SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2005. Rigby's Folly, Armistead property on Ferry
Neck, Talbot County, MD, near Bellevue. Time: 6:50-5:30. Last year at
this time I spent a weekend here hoping for Cave Swallow but had no
success. This weekend's trip here was for the same purpose. YES!!!
WEATHER. Sky: clear becoming fair. Wind: calm-SW10-SSE15. Temperature
in degrees F.: 34-52. Tide: low-high. Precipitation: 0. General:
Cool, some ground water in fields frozen. Ground condition: rather dry
and drying further.
51 species. Incredibly, I missed cardinal and Carolina Wren.
Common Loon 12. Double-crested Cormorant 5 (new late date). Tundra Swan
155 including a flock of 105. Mute Swan 107. Canada Goose 2,150. Lesser
Scaup 16. Long-tailed Duck 5. Common Goldeneye 4. Bufflehead 265. Ruddy
Duck 9. Surf 295 and White-winged scoter 1. 22 Forster's and 1 Royal
tern. Great Horned Owl 2 (easily audible as I lay in bed at 5:15 A.M.,
even through the storm windows, & 1 calling at 5:20 P.M.). 1 Hairy and 1
Pileated woodpecker. CAVE SWALLOW 2 (well-seen at 3:06 P.M. for about half
a minute, then they disappeared to the East; species 266 for the property,
the next most recent being an imm. Yellow-crowned Night Heron seen by Liz
and me on August 29, 2004). bluebird 20. robin 75. Red-winged Blackbird
& Common Grackle combined 950. Savannah Sparrow 1.
On the subject of yard lists it's worth noting that in only 10 years or so
Paul Lehman has amassed a yard list of close to 310 at his Cape May house,
which consists of a mere fraction of an acre. Of course, many of the
species are seen from the yard, scoped out over the sea, flying in the
distance, etc., which is legitimate. Recenly Pete Dunne and others did a
Big Sit there as part of the World Series of Birding and got over 110
species.
How birdlife can change. Virginia's "Red Book" doesn't list Cave Swallow.
Nor does Maryland's "Yellow Book." The 1947 Peterson I grew up with lists
it only as accidental in the Dry Tortugas. The 1980 edition does the same
and adds Sable Island, Nova Scotia. CASW is not in The Birds of Delaware
(2000). Now they're expected every year, esp. in November, at Cape May and
Kiptopeke. This year over 100 have been seen in the Northeast in at least
3 places I know of, presumably due mostly to Hurricane Wilma.
Raptors: 36 TVs (maximum count of those in sight at one time). BV 4.
sharpie 5. Cooper's 1. Red-tailed Hawk 4. Bald Eagle 5 (2 immatures, 2
full adults, and 1 sub-adult, the latter with white head but largely dark
tail; one of the immatures was feeding on a fish about a foot long & was
perched towards the top of a Loblolly Pine that died last year and used to
be a favored roost tree when a pair of adults nested next to the driveway).
It has been suggested that Mute & Tundra swans may exhibit agonistic
behavior when feeding at close quarters. I have never seen this. Today 6
Tundra Swans fed peaceably intermingled with 14 Mutes. Later the number of
both species doubled and all seemed O.K. then as well. At one point 8
Forster's Terns fed in the cove, diving 22 times, but only twice
successfully.
Our one sycamore, transplanted from Philadelphia c. 30 years ago, is now
the tallest tree in the yard. Today some of its fallen leaves measured 13"
across. The legendary British ornithologist Richard H. Meinertzhagen,
whose family estate, which I believe they rented, was known as Mottisfont
Abbey, supposedly had a sycamore whose leaves measured a yard across. Hard
to believe.
Today I cut down a Baccharis halimifolia "bush" in the yard. It was hard
wood and measured 7" in diameter. I also cut a Black Locust and Red Cedar
out at Lucy Point, both 6" or so in diameter, to improve our view of the
Choptank River mouth from across the Big Field. Lots of minnows in the
cove at low tide foraging next to the shore above a huge mat of loose
submerged aquatic vegetation that has drifted in from farther out in the
cove. Soy beans still not harvested.
Also: 2 Gray Squirrels. 4 deer ( 3 does and 1 buck, the latter with one
puny antler on the right side, none on the left). 1 Cabbage White. 1
Orange Sulphur.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20. Dorchester County, MD. 3 Orange Sulphurs seen
today. Time: 6:45-3:45. I hoped for Cave Swallow in my favorite county
but to no avail. No swallows at all today.
