BARREN ISLAND area, Dorchester County, MD, Saturday, June 11, 2005. My
thanks to the Blackwater and Eastern Neck national wildlife refuges staff,
especially Dixie Birch, for preparing a use permit allowing me to visit
Barren I., part of the Blackwater refuge complex.
I make note here of all birds seen. It's been about 10 years since I
visited this area - I used to make an annual pilgrimage each year over
Memorial Day Weekend, sometimes finding 10-12 Mute Swan nest with eggs each
visit. None this time. Since it's been so long I wanted to make notes on
the plants and the state of each of these sites for my own record.
Rough sledding today due to the winds of 15 increasing to 25 m.p.h. making
landings and running time difficult and dicey. 12 miles by boat. 7:30
A.M. - 4 P.M. Fair, hazy, winds S or SW, temps in the low 80s. A Bermuda
high. Another disadvantage is low tide in the middle of the day in this
very shallow area. I'd hoped to get to Lower Hooper's Island also but with
the strong winds and low water this was not practical.
Abbreviations: DCCO, Double-crested Cormorant. GBHE, Great Blue Heron.
GBBG, Great Black-backed Gull. HEGU, Herring Gull.
BARREN ISLAND NE ATLAS BLOCK:
1. Sand bar in upper Tar Bay north of Barren Island. 8:30 A.M. This is a
long crescent-shaped sand bar with some growth of Sea Rocket and Beach
Grass plus some small dunes 2-3 feet high and a little Phragmites but is
mostly sand. In previous years Least Terns, GBBG, and HEGU have all nested
here. 12 species. Today c. 65 Common Terns were present and these nests:
12 fresh nests w/o any contents, 2 nests with 1 egg, 6 nests with 2 eggs,
and 1 nest with 3 eggs = 21 nests. On the south end is an American
Oystercatcher nest with 3 eggs (no doubt a full clutch) and 2 adult birds
present. Also seen: 2 Mute Swans, 7 GBHE. 2 Snowy & 7 Great egrets. 30
DCCO. 7 Barn Swallows. 14 Bald Eagles (in sight simultaneously, all of
them ON the sand bar). 55 HEGU & 15 GBBG. Butterfly: 1 Cabbage White.
2. Dredge spoil island on NE side of Barren I. 9:30-10:00 A.M. This was
created c. 20 years ago with dredge spoil from the long channel in to
Fishing Creek (the creek, not the town by the same name). For several
years I served on a committee that oversaw the management of this
artificial island, now a small state W.M.A. I believe. Originally 40 acres
when saltmarsh was created by extensive plantings, for some years it held
breeding Seaside Sparrows, Clapper Rails, Marsh Wrens and even Least
Bitterns.
I once found a Clapper nest here with a big clutch. None of these 4
species seem to be present today. Phramites has invaded the higher area.
The little grove of Black Locusts is gone but there is now 1 medium-sized
c. 15' loblolly. The rest is lush saltmarsh, esp. Spartina alterniflora,
S. patens, Distichlis spicata, some Juncus roemerianus on the south side,
Scirpus in the higher marsh, and numerous Baccharis halimifolia bushes
where the Phragmites is growing. This island is very narrowly separated,
on its NW side, from Barren Island.
17 species. 7 DCCO. 1 Green Heron. 14 GBHE. 8 Great Egrets. 2 Mute
Swans. 1 Turkey Vulture (out of place). 3 Bald Eagles. 2 Ospreys. 2
Willets (probably breeders, agitated). 8 HEGU. 7 Forster's Terns. 1
Least Tern. 9 Barn Swallows. 4 Fish Crows. 9 Boat-tailed Grackles (1
carrying food). 3 Common Grackles. 14 Red-winged Blackbirds (territorial,
obviously all breeeding here).
3. Channel in to Fishing Creek. As often seems to be the case almost all
the channel markers here have occupied Osprey nests. Today there are such
nests on 9 of 11 markers.
