I spent Thursday (5/19) and Friday (5/20) atlasing in Worcester County,
leaving my wife and son to fend for themselves in this cruel, dark world.
(Latter phrase added by my wife as she watched me compose this post.)  

 

Highlights as follows:

 

05/19/2005

 

Public Landing/CW - Added 11 species, bringing this block to 73, getting it
over the minimum of 70 target (Walt - take note!).  Plus 6 confirmations
(good for this early the season).  First Red-headed Woodpecker of the season
in the large clearcut along Public Landing road, just east of Wesley.
Conversation with a turkey hunter turned up he had located a turkey nest
with eggs about a week ago.  Now that the safe dates for the herons are in,
able to count Great Blue Heron, Great Egret and Glossy Ibis in this block as
morning fly-overs.  Both the egret and ibis ranged fairly far inland to feed
from their colonies in the coastal bays; Great Blues are scattered
throughout, despite the lack of any known breeding colonies.  Double Bridges
Road (runs between Cedartown and Public Landing Roads) is entirely within
this block and is one of those nice dirt roads still left in Worcester.
Also walked the Chesapeake Forest stand off of Cedartown Road (just south
and east of the RR tracks), which includes a really nice hardwood stand;
rare on CF properties.  Always neat to walk new dirt; one of the joys of
atlasing.

 

Highlight in this block, while exploring an area I had never birded (yes ...
in Worcester!), Timmons Road, which goes east from Route 113 just north of
Snow Hill (county animal control is located down this road).  Blake Road
splits off to the south, but at the very end of Timmons (a private driveway
goes off to the south here, on a 90 degree turn), I hear a loud
ciss-ciss-ciss.  Whoa!  A singing Dickcissel!  My first such in Worcester.
Always on the list of potential breeders with all the mid-Shore records, but
on checking the safe date is June 1st.  The landowner's son checks me out
(and I spoke with the landowner as well); they were very nice, but the 2 or
so acres of beautiful hay (orchard grass, forbs, etc.), are scheduled for
the mower after the next 3-day period of dry weather.  Doesn't look like
I'll make June 1st, or he might just move on anyway.  I tried for photos,
but without any luck.  Nice male.

 

One prior record of a bird summering in Worcester (DICK, 06/09/1996, 1,
BOXIRONRD, "Box Iron Creek Rd., by Plicher Farm". (Jenion, S.) (NAB)).  Only
one other published spring record (DICK, 05/09/1964, 1, WC, "OC to PSF and
Assawoman". (ANS May Count, MOS Convention) (AN 19:251-255)).  I had one in
late-May last year while atlasing on Assateague in the Green Run area ...
clearly a migrant (not previously reported).

 

Public Landing/NW - Added 2 species, bringing total to 84, greatly enhanced
(for this totally inland block) by the Worcester County Central Landfill.
Good to see my old friend, George, the manager.  Totals here included
Laughing Gull (800), Herring Gull (200), Great Black-backed Gull (5) and
Lesser Black-backed Gull (1, photos).  Water levels high and no shorebird
habitat; 1 Spotted Sandpiper was the only wader.

 

Public Landing/CE - Added 7 species, bringing the total to 77, but still
well short of the prior atlas total of 93.  Planning some boating effort
later in the season for this block.  Confirmed Purple Martin, always a
pleasure to see an active colony; not that many.

 

Too cold and windy for any railing so I quit at dark.

 

05/20/2005

 

Woke up at 4 am, and my worst fears realized as it was raining steady.
Nonetheless, I started atlasing at 0500, with rain, heavy at times all day.
Pretty cold as well.  

 

Pocomoke City/SE - My first target, another sub-70 block, that runs roughly
from Dunn Swamp Road (west of Route 13) and eastward.  Despite the rain,
added new species at the first two stops, while a field well inland had a
flock of 20 Black-bellied Plover (along with 2 Glossy Ibis and 300 Laughing
Gulls), a frequent field-bird here in spring, sometimes in very large
numbers, but most frequent near the coast; a harbinger of things to come.

