"Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue. 

Friday, April 29, 2005.  On my 11 P.M. arrival 28 deer in our fields, most
spotted by means of, ahem, a 750,000 candlepower spotlight plugged into the
car cigarette lighter.      

Saturday, April 30.  Ovecast, damp, and cool with light rain off & on most
of the day, winds SE 5-10, temps. low - mid 60s.  Out of doors most of the
time from 9 A.M. - 8:15 P.M.  49 species.  5 Common Loons (dressed to the
9s).  1 Cattle Egret (none all last year).  2 Wood Ducks.  12 Ospreys but 7
active nests within sight of our shoreline including adoptions of 2 new
pole/platforms: 1 < 100 feet from Davidson's dock, another right in the
middle of Hoff's yard near his house.  5 Least Sandpipers (surprisingly, a
new high count, such as it is, earliest record by 9 days, and only the 9th
sighting for the property).  2 Chuck-will's-widows (calling at 8:15 P.M.). 
11 Chimney Swifts (in sight at once).  2 Bank Swallows.  1 crested fly & 1
kingbird.  16 Barn Swallows.  63 Fish Crows (1 group; guys, you're supposed
to be disbanding for the breeding season).  26 White-throated Sparrows
(feeding on the driveway and bathing in its puddles; sprucey-looking
sparrows at this time of year).  

Other taxa.  1 female Box Turtle in the Big Field.  1 Diamondback Terrapin.
 5 deer, 2 squirreleepoos, 2 Eastern Cottontail bunny wabbits.    

Sunday, May 1.  Rigby's Folly.  A Great Horned Owl calls twice in the rain
c. 2:45 A.M.  

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.  Overcast and rainy to start with SE
winds 10 m.p.h., temps. 53-65, becoming fair with lowering humidity, rising
ceiling, winds NW 15-30.  A cold, penetrating & raw day mostly.  March
weather in the A.M.  7 A.M. - 3 P.M.  6 people on the refuge bird walk (I'm
surprised anyone showed up given the weather):  Levin Willey, Kate Murphy &
Arnold Simon, Frank & Laurie Bruns & myself.  Tidal water very high, as
were the impoundments & ditches with much standing water in the fields.  75
hard-won species.  It STILL seems like a late spring.

1 brave, alpha Common Loon in migration.  4 Cattle Egrets.  4 Glossy Ibis
(seen by others).  2 Blue-winged & 6 Green-winged teal.  1 female Common
Merganser.  30 Bald Eagles.  1 Sharp-shinned Hawk.  3 Semipalmated Plovers.
 24 Least Sandpipers.  20 Caspian, 1 Royal, 26 Forster's & 5 Least Terns
(that's a good tern show for here, Royals being infrequent around the
central refuge area).  65 Chimney Swifts, feeding, as were the swallows, at
low elevation and very close to us in sunny, lee areas, a nice aerial
spectacle.  1 Red-headed Woodpecker (seen by others along the Marsh Edge
Trail).  55 Tree, 1 rough-winged, 10 Bank & 70 Barn swallows plus 20 or so
martins.  1 Brown-headed Nuthatch at point blank range, the best view I've
ever had other than 1 I once banded at Hooper's Island.  45 Myrtle
Warblers, feeding with a mixed species foraging guild of other passerines
in the sun and lee of the little woods just west of Pool 3B; myrtles ARE
vin ordinaire but they look just smashing in fresh breeding plumage anyway.
 3 Summer Tanagers (talk about smashing).  3 Grasshopper Sparrows.  6
Orchard Orioles.

See an ad. Red-tailed Hawk carrying nesting material south of the decrepit
silo near the exit to Wildlife Drive, a robin with nesting material in the
midst of the W.D. big woods.  3 White-tailed Deer on Egypt Road.  No
squirrels of any sort today.  7 Red-bellied and a couple of Painted turtles
plus 1 Snapping "Turkle" (Dorchester-speak for turtle).  3 Orange Sulphurs.


IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER FEVER.  2 of my friends are going this Wednesday to
Arkanses to look for them.  One of them looked for them in the Big Thicket
years ago with THE James Tanner, who literally "wrote the book" on them. 
Both were in on the Louisiana search several years ago.  I plan to go for a
week late next February, assuming they'll let me in.  But if they have any
sense they'll restrict access to the areas where there have been sightings.
 Several other friends were involved earlier with the original search this
year (and last) and, to their credit, upheld their oaths of secrecy, not
giving so much as a hint that anything was afoot.  This is the most
exciting bird news in my lifetime.  I hope you are as charged up about it
as I am.  Talk about lighting a fire under one's fanny.    

TEXAS REPORT.  I was in the High Island area April 17-24.  I've written a
4,500 word, mas o menos, report.  If you'd like an electronic copy please
say so, to the e-mail address below.  Highlights include 5 Yellow Rails
seen at Anahuac N.W.R. & 103 Piping Plovers present at one time on the
Bolivar Flats.    

MAY 14 STATEWIDE BIRD COUNT, Dorchester County style.  As usual could use
some volunteers to help out in MD's biggest county.  I am almost the lone
eagle, as usual.  

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