4. North end of Barren Island south to Barren Island Thorofare, which used
to be a viable channel where boats could pass through near the center of
the island. 10:45 A.M. - noon. There are 3 areas where extensive marsh
plantings have been made, a huge effort by volunteers, refuge staff, and
others. Mostly S. alterniflora, which has done well. Much of the J.
roemerianus has died out. D. Spicata has done fairly. There are also some
extensive new jetties and rip rap, geotubes, and some nice, exposed mud
flats that have been created. The NE side of this island segment has a
large, nearly pure Loblolly Pine forest. The old lodge on the NW end has
been done in by the waves several years ago. The old landing strip and
channel into the former lodge are largely obscured now.
24 species. 1 Brown Pelican. 10 GBHE. 9 Great Egrets. 1 Snowy Egret. 1
Green Heron. 2 Mute Swans. 1 male Mallard. 6 Bald Eagles. 4 Ospreys
(incl. an active nest in a L. pine). 8 Semipalmated Sandpipers & 1
Semipalmated Plover, late migrants. 2 Willets. 1 oystercatcher. 9 HEGU.
1 Laughing Gull. 2 ad. & 1 flying juvenile Least Tern, 1 of the ad.
carrying a small fish. 5 Forster's Terns. 7 Barn Swallows. 2 Purple
Martins. 2 Eastern Kingbirds. 8 Fish Crows. 1 Pine Warbler. 22
Red-winged Blackbirds. 1 Boat-tailed Grackles (1 carrying food).
1 of the Great Egrets came in from the Bay from the western shore. A Green
Tree Frog called 3 times. Fiddler Crabs in droves. Lots of deer
footprints. 2 burrows in the high sand adjacent to each other were c. 8"
wide & 10" high and I'd suspect might be used by Red Foxes. These are c.
200' S. of the isolated 3 live and 1 dead L. pine near where the old lodge
was. Some Sea Rocket grows in the higher sandy areas. In a few places
Diamondback Terrapin have laid eggs that have either hatched or been dug up
by predators. On the N end are some very stagnant, scummy salt ponds with
Scirpus growing around their edges. In the central W side are some very
nice S. patens and J. roemerianus meadows. In several places piles of
oyster shells have been put out. Dragonflies: a few Seaside Dragonlets.
BARREN ISLAND CE ATLAS BLOCK:
5. Off the south end of Barren I. is a small marshy-muddy TUMP of about an
acre. 12:35-1:35 P.M. Lunch and rest time. For a few years pelicans and
DCCO nested here. Earlier, in the 1970s, this stretch of Barren Island
extended at least 1/2 a mile farther south, supported a forest, and a
colony of hundreds of herons - all regularly-breeding MD species of herons
and ibis except Yellow-crowned Night Heron. As it eroded and became
marshier, for a few years skimmers, Royal Terns and Laughing Gulls nested
here plus Fish Crows, birds that Chris Witt, George A. and I found then.
Now this little tump is all that is left. Willets, Seaside Sparrows, and
some ducks used to nest here as well.
9 species. 15 DCCO. 2 Brown Pelicans. 8 GBHE. 1 Osprey. 32 ad. Herring
Gulls. 18 ad., 21 juvenile, and 2 sub-adult Great Black-backed Gulls. 3
Laughing Gulls (1 ad., 2 sub-adult). 2 Common Terns. 1 Forster's Tern,
carrying a minnow.
Here are 3 half-hearted-looking HEGU nests w/o eggs and 1 good nest with 2
eggs. 1 Diamondback Terrapin. This little island, which will probably be
gone in a year or 2, is really low, about 2/3 mud and 1/3 marsh grass. I
would be surprised if the gull nest is successful. A long pound net line
extends from the W. side of this island - 1 of its stakes is anchored in it
hundreds of yards out into the Bay.