 

The field at the SE corner of the intersection of Brantley and Critcher
Roads was full of birds; mostly Laughing Gulls (600) as normal, but some 400
Black-bellied Plovers, and in the ditches, 1 Great Egret, 1 Snowy Egret, and
1 Little Blue Heron flew in while I was there.  I already have Little Blue
as an "O" for this block, but the bird was kind enough to fly just barely
far enough east to cross into the Girdletree/SW block, for which it was new.
Then at the intersection of Critcher and Johnson Roads (in Girdletree/SW,
which I entered to do a U-turn), a farm ditch held an adult Black-crowned
Night Heron, another new one for that block.  I ended up adding 7 species
for Pocomoke City/SE, bringing it up to 74 and getting it off the bad block
list.  I even went back to the hotel in Pocomoke City to dry off a little
and headed out again.

 

Pocomoke City/CW - As is my frequent want, I stopped by the Pocomoke City
Wastewater Treatment Plant for lunch (ere, I brought my lunch with me ...).
On a rainy day like this, it is a great place to site, scan, and watch the
swallows that are driven to such ponds on rainy days.  The manager, Mike,
who had a heart-attach a month or so ago was back on duty and it was good to
see him.  I told him about the Black-necked Stilts and how he could check
them out online.  Waterfowl here was pretty slow (other than Canada Goose
and Mallard), as the 2 Northern Shovelers that were here 2 weeks ago had
left, and only 1 Ruddy Duck was holding down the fort.  Usually 1 or 2
ruddies summer here.  Only shorebirds were 2 Spotted Sandpipers.

 

I found a good spot next to a metal structure along the edge of the south
cell, that the Tree Swallows were perching on, and set up for lunch and some
photography from the car.  During the middle of the picture taking, what
should appear but a Cliff Swallow perched with the trees.  I managed 10 or
so pictures (www.pbase.com/wcbirding), and then one of the trees chased him
a bit and the cliff flew off, not to be seen again.  Certainly one of my
target birds to photograph in Worcester.  Only my third in Worcester and the
11th record overall (listed below).  Eight in spring and three in fall.
This one bests the previously record spring departure date of 5/17 (set in
the 1947!!, the first county record). Surprisingly rare here and certainly
under reported.

 

CLSW  05/02/1994  1  STMARTPOND, FN "at St. Martin's". (MLH) (MB 51:118 FN
48:286 Unpub. Obs.) FN "nice find on coast". 0915:0945.

CLSW  05/05/1973  1  JENKPOND, MB(SR) ADT. MB(MC) "WC". (MOS May Count,
Rowlett, R. A.) MB(MC) cites no obs. (MB 29:39-51, 116, 123 AN 28:175) AN
gives no date, obs, etc., "Ocean City".

CLSW  05/08/1971  1  WC, MB ADT. AN"WC, inc. OC, PSWAMP/N, offshore boat,
AI". (ANS May Count, MOS Convention) (MB 27:140 AN 26:115-124)

CLSW  05/09/1964  1  WC, "OC to PSF and Assawoman". (ANS May Count, MOS
Convention) (AN 19:251-255)

CLSW  05/14/1960  2  OC, (DuMont, P. A.) (AFN 14:376) "normally quite rare
on coasts of ... MD".

CLSW  05/15/1960  1  OC, No # (1 to 5, several other observations). (MOS
Convention) (MB 16:76)

CLSW  05/15/1983  1  SCOTLANDG, (Trochet, J., et al.) (MB 39:80)

CLSW  05/17/1947  1  AI, (Barnes, I. R., Stewart, R. E., ASDC Field Trip) WT
cites no obs. (CSR WT 2:54)

CLSW  09/12/1986  1  WESTOC, (Czaplak, D.) (MB 43:24)

CLSW  09/25/1993  1  AI/FHL, MB departure. (MLH) (MB 51:74 Unpub. Obs.)

