated Plovers migrating
north, 2 oystercatchers, 5 Glossy Ibis, 2 ad. Little Blue Herons, 1 Canada
Goose.  Surprising not to see Seaside Sparrow, boat-tail, or red-wing.  I
looked hard for them.  12 Diamondback Terrapin.  No peregrines at the
hacking tower.  45 Herring and 10 Great Black-backed Gulls, some probably
nesting.

Pry Island, a satellite island of South Marsh Island (state of MD Wildlife
Management Area) in Somerset County, MD.  11 A.M.  6 species.  Water temp.:
72.7.  Stopped for c. 15 minutes.  27 Brown Pelican nests:  10 with 1 egg,
4 with 2 eggs, 2 with 3 eggs, 2 with 1 young, 1 with 1 young & 1 egg, 1
with 3 young, plus 7 or so platforms with no eggs (yet?).  The young
pelicans were all small, naked, without any down or feathers, somewhat
reptilian in appearance.  13 Double-crested Cormorant nests:  3 with 1 egg,
1 with 2 eggs, 1 with 4 eggs, plus 8 or so empty nest platforms.  5 Herring
Gull nests:  1 with 1 egg, 1 with 2 eggs, 1 with 3 eggs, 2 with 2 young.  4
Great Black-backed Gull adults were present and may also be breeding.
Normally their young hatch before Herring Gull young do.  Also:  2 Ruddy
Turnstones and 2 oystercatchers.  195 flying Brown Pelicans were there.  I
found a dead, unbanded sub-adult pelican.  Unfortunately we did not get to
nearby East Island, where there have been largely unsuccessful, tern
colonies in recent years.  Skimmers have also made a few abortive atempts
at breeding in this area.

Holland Island.  30 species.  11:45 A.M. - 1:15 P.M.  Water temp.:  73.1.
Someone has dug 10 or so ugly, deep holes in the saltmarsh looking for
artifacts on the NE side of the south island segment E. of the deciduous
hammock there.  The holes are the size and dimensions of a large scrap
basket.  They left behind some shards and a nice little flat, squareish
bottle plus a damaged porcelain mug, both of which I took.  I haven't seen
a "dig" like this here before now.  The old graveyard is 100 yards S. of
here.  All of the "Baccharis halimifolia" bushes, which used to obscure it,
have died, so from a distance the headstones are quite visible for the
first time from a boat, although there is still some Poison Ivy here.  As I
do each summer I bid my respects to the Fishers, Evans, McCoys, Misters,
Todds, Prices, and Parks here interred.  Some of the headstones have fallen
or are otherwise akimbo.  The gravestones information has all been recorded
by some soul and a Google search of "Holland Island" will turn them up.
Incredibly, the old house on the N. end of the central segment, still
stands, although parts of the first floor are now open to the elements.
Cormorants and Herring Gulls were roosting on the roof.  Dozens of
cormorants festooned the neighboring American Hackberries but as far as I
could see they were not nesting in them.  Herring and Great Black-backed
Gulls are apparently nesting on the S. side of this segment as in the past
several years, but I have never made landing there.  1 male Gadwall was E.
of the house in the open water.  This species seems to have declined as a
central Bay breeder in the past 6 years or so.
The mixed heronries in both of the deciduous hammocks of the S. segment
were loaded, looked like a scene at a Florida heronry, with all 10 of
Maryland's heron/ibis species, more than I've seen on Holland I. in many
years.  From our superficial, rather hurried assessment I'd say these
species are not just common here but up considerably from recent years:
Glossy Ibis, Little Blue Heron (50 adults in sight at one time),
Black-crowned Night Heron (65 in sight at one time), and Cattle Egret.
Species that seemed about the same are:  Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Snowy
Egret, Tricolored Heron, Green Heron, the latter always marginal here, but
1 found this time.  Species that are down here seemed to be:  Great Blue
Heron and Great Egret.  Saw about 40 YCNHs.

The greenhead flies on the south segment were the worst I've ever
experienced, even though everything was covered up except my face and neck.
 When I first went to Holland Island it was a single unit a mile or so
long.  Now in 3 segments, the erosion is worse from north to south, and
much of the island has disappeared entirely.  Adam Island in the 1970s was
also 1 unit, but shorter than Holland Island.  Now Adam, too, is breaking
up, becoming segmented.

Also of interest at Holland:  2 Mallards, 6 Willets, 6 oystercatchers, 6
Fish Crows, 25 Boat-tailed Grackles (including some recently fledged), 6
Canada Geese, 3 Clapper Rails, 2 Seaside Sparrows, 185 Herring & 70 Great
Black-backed Gulls.  Presumed breeding landbirds:  Barn Swallows, 1
catbird, 1 Song Sparrow.

Adam Island (U. S. Navy).  1:30 P.M.  Just motored by in the boat, no
landing.  7 oystercatchers, an Osprey nest on the old observation tower
that was torn down several years ago, 220 Herring and 45 Great Black-backed
Gulls, 1 Yellow-crowned Night Heron.  Some gull nesting may be taking place
here.  5-6 active Great Blue Heron nests in the Red Cedars along the
central "ridge".

Pone Island (a satellite section of Bloodsworth Island, on its SW side).  2
P.M.  Sadly the fine sandbar complex here is much diminished.  105 Mute
Swans, 15 pelicans, 4 Little Blue Herons, 1 YCNH, 1 Fish Crow, 115 Herring
& 20 Great Black-backed gulls, 1 Seaside Sparrow, plus some other heron
species in low numbers.  North of here the Sherman Tank that once marked
the shoreline is now 100 yards offshore and still a navigation hazard.  Its
lid still projects above the surface on all but the highest tides.  There
are 3 others below the surface.

"Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue.  Sunday, May 30, 2004.  Overcast in 70s all day, cool.  Took boat
on a 4.1 mile shakedown cruise, its first use since late March.  38 species
incl.  3 male Surf Scoters (good flyers, near the no. 2 red marker off the
mouth of Irish Creek), 1 Black-billed Cuckoo (calling in the yard all day;
only the 4th property record, the others being 2 on 9/2/78, 1 on 9/27/69
and 1 Carl Perry and I had on 5/10/87), 3 Cedar Waxwings and 2 juvenile
bluebirds attended by an adult male and female.

Monday, May 31, overcast and rainy so Dorchester boat trip is postponed, 38
species:  2 basic plumage Common Loon consorting at the mouth of the cove,
occasionally uttering the wail call and the little chuck, contact notes.
The Black-billed Cuckoo called a few times in the early morning.  A stream
of Common Grackles crosses the cove continuously bearing away our Red
Mulberries to their nests.  1 Bald Eagle.  One grackle dropped one and
hovered over the cove waters for 15 seconds or so like a kingfisher trying
unsuccessfully to retrieve it.  At one point a half-grown young Eastern
Cottontail fed on clover blossoms with a Gray Squirrel nearby while a few
Cabbage Whites, Orange Sulphurs, Eastern Tailed Blues, a Tiger Swallowtail,
and Least Skippers (?, about the size of a house fly) fluttered around in
the same area less than 50 feet from our back porch, a most bucolic scene.


June 1:  3 Gray Squirrels, 6 deer (does), 1 Brown Thrasher, these seen by
Liz A.  A Chuck-will's-widow calling in the distance each evening.  1 3'
Black Rat Snake around the yard.  Loads of silent Fowler's Toads.

Unmentioned in the summary of the Delaware Big Day ("May Run") of May 14,
2004, was the great abundance of Tiger Swallowtails at White Clay Creek
State Park, including several that were "nectaring" on a pile of rotting
White Perch that had been discarded in the weeds.

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