6. Barren Island, main section, from Whitewood Cove up to Barren Island
Thorofare, a stretch of nearly a mile. 2 - 3:30 P.M. This is where the
big GBHE & Great Egret colony has been for many years in big loblollies,
impressive trees. Most of the nests are 70 or 80 feet up. I found 1 dead
medium-sized young GBHE lying on the ground, probably dead < a week. Much
of the west side of Barren Island main has eroded for many years and
exposed, rather high clay bank lines the shores.
At Whitewood Cove is a morass of large blownover loblolly boles. From
their orientation I'd guess many were victims of Hurricane Isabel. Getting
around and over these was a challenge (Dorchester's answer to Mount St.
Helens?). Mixed in with them are tall Phragmites, greenbrier and Poison
Ivy. Fortunately today was only moderately warm and with hardly any
noxious insects.
The main part of the pine forest, on the west side, where the herons' nests
are, is surprising open and park-like. There are no leaves below a 5-foot
level, very uniform. The folks at Longwood Gardens, if they had striven
for such an effect, could not have done better. I supose this is a deer
browse line. On the forest floor in most places is a very rank, dense
growth of soft weeds that comes above the knees, and conceals very well
various fallen trees and branches (ouch!). There are what look like deer
trails through the undergrowth.
However, quite a bit of the forest floor is also open and strewn with all
manner of plastic containers, bottles, driftwood, and other bric-a-brac and
flotsam and jetsam, much due no doubt to Isabel.
Aside from the pines the dominant trees are American Holly, Sweet Gum,
Mulberry, and Black Cherry in that order, plus a few Black Locusts. There
is some Poison Ivy and Trumpet Creeper and, of course, Honeysuckle. In the
central part is a stagnant, largely freshwater slough or swale with
abundant grasses and Phragmites on the sides - a place where I have heard
Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toads (which are actually a frog) several times.
The call is "Like the bleat of a lamb and occasionally with a very short
preliminary peep. The call has a vibrant quality, something like an
electric buzzer, and lasts for about 1/2 to 4 seconds." as described by
Roger Conant in the Peterson reptile/amphibian guide (p. 335). One of my
friends used to hunt feral Mallards with Conant at the Philadelphia zoo
(after closing hours), when Conant was the reptile curator there.
I did come across a large Fowler's Toad on the forest floor - fat, pudgy,
and appealing. When I gave it a gentle poke it responded with a quite
respectable hop. You go, toad!
East of the slough is a much smaller pine forest including an area with
several hundred big, dead pines, perfect Red-headed Woodpecker habitat.
Didn't see any but perhaps 20 years ago Carl & Rachel Perry and I did see
one here. I've also flushed Black Vultures from the forest floor in years
past, almost certainly breeders.
18 species. GBHEs aplenty incl. at least 100 nests. 10 Great Egrets (10
nests?). 5 Bald Eagles (and a nest, probably not from this year). 4
Ospreys (incl. 1 on an occupied nest). 3 Forster's Terns. 2 kingbirds (1
chasing a Fish Crow). 1 crested flycatcher. 4 Purple Martins. 6 Barn
Swallows. 8 Fish Crows. 1 House Wren (singing). 1 Carolina Wren
(singing). 1 catbird (carrying food). 1 Pine Warbler (singing). 2
cardinals (singers). 4 Red-winged Blackbirds. 12 Boat-tailed Grackles (1
carrying food). 10 Common Grackles (1 carrying food). 1 male Orchard
Oriole (singing).
1 Cabbage White. 1 Monarch.
As the wind kept increasing I decided to quit a little early. I had hoped
to visit Opossum Island, just offshore from the E side of Barren. Not much
of it remains. It is in 2 small sections, its trees either dead or washed
away. Had been looking at it in the distance all day. I suspect a few
Forster's Terns and HEGU may be nesting on Opossum. They were definitely
hanging around there. I had also wished to make a landing on the E side of
Barren I. main, where the pines are shorter and the forest more varied,
with quite a few deciduous trees. There cattails grow right on the sod
bank a few feet from salt water.
Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Please, any off-list replies to:
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