The Baltimore Bird Club had a scheduled field trip to
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge today (Saturday, Nov. 19)
followed by a tour of sites along Shorters Wharf Road and a
side trip further south.

Highlights at Blackwater included a nice assortment of
woodland birds including nice views of the local desirable
Brown-headed Nuthatches, in the pines near the old
overlook tower site, an adult Bald Eagle posing
on a snag near the visitor center, and a flock of 60
American (Water) Pipits visiting along the wildlife loop.

But later we toured Shorters Wharf and vicinity, and with
time to kill before Short-eared Owl time, we detoured to a
site I remembered from twenty years ago as a fairly reliable
spot for Rough-legged Hawk for the Dorchester Christmas
Counts some decades ago. About a mile south of Wesley Chapel,
off Wesley Church Road, a southward extension of
Shorters Wharf Road east of Andrews in southern Dorchester
County, is a road depicted on maps as "Cedar Creek Road",
a totally unmarked dirt road apparently leading through
private (hunt club?) land to a spot on Cedar Creek
from which small boats can access Fishing Bay. I remembered
an isolated snag way out in the open march which used to
be a favorite perch for a Rough Legged Hawk years ago.
We went out there, and sure enough - there it was! It flew off
when we got a little too close, but returned later to give us
nice looks through our 'scopes. Later still, as the light was
starting to fade, a Short-eared Owl appeared above the marsh
as I was putting my 'scope away and we enjoyed this second
sought-after target bird as it flew, stiff-winged and moth-like
above the marsh seeking its late afternoon/early evening
breakfast. As an extra added bonus, on our way back north.
passing Shorter's Wharf, an American Woodcock flew across the
road in front of the car! Two birds early for their season
followed by a another late for its season!

So our Blackwater trip, which also featured nice looks at some
of the Delmarva Fox Squirrels, as well as some "regular"
Gray Squirrels for comparison, had a bang-up finale to remember
on our way home this evening. (We also found some $1.979 gas
on both sides of Route 50 on the northern outskirts of the
Easton area.)

A matter of concern and confusion: there's an effort, supported by
Governer Erlich, to put in a huge development in the northern half
of Egypt Road just north of the Refuge, including about 3,000
housing units west of the road, a golf course east of the road,
and tearing up the existing straight road and putting in a new
winding road with S-curves winding through the new community.
But the law requires a wooded buffer lining the Little Blackwater
stream east of the proposed Golf Course which might take up most
of the proposed golf course grounds east of the present-day road,
no environmental impact study, also required by law, has been done,
and the method of runoff drainage control for the proposed housing
development hasn't been figured out yet for this ruler-flat parcel
of land. Some sort of legislative hearing is scheduled for next
week, but very little detail on this proposed development project
seems to have been worked out yet.

Kevin Graff, who was on the trip, will post a more complete species
listing for the trip in the next day or two.

Pete Webb
Baltimore Bird Club
pete_webb - at - juno.com


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