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Holland Island, Dorchester County, June 8

From:

Henry Armistead

Reply-To:

Henry Armistead

Date:

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 10:53:28 -0400

HOLLAND ISLAND, Dorchester County, MD, Wednesday, June 8, 2005.
25.7 miles by boat.  6:30 A.M. - 3 P.M.  Temps in the low-mid 80s.  Winds
light & variable to start becoming SW 10-15.  Water temps in the mid 70s. 
A rising tide after mid-morning.  Good boating weather.

The main objective today was to try to relocate the White Ibis(es?) seen
here earlier this month by Jared W. Sparks and myself and to attempt to
verify their breeding here, which I consider "probable."  I was not
successful but did see an adult White Ibis briefly in mid-morning pitch
into the saltmarsh a couple of hundred feet from the main heronry.

If this species is breeding here it would have to make a long flight to
mainland areas (which many of the birds nesting here do indeed do) in order
to secure prey from freshwater areas, something that is necessary in order
to nurture their young.

"Salty fiddler crabs,
Too salty for ibis young,
scuttle through the marsh." from 'Chesapeake haiku'.

White Ibis, which nest at the mouth of the Bay, must feed their young with
some invertebrates taken from fresh water, not just saltmarsh-obtained
food, therefore the reference to fiddler crabs "too salty for ibis young." 
(cf. Keith L. Bildstein, "The White Ibis: wetland wanderer", Smithsonian
Institution Pr., 1993, pp. 149-165, 'Salt stress and prey choice.').  

The closest known White Ibis breeders are a few on the Eastern Shore of
Virginia barrier islands where they have nested at Fisherman's, Hog, and 1
or 2 other islands almost every year (every year?) since 1977.  Any of
these locations is a pretty good flight from any fresh water areas.  Of
course the waters around Holland Island are not nearly as salty as those at
these Virginia islands.

1.  Holland Island, south (largest) segment.  7:30-11:30 A.M.  A13.2 mile
run to here from the launch site at Crocheron.  I sat in my boat for these
4 hours hoping to see the White Ibis(es?) going to and/or fro the heronry. 
38 species seen including a catbird, 2 Blue Jays (migrants, were present
all morning), 4 Willets, 5 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 5 oystercatchers (in 1
group, flying in unison, calling loudly), a male yellowthroat, a Song
Sparrow, 1 Clapper Rail, a Royal Tern, and a black duck.  Also 12
Boat-tailed Grackles (1 carrying nesting material), 2 starlings, 10 Fish
Crows, and a black duck.

My vantage point right next to the SE shore of Holland gave me an excellent
position to see all herons & ibises coming and going to this very busy
colony.  From 8-9 A.M. I counted birds going and coming to the south
heronry.  Most (all species) were coming from the direction of Bishop's
Head, Toddville, and Elliott Island.  For some it was the Deal I. area.  A
few Tricoloreds, some of both night herons, and some Little Blues were
headed towards South Marsh Island.  Here's the results of that 1 hour
count, the 1st no. = coming, the 2nd no. = going.  

Great Blue Heron 5/1.  Tricolored Heron 22/19.  Snowy Egret 82/86.  Great
Egret 64/90.  Glossy Ibis 23/14.  Black-crowned Night Heron 9/10. 
Yellow-crowned Night Heron 3/4.  Little Blue Heron 2/2.  Cattle Egret 18/6.
 TOTAL: 460 (228/232).    

The night herons are of course a law unto themselves, favoring the
crepuscular lifestyle, so the numbers seen of them are way below what are
actually here.  I know Dave Brinker has some formula using such going and
coming counts to figure the number of breeding pairs, at least for terns,
so perhaps he can use these numbers to estimate how many pairs are breeding
here.

Herons in high breeding plumage exhibit soft part bright coloration not
seen at other times of the year.  Some of the Cattle Egrets today had such
vivid carmine soft part coloration that it wasn't that much less intensely
red than the red on White Ibises.

Why can't we all just get along?  Aggression on Holland Island.  2 adult
Great Black-backed Gulls continually dove at an ad. Bald Eagle sitting near
its nest.  Just to show it can be a pain in the ass, too, a Fish Crow
followed suit.  A Willet divebombed an Osprey that was carrying a small
fish.  Another Willet divebombed a second year Great Black-backed Gull. 
Then a Red-winged Blackbird dove at a Fish Crow.  

