Hi Everybody,

Nancy Martin, Peter Mann and I went south from Chestertown on Sunday morning in search of birds and two birders who were meeting us at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge visitor center on Key Wallace Rd. The visitor center just opened within the last month and it's still a work in progress, but what's there looks good. We met Bob Hartman over from Montgomery County and Claudia Burns from Baltimore at 8:30 AM and we were off. 

It was a beautiful autumn day with the sweet gums in full color ranging from red to yellow, and bright sunshine. A drawback was the southwest wind that came up strongly by 10:00 AM and affected the behavior and visibility of birds for the rest of the day. Oddly the wind seemed to keep the number of eagles down as we "only" managed to locate 15 Bald Eagles. On the other hand a nice total of 16 Northern Harriers sported in the wind over the marshes, especially on Elliot Island. Although the wind affected our birding it is an element that defines the open grassy marshes of Elliot Island and the piny woods of Blackwater when it blows. The waving and hissing grass and the the sighing of the pine needles were constant companions that were not entirely unfriendly during our trip.

We found 78 species during the trip. Highlights included a large flight of Snow Geese seen flying south over Key Wallace Rd in the morning that hosted an inpressive 250 blue geese. We also had Eastern Meadowlark, American Pipit and Yellow Palm Warbler as we waited and talked at the visitor center drive. At the beginning of the Wildlife Drive we had two RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES in the red cedars that came in to investigate some nuthatch-like sounds emanating from Walter and Nancy. Many late fall migrants were in evidence along the wooded parts of the Wildlife Drive including over 20 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 2 Pine Warblers, several Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 3 Winter Wrens, a Hermit Thrush, and 2 Brown Creepers. Among the migrants were Brown-headed Nuthatches, one of which came low and gave everyone a great look instead of doing the usual pine-cone impression. At the marsh lot beyond the nature trail on the Blackwater River we had three latish SNOWY EGRETS, about 20 Tree Swallows (none looked like any other species, sigh), two Marsh Wrens, and two VIRGINIA RAILS, one of the rails came to the edge of the marsh and popped into the air to fly back into the three-square with a squeal in response to Walter's rail-squeak. 

Besides the harriers Elliot Island hosted two rather late OSPREY, three late CASPIAN TERNS (two hunting over creeks and one over Fishing Bay); three ROYAL TERNS; 2 Common Loons, and 400 Ruddy Ducks on Fishing Bay; two more Brown-headed Nuthatches on one of the "islands" of pines along the road down the marshy peninsula; and 15 Greater Yellowlegs in the salt pans in the marsh. 

Our full list appears below:
 Snow Goose; Canada Goose; Wood Duck; American Black Duck; Mallard; Northern Shoveler; Northern Pintail; Green-winged Teal; Ruddy Duck; Common Loon; Double-crested Cormorant; Great Blue Heron; Great Egret; Snowy Egret; Black Vulture; Turkey Vulture; Osprey; Bald Eagle; Northern Harrier; Sharp-shinned Hawk; Cooper's Hawk; Red-tailed Hawk; American Kestrel; Virginia Rail; American Coot; Killdeer; Greater Yellowlegs; Laughing Gull; Ring-billed Gull; Herring Gull; Caspian Tern; Royal Tern; Forster's Tern; Mourning Dove; Belted Kingfisher; Red-bellied Woodpecker; Downy Woodpecker; Hairy Woodpecker; Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker; Eastern Phoebe; Blue Jay; American Crow; Fish Crow; Tree Swallow; Carolina Chickadee; Tufted Titmouse; Red-breasted Nuthatch; Brown-headed Nuthatch; Brown Creeper; Carolina Wren; Winter Wren; Marsh Wren; Golden-crowned Kinglet; Ruby-crowned Kinglet; Eastern Bluebird; Hermit Thrush; American Robin; Northern Mockingbird; Brown Thrasher; European Starling; American Pipit; Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler; Pine Warbler; (Yellow) Palm Warbler; Field Sparrow; Chipping Sparrow; Savannah Sparrow; Song Sparrow; Swamp Sparrow; White-throated Sparrow; Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco; Northern Cardinal; Red-winged Blackbird; Eastern Meadowlark; Common Grackle; Brown-headed Cowbird; American Goldfinch; House Sparrow.

Good Birding,  

Walter Ellison

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"