Hi All,

This is an early-bird May Count report before Saturday becomes ancient history. We had three parties for this year's edition of the Kent County May Count which led to a low species count of 123 relative to previous efforts (all in excess of 130); these had more parties and hours. Our total individuals for the count was 4402.

There were more migrants around this Saturday than last and many birds had come in over the preceding week, e.g. 94 Indigo Buntings vs. less than 5 last week. We recorded 19 species of warbler including a BAY-BREASTED in Fairlee, a WILSON'S and a Blackburnian at Chesapeake Landing, a NASHVILLE at Fairgale Farms, a Kentucky in Millington, and 5 Prothonotary Warblers including one on Worton Creek. The Warbling Vireos are finally back at St. Paul's on Ricaud's Branch Road, and we tallied 69 Red-eyed Vireos.

Peter Mann re-located the one-year-old Greenland GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE found on our Big Day at the Mill Pond just north of Millington on MD-313 last Saturday accompanied by 7 SNOW GEESE (still there as well). This extends an already very late date. Other lingering waterfowl were few, but Peter found 2 HOODED MERGANSERS in Millington, and a drake RUDDY DUCK is still at Great Oak Pond. There were good numbers of 11 species of shorebird scattered around the county on farm ponds and in fields, the tide was high on the Bay all day due to brisk south winds. These included 21 Semipalmated Plovers, 80 Least Sandpipers, 6 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 2 DUNLIN at Chesapeake Farms, 54 Black-bellied Plovers (most in cornfields along Fish Hatchery Rd) and a single RUDDY TURNSTONE among the plovers on Fish Hatchery Road. Gulls were few with only Ring-billed exceeding 10 individuals, but terns made up for that a bit with 15 Least Terns, 4 Caspian Terns, 9 Forster's, and 2 adult ROYAL TERNS at Eastern Neck Island. The best herons were 18 CATTLE EGRETS at Chesapeake Farms and in fields nearby in Edesville. 

It was memorable day, although we certainly wished for more sparrows, and a few more migrants (they were still a bit spaced-out and scarce).

Good Birding,

Walter Ellison
May Count Coordinator 
23460 Clarissa Road
Chestertown, MD 21620
phone: 410-778-9568
e-mail: 

"A person who is looking for something doesn't travel very fast" - E. B. White (in "Stuart Little")

"Are there *ever* enough birds?" - Connie Hagar as quoted by Edwin Way Teale in "Wandering through Winter"