CLSW  09/29/1994  1  WC, No #. (O'Brien, M.) (Unpub. Obs. (M. L. Hoffman))

 

Swallow totals for the treatment plant were: Tree (400), Barn (15), Bank
(2), Cliff (1) and Purple Martin (2).  This place rocks!

 

Girdletree/SE - Given my tangential success while doing the P. City/SE
block, I decided to try there a little more, and ended up adding 11 species,
bringing the total up to 86, and besting the prior atlas total of 77.  I
walked the Chesapeake Forest tract east of Steel Pond road; had been in here
before on the Chincoteague Christmas Bird Count (I do the area around Big
Mill Pond).  Got caught out in a torrentially rain storm, but fun
nonetheless.  Had 3 fly-over Semipalmated Plovers in the middle of the
forest.

 

Big Mill Pond was birdy, though the only waterbirds were 2 Canada Geese, 1
D-c. Cormorant, 1 Green Heron, 1 Forster's Tern and 1 Osprey.  Six fly-over
Short-billed Dowitchers.

 

The big fields along the west side of Payne Road (roughly from its
intersection with Sheephouse Road to the VA line) are a great area for field
birds; on the CBC I've had Black-bellied Plover here several times and had a
Long-billed Dowitcher one year.  I spent some time here, as the fields and
sky were just full of birds.  Laughing Gull (300), Great Egret (1), Little
Blue Heron (1 - actually foraging in the field), Cattle Egret (2 - new to
the block and much harder to find than 20 years ago), Black-bellied Plover
(1) and Semi. Plover (1).  

 

I then had to venture into VA to atlas a little piece of tidal marsh that is
in this block, and which produces a number of species hard to find in the MD
portion.  I heard a kingfisher, and watched it for awhile.  Eventually it
caught a fish, whacked it dead.  Hoping for a confirmation, it then flew off
in classic "FY" mode, but managed to fly south and out of the block into a
realm totally outside the MD/DC atlas project, creating a metaphysical
question: if a bird exhibits "confirmation" behavior (i.e., not counting
things like herons, gulls and terns for which special rules apply), but the
nest site is clearly not within the block can you count it as confirmed?
I'm assuming not.

 

Girdletree/SE - Although I have 78 species in this one, the potential seems
much large, as it has good upland areas, and a full compliment of coast
marsh and wetlands.  I started at the CF tract on Big Mill Road, but by this
hour the rain and cold had put an effective end to any land birding.  The
fields north of Big Mill Road (from the CF track east to Route 12), however,
were full of waterbirds, with Greater Yellowlegs (3), Lesser Yellowlegs (2),
Semipalmated Plover (40), Least Sandpiper (80), Semipalmated Sandpiper (20)
and Short-billed Dowitcher (5).  Another fly-by Little Blue Heron here as
well.

 

I then had to venture into VA again, as the easiest marsh to access in this
block is along the road to Franklin City (and I use that term loosely) from
Greenbackville.  Clapper Rails were in full voice despite the rain and I was
able to add a Black-crowned Night Heron out in the marsh.  I always feel bad
for the Am. Robin that has set up his territory in the postage-stamp sized
lawn of the US Coast Guard building at the end of the road.  What female
robin would want to live with all that wind and salt spray?

 

Ended up adding 5 species, bringing the total to 83, one better than the
prior atlas.

 

Boxiron/CW - I decided to end the day at Georges Island landing, though with
the wind and rain (the parking lot at the end had waves breaking across
it!), it did not produce anything new.  I needed Bald Eagle here, but 1
adult was fishing to the south, in Boxiron/SW.  Hundreds of Barn Swallows
out over the marsh.  

 

At 8 pm I decide I had given it a full effort and headed home.

 

Mark L Hoffman

Sykesville, MD