Finally a marine policeman out of Deal Island issued a citation (warning)
to me for my out-of-date boat registration tags and expired flares.  Mine
was about the only boat in sight and he comes out of nowhere to do this. 
Still, we had a nice talk about the islands and their history, which may
have staved off a further investigation of my fire extinguisher, personal
flotation devices, and other elements of my armamentarium that may or may
not have been up to snuff.

A few Cow-nosed Rays foraged around my double-anchored boat and a Cabbage
White flew by.  Only a few Diamondback Terrapin seen today.  A few Seaside
Dragonlets.  

2.  West side of Holland's south segment.  Brief visit at Noon.  There is a
small hammock here where I saw 2 large but flightless Fish Crow youngsters.
 In the hammock, which consists of Wax Myrtle, some rose bushes, Poison
Ivy, small Persimmons, and Baccharis halimifolia, a considerable number of
herons flushed.  Based on those I saw I'd estimate 10 pairs of Snowy
Egrets, 2 Glossy Ibis, 2 Tricolored Herons, and 3 Yellow-crowned Night
Herons.  However, I was able to find only a few nests.  Very dense
vegetation.  

Also present, a very agitated oystercatcher, a male Mallard, and 4 Canada
Geese.  Gulls nest right adjacent to this on the beach and dunes with these
results:  11 nests with 1 egg, 11 with 2 eggs, 9 with 3 eggs, and 2 fresh
nests with no eggs (yet?) for a total of 33 nests.  I'm sure both Gerring
and Great Black-backed Gulls are represented.      

3.  Central Holland I. (segment with the house).   12:30 P.M.  On May 27
Jared Sparks and I had seen big numbers of pelicans and cormorants roosting
here but no signs of nesting.  Now, only 12 days later, there are at least
100 Brown Pelicans nests, all empty but well-constructed, plus 1 nest with 
an egg and 3 nests with 2 eggs for a total of 4 nests with eggs.  This is
the first time pelis have nested on Holland Island.  325 flying pelicans
and 65 cormorants were present (but no DCCO nests I could find in my brief,
10 minute visit).  

Also found were Herring Gull nests in areas where I had not been on May 27:
 1 each of nests with 1 egg and 1 young, 1 egg and 2 young, and 1 egg plus
2 nests with 2 eggs each for a total of 5 nests additional to those found
on May 27.  I am also certain both HEGU and GBBG nest here, having seen
both in brooding positions when I was offshore.

4.  North segment of Holland Island, a small marshy tump with some sand,
spangled with a profuse growth of morning glories and a few Baccharis
halimifolia bushes.  12:45 P.M.  Since May 27, when we did not notice any,
a Forster's Tern colony has become established here with 95 flushing when I
landed and these nests:  10 nests with 1 egg, 23 with 2 eggs, 10 with 3
eggs, and 2 with 4 eggs for a total of 45 nests.  A fresh but empty Herring
Gull nest also.  Present were 4 oystercatchers, a Willet, and an active
Opsrey nest.

5.  Bloodsworth Island, NW side.  1:15-2 P.M.  I stopped here at Okahanikan
and Kits points, both part of Bloodsworth Island CW atlas block. 
Bloodsworth Point is also but is extremely shallow and a landing here today
would have been difficult.  25 species.  Some of them:  an imm. Bald Eagle,
6 Ospreys (occupied nests), 9 Barn Swallows (nesting inside a pockmarked,
former military target),  3 Glossy Ibis & 6 other heron species, 15 Mute
Swans, 1 Marsh Wren, 5 Seaside Sparrows, 35 cormorants, 6 black ducks, 14
pelicans (they like to plunge dive into Okahanikan Cove) and 1 harrier.    
 

Returning to the ramp at Crocheron I was surprised to find a note from Hal
Wierenga slipped through the window crack and had a good time catching up
with him over seafood at Ocean Odyssey in Cambridge and hearing about the
100-site rail survey he is doing for the state.

Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225.  215-248-4120.  Please, any off-list replies to: