MISCELLANEOUS.  Marshall Iliff was at Brigantine N.W.R. (Forsyte), NJ,
earlier in October with a tour group and told George A. his group watched a
Whip-poor-will divebomb a Red-shouldered Hawk there at midday and high up
in the sky. (!)

"Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue.  October 22-24, 2004.

Fri., Oct. 22.  Harry and Gordon (brother) Armistead.  Mostly overcast,
winds NE-NNW 15-20 m.p.h., 52-63 degrees F., cool.  39 species.  Most
birding done only from noon-4:30 P.M.

GOOD RAPTOR FLIGHT for here:  130 Turkey Vultures (previous property high
count 96; 105 in sight simultaneously in 2 kettles).  8 Black Vultures.  12
Sharpies.  9 Cooper's Hawks (previous high 6).  13 red-tails and 2
red-shoulders.  3 Bald Eagles.  4 harriers (ties 4th highest).  1 Osprey
(very high, flying directly to the south).  3 kestrels.  TOTAL: 185
raptors.

Also:  (only) 7 Common Loons.  1 Snowy Egret.  3 phoebes.  120 Myrtle
Warblers (ties 4th highest).  7 Tree Swallows.  Carl & Carroll Sheppard
arrive in time for dinner at Bella Luna in Royal Oak.  Liz and Anne
Armistead arrive later.  3 Cabbage Whites.  Numerous Green Frogs at the
Pond.  A Raccoon and 2 Gray Squirrels at the corn dispenser at Lucy Point.
Took boat on 3-mile trip, its first use on c. 6 weeks.

Sat., Oct. 23.  Fair, cool, winds NW 10-15.  Boat got caught somewhat under
the dock overnight resulting in a foot of water over the deck, the bilge
and battery completely submerged.  We drain it, hose it down, and the
engine starts fine.  Carl works with the wiring and fixes the bilge pump,
inoperative prior to this latest mishap.  Carl, Gordy and I fish c. 12:45 -
6 P.M. in Irish Creek, along west shore of Deep Neck, to Nelson's Point,
out into the Chotank to red buoy 12A and back to Irsh Creek, 18 statute
miles.

A dozen or so groups of gulls and terns gleaning little minnows from the
surface easily put us onto groups of countless small Striped Bass.  We
caught at least 30, all of them, however, throw backs about a foot long.
Also caught was an adult Laughing Gull, which was released, apparently O.K.
 Feeding over the fishes, sometimes only 10 feet or so from the boat, were
groups totalling c. 975 Laughing Gulls, 95 Forster's Terns, and 8 late
Common Terns.  Also present was a group of 310 Surf Scoters, over 90% of
them adult males.  The only other birds out there were 15 Herring and 1
Great Black-backed gull, and, unbelievably, only 1 Common Loon.  Where ARE
they?  1 Cabbage White seen today.  Delicious dinner of venison enhanced
with the Sheppards usual generous presentations of champagne.

Sun., Oct. 24.  Overcast, calm, a little raw & chilly, occasional very
light rain.  Mary Armistead, Mike Solomonov and Mike's friend, Yaniv (whose
last name, unfortunately, eludes me) join us.  Carl & I go fishing again 1
- 4 P.M. after rehabilitating the outboard spark plugs.  13 miles by boat
down Irish Creek, the Choptank River side of Ferry Neck to Benoni Point and
up past the Choptank River light a half mile.  No fish and very few birds.
The Choptank is almost barren:  3 Common Loons (I see more in late May
sometimes), 35 Surf Scoters, 1 ad. Bald Eagle, 75 Laughing, 15 Herring & 1
Great Black-backed gull, 90 Mute Swans, 3 Double-crested Cormorants, and NO
terns.

It is most worrying to see so few birds under conditions of excellent
visibility and with such a calm, glassy surface.  Very few folks fishing
either.  Jimmy, Bruce & Chris Olszewski and a friend of theirs clear the
trails in W7 of the uprooted trees, pilings, logs, a wrecked duck blind,
big boulders, and other major detritus strewn across them by Hurricane
Isabel in September 2003, some of the rocks so heavy they are unable to
lift them and have to roll them back over the bank.  Have a delicious
oyster stew.  In the evenings, and occasionally at other times, there was
quite a bit of the singing of ballads, folk music, and other songs,
including those of Tom Lehrer, mostly solo, and always a capella, around
the fireplace.

Tides were very high all weekend due to the rounding of the moon and a very
distant disturbance well offshore in the Atlantic ("Hudson Canyon to
Baltimore Canyon ... Hurricane force winds possible Friday ... Seas
building to 17 to 30 feet ..."  No terrapin seen.  No robins the entire
3-day period.  The low areas near the boat ramp are under water and groups
of minnows patrol through the lawn grass there.  Not a single grebe,
Bufflehead, Bonaparte's Gull, scaup, or Oldsquaw yet.  Water temperatures
in the mid-low 50s.

DEAD ZONE.  See "Save the Bay", the Chesapeake Bay Foundation newsletter,
Summer 2004 (vol. 30, no. 3), p. 2, "Chesapeake's dead zone strikes again!"
 "In July of 2004, roughly 36 percent of the Chesapeake's mainstream
suffered from significantly low dissolved oxygen levels.  Just like last
summer, the worst area stretched from Baltimore to the York River.
Progress to reduce the pollution causing this enormous "dead zone" is far
too slow."  A finger of it goes up the Choptank River center to Cambridge.

POOR FISHING.  "Chesapeake angler magazine", September 2004, p. 5, "Fishing
with Captain Rich."  "What is happening to the Chesapeake Bay fishery?
This year has been a disaster for mid and upper bay anglers ... This is the
second year in a row that these tasty and hard fighting fish [sea trout]
have not made an appearance ... Another species that has been very
disappointing this year has been the bluefish ... Another disappointment
this year in the mid-bay area was the croaker (hardhead) fishery ... One
major river system I must comment on is the Choptank River ... In 2004 this
system has been almost void of any fishery whatsoever.  I have talked to
many local residents who have admitted that they could never remember
another year when fishing in the Choptank was so miserable ...  The only
bright spot has been the striped bass fishery."

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