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Subject:

Catching Up On Charles County Birds

From:

"George M. Jett"

Reply-To:

George M. Jett

Date:

Tue, 3 May 2005 09:36:45 -0400

Folks

A bit of catching up on Charles County birds.  Yard birds of note recently were:

Common Loon - fly over on Sunday
Six species of woodpeckers including Red-headed and Pileated on Sunday.
Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireo on Sunday
Red-breasted Nuthatch - male only on Sunday
Brown Thrasher and Catbird
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks - the last week with a high count of about 8 birds on Sunday.  Still here this AM

On Saturday, April 30 Gwen, Hans Holbrook, John Hubbell, and I spent the day in the crappy weather to see what we could find in Charles County from about 5 AM to 7 PM.  Our combined total was about 120 species for the effort.  Hans was the un-official score keeper.  I was the official photographer.  The day was used partially as a scouting trip for the SMAS birdathon for later this week.

Highlights for me were:

Common Loon - Cobb Island
Pied-billed Grebe - maybe Allen's Fresh
Snow Goose - Allen's Fresh - mixed in with some Canada's and a large mix of shorebirds in a wet farm field.
Snowy Egret - up to four for the day with two in the Allen's Fresh area
Black-crowned Night-heron that Hans found near the catfish ponds on the Bowling Farm (private property that I have access to).  Not there yesterday so a roosting migrant perhaps.
Ring-necked Duck - Gwen found maybe at Morgantown
Lesser Scaup - along the way at two places 
Ruddy Duck - a large flotilla along the Wicomico River Road.
Peregrine Falcon - two separate sightings.  One at Allen's Fresh and one at Cobb Island.  Both adults.
Perhaps a Merlin at Cobb Island as well - not much of a look at the bird as it flew directly away.
~ 100 Least Sandpipers and Semipalmated Sandpiper - muddy farm field - Allen's Fresh
Pectoral Sandpiper - Same field
Lesser Yellow-legs - 4 at the same muddy field; 
Greater and Lesser at the Breeze Point S. T. P.
Wilson's Snipe - Breeze Point again
~ 70 Royal Tern - Morgantown
Forsters Tern - various spots
Barred Owl - at the house after Hans and John left for home
Screech Owl - Mt. Victoria Road at the Kentucky Warbler stop.  No Kentucky warbler but Summer and Scarlet Tanager, and a good mix of warblers, etc.
Whip-poor-will - again at the house but after the guys left - sorry guys.
Four species of Vireos including Yellow-throated at Bumpy Oak Rd.
Up to 16 species of Warblers - not see by all - including Hooded, Yellow-throated, Black-throated Green, Magnolia, Palm, Prairie, and Louisiana Waterthrush
Nine species of sparrows including a very wet Grasshopper (at Breeze Point), Savannah, White-crowned (Maiden Point Farm - hard to find in the county), and Swamp at several location.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak at the Charles Co. visitor center on 301 near the Potomac River.

A surprisingly good number of species for the weather conditions and shortish big day.  Bad weather can generally produce rarer species (shorebirds/herons), but we also had a fair sampling of songbird migrants.  Thanks guys for helping out on this effort.  If you want to add anything else I missed, please do.

Holy migration!

George