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Subject:

Blackwater, Hooper's I., Ferry Neck, Oct. 30-31

From:

Henry Armistead

Reply-To:

Henry Armistead

Date:

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 09:40:45 -0500

"Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue.  October 29, 2005, SATURDAY.  2-6:30 P.M., D.S.T.,only.  Fair
becoming clear, winds NW-WNW 20-15 m.p.h., temps 51-49 degrees F.  Tide
high and falling.  Cold.  Windy.  51 was about today's high temp here.  35
species.

71 Mute Swans.  RAPTORS:  21 Turkey & 3 Black vultures, 4 Sharp-shinned & 5
Red-tailed hawks, 2 Bald Eagles & 1 male kestrel.  8 Rock Pigeons (5, 1 &
2; seldom seen here).  12 Mourning Doves.  21 Tree Swallows.  1 phoebe.  1
kingfisher.  A nice group of sparrows in one small Persimmon Tree:  3
Songs, 1 Field & 1 adult Swamp sparrow.  Also:  2 Gray Squirrels and 10
deer (does).  The does were oblivious to me; they were between me and the
house but several turned to look with curiosity at my car parked next to
the front porch.  Earlier today one of the Olszewskis shot a doe here.     


October 30.  SUNDAY.  Clear, cool, windy, 47-64 degrees F., winds NW 20
slowly dropping to 5 m.p.h.  Excellent visibility (The Patuxent River
bridge, over 15 miles from our vantage point below Narrows Ferry Bridge,
was easily visible).  Southern Dorchester County, 6:00 A.M. - 3:45 P.M.,
E.S.T.  77 species.  Jared Sparks & myself plus others as indicated.

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.  Birdwalk, 7:45-11:45 P.M.  22 persons
on the walk, including Levin Willey, Kate Murphy, Arnold Simon, Kathy
Cooper, et al.  Paul Spitzer, Boripat Siriaroonrat, and 1 other fellow
happened to be in the area and joined us off and on.

Of most interest were the swallows, including c. 10 each of Barn & Northern
Rough-wings.  I did not see this many of either during my entire stay at
Kiptopeke, Virginia, from September 23-October 10.  This has been a very
screwy fall migration. 

Highlights:  9 Great & 5 Snowy egrets.  75 Snow Geese (mostly blues but a
few white snows also).  20 Bald Eagles (at least).  20 Sharp-shinned & 2
Cooper's hawks.  15 Killdeer.  1 Greater Yellowlegs (only).  10 Dunlin
(only).  2 Horned Larks.  150 Tree, 10 Barn & 10 Northern Rough-winged
swallows (the latter 2 species were a big surprise; normally seeing even 1
this late here would be unexpected).  1 Winter Wren.  c. 10 ea. of
Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned kinglets.  10 Eastern Meadowlarks.  Also:  1
Fox Squirrel (on the shoulder of Key Wallace Drive).  1 Painted Turtle.    
   

(Upper) Hooper's Island hawkwatch at Swan Harbor Rd.  6:30-7:30 A.M.,
E.S.T. & again from Noon -2 P.M.  TOTAL: 184 RAPTORS.  83 Turkey & 13 Black
vultures.  41 Sharp-shinned, 3 Cooper's & 15 Red-tailed hawks.  20 Bald
Eagles.  7 Northern Harriers.  1 Osprey.  1 American Kestrel.  Given the
cool day with NW winds I was disappointed there were not more birds, esp.
red-tails and accipiters, and still no red-shoulders.  Also seen here
today:  2 Northern Pintails, 45 Northern Shovelers, 4 Common  Loons
(fly-bys), 1 Great Egret. 15 Tree Swallows, and 5 meadowlarks.  An immature
Bald Eagle was seen trying to catch a juvenile Herring Gull.  Flocks of
robins and red-wings.    

While there Paul Hagen, an attorney who works for the American Bird
Conservancy, stopped to talk.  He has a vacation place off of Swan Harbor
Road.  Neil & Kate Birchmeier, who for several years have graciously let us
scope Tar Bay and its productive sandbars from their dock, stopped to talk
while out on their pre-breakfast hike.  Kate & Arnold joined Jared and me
for the afternoon segment and then went on down Hooper's I. with us.    

Middle Hooper's Island, 2-3:30 P.M.  20 Brown Pelicans (far offshore
hanging out around the pound nets).  255 Ruddy Ducks (a single group of the
little dears resting on the Honga River just S. of Narrows Ferry Bridge). 
60 Great Black-backed Gulls (on the experimental jetties).  7 Royal Terns. 
19 Common Loons.  2 kingfishers.  2 Snowy Egrets.  300 Double-crested
Cormorants.  95 Surf Scoters.  29 Rock Pigeons (at Fishing Creek [the
creek, not the town] bridge, technically part of Middle Hooper's Island -
one of the best spots to see them in southern Dorchester County, where they
are uncommon).     
BUTTERFLIES seen today.  Not many.  Zero Monarchs but 4 Orange Sulphurs, 1
Cabbage White, and 5 unidentified anglewings.  

Dead-on-the-road:  1 Sika Elk, 1 White-tailed Deer, 2 Raccoons, 1 Opossum,
and 1 Great Blue Heron (on Hip Roof Road).  Requiescat in pavement.  


FILL HER UP WITH REGULAR, AND PLEASE CHECK UNDER THE HOOD.  What we used to
say at a gas station when I was a young man before the days of
self-service.  Tyler Bell, taking understandable issue with my fondness for
squirrels, sent me a message about how one got under his hood (and skin)
doing extensive damage to his car.  This reminded me of the mice that
sidelined some of Hitler's tanks as they were nearing Moscow by gnawing on
the wiring, apparently attracted by their residual heat after they were
turned off.  A couple of years ago after I hooked up the boat & trailer to
my car a mouse had been in the boat's center console.  Somehow it then got
under the car hood where the heating/cooling fan chopped it up (diced
rather than pureed).  The resulting bouquet was unbearable.  In his book
"Seventy years of birdwatching" (T. & A. D. Poyser, 1974, 264pp.) Horace G.
Alexander tells of opening up his hood once in New Jesey and a White-winged
Crossbill flew out (p. 184) !!!  Alexander was the brother of W. B.
Alexander, author of what was then the ranking guide to seabirds, "Birds of
the ocean: a handbook for voyagers" (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1928, 428pp.).  I
remember Horace as a very distinguished looking and aged Quaker gentleman
who attended meetings of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (the DVOC)
here.  It was said that he knew Mahatma Ghandi well.  

FRIGHT WITH THE BIRDS is the theme of tonight's Philadelphia Orchestra
program, which includes 'Firebird', 'Swan Lake', 'Night on Bald Mountain',
etc.  Free Library staff such as myself can request free tickets.  The
musicians and audience will wear costumes.  I am going as a birder.  Happy
Halloween.

Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225.  215-248-4120.  Please, any off-list replies to: 
harryarmistead at hotmail dot com  (because most of the messages I receive
at 74077.3176 ... I cannot open up there).