WEATHER. Sky: Mostly clear to entirely clear, some clouds trailing very
distant and high virga in the early morning, the clouds gradually drifting
S. Wind: light & variable becoming SW 5-10. Temperature in degrees F.:
43-57. Tide: High to very low. Precipitation: 0.
SWAN HARBOR, Hooper's Island. 33 species. Hawk watch, 6:45-10:45 A.M. No
flight developed. RAPTORS: TV 64. BV 1. sharpie 4. Bald Eagle 8.
Red-tailed Hawk 1. harriers 3. Merlin 1. Except for the Merlin and some
sharpies none seemed to actually be migrating. Sunny with light southerly
winds, cool.
This is in from the Bay several 100 yards and offers no view of the waters
but does have a nice saltmarsh panorama. Consequently most waterbirds seen
are flyovers. Also seen: 16 Common Loons (all flyovers). 13 Forster's
Terns. A Great Horned Owl calling at 6:45. 63 Tundra Swans. Red-winged
Blackbird 975 (10 flocks). Common Grackle 1,610 (7 flocks). 65
goldfinches with siskins mixed in. 14 Green-winged Teal.
HOOPER'S ISLAND, Honga S. to Hoopersville. 11 A.M. - 12:45 P.M. Brown
Pelican 174, moslty concentrated on the 8 or so pound nets 1-2 miles
offshore; funny to see so many after looking hard for them on October 30
and finding only 20 then. Double-crested Cormorant 325. Surf Scoter 90.
Long-tailed Duck 1 female. Bufflehead 95. Northern Gannet 3. Tundra Swan
120 (mostly resting on the east side of Barren Island). Bald Eagle 3.
Merlin 1 (perched and preening atop a dead loblolly S. of Hoopersville).
Common Loon 12. Turvey Vulture 31, in migration. Sharp-shinned Hawk, only
1. Northern Harrier, 1 adult female. Conditions excellent for scoping far
out on the Bay for the pelicans, gannets, scoters, and cormorants. Tide
extremely low here.
BLACKWATER N.W.R. 1-2 P.M. A random, drive-by birding. Conditions are
good here with tidal areas low and nice and muddy and some water finally
filling the impoundments. I just drove through looking for swallows but
saw none and made few stops . 165 Tundra Swans but no Snow Geese. 10 Bald
Eagles. A Red-tailed Hawk eating a snake c. 2.5 feet long atop a phone
pole on Key Wallace Drive.
HURLOCK Wastewater Treatment Plant. 2:45-3:30 P.M. 760 Ruddy Ducks. 50
Tundra Swans. 10 coots. 92 Ring-necked Ducks. 1 female Lesser Scaup. 9
shovelers. 2 Snow Geese (apparently disabled leftovers that had
oversummered). 1 male Bufflehead. 85 Laughing Gulls. 1 Green-winged
Teal. 2 Bald Eagles. Also: 1 Red-bellied Turtle.
FESTIVAL OF FUR. 6 Eastern Cottontails: 1 in S. Cambridge in a yard on
Appleby St., 4 along Egypt Road, and 1 at Blackwater, all before dawn. I
am used to seeing lots of bunnies in the period May through July, when they
are usually absurdly tame, often approachable to within crab net pole
distance. But this time of year I don't see many rabbits. Boy! Can they
scamper! When they scamper on the road shoulder it STAYS scampered on.
You go, Thumper, have a nice scamper, but don't get nailed by a red-tailed
or impailed and adorned by a great horned.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN. On the way down to Hooper's I. 89.5 FM played 4
selections inspired by butterflies, including, of course, some of Madame
Butterfly. Thanks to 107.1 (The Duck) I heard 2 more songs on the way home
wherein the chorus sounds rather like that of Fowler's Toads (not intended
to be denigrating; I like to hear toads): This Magic Moment and Hey Jude,
although, unlike the toads, the latter song's chorus does change key a
couple of times. A pickup truck with Visualize Impeachment on one side,
Actions Speak Louder Than Bumperstickers on the other. Cheapest gas
noticed was $1.97 at the Easton Sunoco on Route 50. 269.9 miles today. I
am an environmentally-incorrect disaster and disgrace.
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 |