7 Woodchucks on the way south between Wilmington and Odessa, Wednesday,
June 23. One of my best counts ever. Only 1 on the flip side heading back
late Thursday afternoon.
"Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue. A nice chorus of Green Tree Frogs when I arrived at 9 P.M.,
Wed., June 23, plus a bat flying around the yard. Lots of fireflies.
Thursday, June 24, 2004. Overcast to fair to clear, winds 0 - SW 15-20
m.p.h., temperature 70-90 degrees F. Very humid. Up at 2:50 A.M. to drive
to Dorchester County to atlas. The first batch of regular cicadas was
tuning up today. The ones you hear every year on the Eastern Shore.
Numerous sightings of Diamondback Terrapin, esp. at Taylor's Island. Go
Terps!
A Horned Lark sitting in the middle of Egypt Road at 4:30 A.M.
Taylor's Island SE block (which comprises Meekins Neck Road on Upper
Hooper's Island). This is familiar territory where I mist-netted in the
late 1960s. Back then one of the residents, armed and drunk, confronted me
and accused me of sending messages to the Comminists on the bird bands.
Today went slightly better. This remains a very rich area for birds.
5:00 - 11:30 A.M. 75 species. My first 2 stops, c. 100 yards apart,
resulted in 43 species, but then over an hour there was spent dealing with
getting stuck and a flat tire as well. Into every little concealed,
sharp-edged culvert an occasional poorly-driven vehicle must eventually
fall. Sam LeCompte, a ranking good Samaritan, first could not pull me out
with his truck. So he took half an hour to get a tractor, which worked.
Then I noticed the tire was slashed and flat and he changed that. When
this sort of thing happens in Dorchester County almost everyone refuses
payment. As artfully as I could I tried to give it, quite a bit, too -
with no luck. Later, when I came across Sam and his son this same morning
I gave them cold sodas and a copy of "Maryland's Everglades." His son
showed me a Killdeer nest with 1 unhatched egg. Talking with Sam added 6
or 7 species to the atlas block, several of them confirmed by virtue of
broods of small young he had seen this year.
By way of contrast one of the big property owners refused to let me look
around his yard area. His concern was that the possible finding of
whatever endangered species would limit his use of his own land. This is a
legitimate concern for landowners. We nevertheless had a civil talk at
some length, ended up shaking hands, and I will send him "Maryland's
Everglades" and some other bird material he expressed an interest in. I
think people with his outlook may be impossible to "reach."
In this block I found: 7 Bald Eagles, 1 Clapper & 1 Virginia rail,
Willets, 1 screech and 2 horned owls, 2 Chuck-will's-widows, the 5 common
woodpeckers, an Acadian Flycatcher, 5 or 6 Brown-headed Nuthatches, a
gnatcatcher, a waxwing, several chats, several Seaside Sparrows, and a
lovely male Prairie Warbler. Also: 1 Sika Elk.
Taylor's Island NW block. 11:30 - 2:30. 62 species. A SHARP-SHINNED HAWK
flying over Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church. This is only the 3rd
sharpie I have ever seen in the June to mid-August period on the Delmarva
Peninsula. It may very well be, by my standards, the most unusual thing I
see all summer. Also in the block today: 5 Bald Eagles, 3 tern species,
several Yellow-billed Cuckoos, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Cedar Waxwing,
and 5 Indigo Buntings.
The Taylor's Island campground gives new meaning to the expression
cheek-by-jowl with scores of trailers in close proximity. But it is right
on the Bay and a good vantage point. Music blaring away. I wasn't
surprised that this was the best area in the block for what Duncan
MacDonald refers to as "the three stinkers": starlings, House Sparrows,
and pigeons. It also has several feeders patronized by hummers and a Gray
Squirrel. Given the atmosphere here I wasn't that startled to see a boat
that was named 'Wet Dreams'. Nevertheless a Cow-nosed Ray was just
offshore from there and I saw Wood Nymph, Wood Satyr, Tiger Swallowtail,
Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Red-spotted Purple, and Buckeye closeby.
Erlyne Twining lives at the NW end of Taylor's Island. She was very
friendly and I was able by informally interviewing her to add 6 or 7
species to the atlas effort for this block by virtue of her sightings of
broods of waterfowl and other birds. She had 36" of water in her house
from Hurricane Isabel.
George A. has recently become interested in birds as mimics, especially
White-eyed Vireos. Today in NW Taylor's Island I heard a Red-eyed Vireo
make a sound, 4 times, that was a perfect ringer for the Bald Eagle's
upward-inflected whistled scream. Whether by accident or design I don't
know.
BOBWHITE are still common in this area. I read with interest the recent
disussion of quail on MDOSPREY. In most areas I frequent they have
declined alarmingly. For the past few years they have been virtually
absent from the Rigby area for the first time in my life.
Headin' home. I was surprised to find a Zebra Swallowtail resting on the
concrete 6 feet from an antrance door to the Middletown, Delaware, Wawa.
It still had some life so I placed it out back in a Sweet Gum.
Did the Zebra Swallowtail pooh-pooh pawpaws
To pause and refresh at Wawa?
If so, then why-yai?
I paused at Wawa to refresh
With a jalapeno-stuffed pretzal.
The best I could do for the Zebra
Was a Sweet Gum.
That was the best I could do for there,
Even if it had been for a Quetzal.
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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