Hello All,
I conducted my annual Big Day at Oak Grove yesterday. I began the day at the pond on the farm (in MD) at 7AM. Soon as I opened the car door, I was met with numerous songs and about 25 species within a couple minutes. First up was a beautiful male Baltimore Oriole singing in full view. While enjoying him, I heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Scarlet Tanager in the distance. Migrant warblers included a Yellow, 2 Parulas, 2 B&W, a Palm and several butterbutts. Next I walked along the Railroad that runs adjacent to the farm, following it back beside the cutoff woods on a neighboring property. Here, the first Blue Grosbeak and Yellow-breasted Chats of the year had arrived to join the Prairie Warbler, Towhee, Yellowthroat and Bobwhite. A flock of 15 Bobolink bounced by. Where the railroad emerges into the open near Kinder Rd, I set up the scope to scan the skies. My usual goal is to pick up a distant soaring eagle or Black Vulture. This time, the first bird I come across is a migrating Common Loon! (an unexpected surprise, 2nd record). Also flying by were 2 groups of 32 and 30 DC Cormorants and an Osprey. A check or puddles in the neighbor's field found 4 Greater Yellows, 1 Lesser Yellow, 2 Solitary Sand, 34 Least Sand and a single Semi Plover. Upon leaving the pond, I had over 60 species, a good day if I stopped there, but I had several common birds left to add such as Robin, House Sparrow and Killdeer. Rounding up some of these, brought my list to 74 species, just one shy of my single day record. So as a good birder, I was obligated at this point to make the effort to find 2 more birds. Back out the door after lunch and I immediately added House Finch and a lone Junco that had materialized the evening before. My latest Junco record by 10 days. I walked the ditchbanks on the farm to flush 3 Savannah Sparrows. Hitting the point of diminishing returns, the final 2 hours of searching added 2 last species - Black Vulture and Mockingbird (!). I spent a lot of time looking for a stinking Mocker, but there hid all day long. Finally found one at 8 PM. Listened for night birds to no avail. I ended the day tired and very pleased with a new single day high of 79 species.
The list roughly in order:
Note: all birds MD, unless otherwise noted
Common Loon 1
Double-crested Cormorant 62
Great Blue Heron 3
Canada Geese 7
Cooper's Hawk 2 - 1 ea. state
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Osprey 1
Turkey Vulture 17
Black Vulture 1
Laughing Gull ~400 - mostly DE in a farmed field
Ring-billed Gull 7
Killdeer 3
Semipalmated Plover 1
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Solitary Sandpiper 6
Least Sandpiper 34
Northern Bobwhite 2H
Mourning Dove 9
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1H
Chimney Swift 4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2 - DE
Pileated Woodpecker 1H
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Kingbird 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 5
Tree Swallow 21
Barn Swallow 8
Purple Martin 40
Horned Lark 7
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 10
Chickadee 6
Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Wood Thrush 1
Eastern Bluebird 5
Robin 14
Brown Thrasher 1
Catbird 1
Mockingbird 1
Red-eyed Vireo 4
Parula 3
Black-and-White Warbler 2
Yellow Warbler 2
Pine Warbler 4
Prairie warbler 2
Palm Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 7
Yellowthroat 4
Ovenbird 4
Worm-Eating Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 2
Scarlet Tanager 1
Eastern Towhee 2
Cardinal 8
Blue Grosbeak 2
House Finch 1 - DE
Goldfinch 11
Junco 1 - DE
White-throated Sp 6
Chipping Sparrow 21
Song Sp 3 - DE
Savannah Sp 3 - DE
Vesper Sp 3
Grasshopper Sp 2
Field Sp 4
Orchard Oriole 5
Baltimore Oriole 2
Bobolink 20 - 15 flyover in MD, 5 in overgrown pasture at N Oak Grove and Oak Grove Rd in DE
Brown-headed Cowbird 48
Red-winged Blackbird 6
European Starling Do I have to count these?
Common Grackle
House Sparrow 10
Mammals:
Deer 14 in 3 groups
Rabbit 2
Squirrel 1
Bat sp. 2
Red Fox 1 - barked at me while I was listening for owls
Good Birding,
Glen Lovelace III
Seaford, DE |