Rigby's Folly, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue. Saturday, November 26, 2005. 8-11 A.M.; 3-5:30 P.M. only, rest
of time spent preparing and taking "the Mudhen" to Gootee's for winter
storage. 45 species.
WEATHER. Sky: Partly clear becoming clear. Wind: SSE 10-15-10.
Temperature in degrees F.: 30-46. Tide: Low-high-low. Precipitation:
0. General: Most ground surface water frozen. Ground condition: Dry.
Visibility: Excellent. Some salty ice at the head of the cove where it is
very shallow and not much sun ever penetrates.
Common Loon 5. Northern Gannet 1 (only the 3rd fall record). Mute Swan
80. Canada Goose 1,100. Wood Duck 2 males. Common Goldeneye 24.
Bufflehead 115. Red-breasted Merganser 3. Bald Eagle 4. Forster's 2 &
Royal 2, terns (the latter the latest ever by 5 days and most surprising
considering the very cold weather earlier this week; these 2 birds were
flying due south, unerringly, just before sunset). Great Horned Owl 1.
Carolina Chickadee 12 (ties 7th highest; all of them by Liz). American
Robin 75. American Pipit 1. Red-winged Blackbird & Common Grackle combo
550.
Missed: Horned Grebe, Laughing Gull.
John Swaine harvested the soy beans yesterday between c. 10 A.M. & 2 P.M.
The resulting bare fields, a delight to walk over, are rather gratifyingly
grassy. A Gray Squirrel was doing its own harvest of the few remaining
bean stalks on the NW edge of Field 1. Some of the neighbors a bit jumpy
as a result of fairly intense hunting both at Rigby and on the Meholics'
property but a visit by the game warden assured, I was told, those
concerned that the Olszewskis' blinds are all legal and in fact exceed the
minimal required distances. I get a little jumpy myself when I hear shots
and am not certain exactly where they are coming from. The Olszewskis
killed at least one deer that I am aware of and also gave us a big slug of
deer sausage. They happened upon a Red Fox that had killed an Eastern
Cottontail; the fox left and they took the fresh kill for their own.
Jimmy, Tommy & Bruce were hunting today, with rifled slugs.
Items of interest elsewhere today between 11 A.M. & 3 P.M. A group of at
least 70 American Pipits at Blackwater N.W.R. (near the confluence of Key
Wallace Drive and Egypt Road). A group of 30 Fish Crows at Golden Hill,
Dorchester County. An adult male Merlin attacking and capturing a
medium-sized passerine c. 1 mile north of Trappe. A splendid 6-point Buck
along Egypt Road with tines 6-7 inches long, running scared. A Cabbage
White, I forget where. Jenny (Gootee) Whitten, who deals with anglers all
the time, says the local Bay fishing this year was about the worst on
record.
Sunday, November 27. WEATHER. Sky: Clear becoming mostly overcast then
completely overcast with complex, rather beautiful, cloud formations - a
rough, rather furrowed ceiling with all manner of shades of gray. Wind:
Calm or light and variable almost all day. Temperature in degrees F.:
43-60. Tide: Very low in most areas. Precipitation: 0. Visibility:
Excellent.
Blackwater N.W.R. 7:30-Noon. 9 of us on the bird walk including Liz,
Levin Willey, Kate Murphy & Arnold Simon. 50 species. Tidal waters
extremely low- nice and muddy. Pretty morning and quite calm.
Very rough estimates for the waterfowl. Snow Goose 650. Mallard 800.
American Black Duck 10. Mallard X American Black Duck hybrid 1 male (some
greenish sheen on the crown and sides of the head). Northern Pintail 850.
Green-winged Teal 200. Bald Eagle 30 (19 in sight from one point; 17 from
another point). Red-tailed Hawk 6. American Coot 1. Killdeer 12.
Greater 2 & Lesser 3, yellowlegs. Dunlin 275. swallow sp. 2 (distant;
probably Trees but in this crazy fall, who knows?). Brown-headed Nuthatch
3. Eastern Bluebird 35. Cedar Waxwing 90 (most of these pigging out on
the abundant berries adjacent to the recently-reopened Visitor Center).
American Pipit 30. Eastern Meadowlark 35 (most of these around the dikes
of Pools 3A, 3B & 3C). Brown-headed Cowbird 475. Savannah Sparrow 15.
Chipping Sparrow 6.
Also: 1 Fox Squirrel. Missed: Forster's Tern, Double-crested Cormorant,
Great Egret, Northern Harrier (!). On the way back to Rigby I saw 2
perched Cooper's Hawks (1 each at 2 places), their distinctive, long-tailed
silhouettes and big heads showing up well in trees with scant foliage).
Very vertical orientation when perched.
Rigby's Folly, off and on 1-5 P.M. with Liz, Kate & Arnold. Common Loon 4.
Mallard 30. Surf Scoter 70. Black Scoter 1 female. Black Vulture 2.
Bald Eagle 2. Eastern Bluebird 12. Red-winged Blackbird 115 at dusk. Not
seen: Horned Grebe, Laughing Gull, Double-crested Cormorant (in fact, none
all weekend), gannet, Forster's Tern. 5 deer at Holland Point.
"Happiness is a fresh [or warm] gut pile." A rather gross bumper sticker
favored by some deer hunters. However, true also for some raptors. The
one in our field attracted several each of Black and Turkey vultures plus a
Red-tailed Hawk. Hunters partially render their deer soon after killing so
the meat will not spoil, leaving the viscera behind. Bon appetit to all
concerned.
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 (never, please, to 74077.3176 ....) |