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Subject:

Lower Eastern Shore 6/17

From:

Matt Hafner

Reply-To:

Maryland Birds & Birding

Date:

Tue, 29 Jun 2004 11:17:44 -0400

Zach Baer and I birded the Lower Eastern Shore on Sunday 6/27 searching for White and White-faced Ibis.  No luck there, but did see several nice birds.  We started at Deal Island, birding Green Dumpster Rd and Riley Roberts Rd.  Next we headed to Georges Island Landing, North Vaughn, and Truitt's Landing.  In the OC area, we birded Skimmer Island, the Inlet, West OC Pond, Eagle's Nest CG, South Point, and the Isle of Wight.

Highlights:

Deal Island - Green Dumpster Rd
Blue-winged Teal - 3 including 1 pair
Gadwall - 2 one pair
Glossy Ibis - 3
Tricolored Heron - 2
Northern Harrier - 3
Peregrine Falcon - 1 adult on hack tower, small whitish birds moving inside the box, presumably young, but the tower is so far away
Clapper Rail - 3
Virginia Rail - 5
Common Moorhen - 4
Willet - 6
Marsh Wren - ~20
Seaside Sparrow - ~35
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow - 1 we looked for quite a bit too

Riley Roberts Rd
Gadwall - 4
Black-necked Stilt - 1 exhibiting agitated behavior
Greater Yellowlegs - 2

North Vaughn
Glossy Ibis - 1
Gull-billed Tern - 3 adults feeding in the pond then carrying food off to the north, returned in approx 15 minutes

Truitt's Landing
Glossy Ibis - 15
Plegadis sp. - 35
Least Bittern - 2 a pair called in by Zach
Virginia Rail - 1
King Rail - 1 sounded like it was practically in the woods
Common Moorhen - 1 calling

OC Inlet
Wilson's Storm-Petrel - 3+ seen both times we were at the inlet, never more than 3 at a time
Northern Gannet - 1 2nd summer
Sulid sp. - 1 notes below
Brown Pelican - ~25 flying by in various groups
Common and Royal terns present, but no feeding groups

Skimmer Island
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1 1st summer
all the usual suspects

Eagles Nest CG
Ruddy Turnstone - 2
Sandwich Tern - 1 non-breeding adult

Isle of Wight
Nothing unusual, but the new impoundment created at the southern end looks excellent for shorebirds.  I'll definitely be stopping by in July and August.

Unidentified Sulid seen from the inlet at 4:15pm.  Zach and I had just watched a Gannet with a white head and mottled black body fly south from the inlet when I spotted another gannet-shaped bird flying north above horizon.  I got Zach on the bird and we both commented on how small the bird looked, but the bird was too far away to say that conclusively.  I took more notice to how brown and plain-backed the bird looked compared to most immature gannets.  Then the bird circled back showing off a completly brown head with a white belly.  To me, the bird looked like a Brown Booby, but I never got a good look at the underwing and the bird wasn't close enough for me to be absolutely certain of a solid brown head and back.  Anyway, it got away and there's nothing we can do about it, but I wouldn't be surprised if a Brown Booby is sitting at Stone Harbor this week.

Matt Hafner
Bel Air, MD