We have a cardinal in our yard with a bluish head and no crest! The
rest of the bird definitely looks like a male cardinal. I don't
think he is bald.- he is hanging around our yard and visiting the
feeder. Anyone else seen something like this?
Sydney
On Jun 28, 2006, at 11:06 PM, Henry Armistead wrote:
> LOWER EASTERN SHORE OF MARYLAND, June 16 - 28, 2006.
>
> Abbreviation: I.S.S. = in sight simultaneously.
>
> If you're only interested in the WEDDING go directly to JUNE 25 below.
>
>
> RIGBY'S FOLLY, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD,
> 25124
> West Ferry Neck Road near Royal Oak but nearer still to Bellevue:
>
> Friday, June 16. 2 small Mute Swan cygnets hatched from the 3 eggs
> in the
> nest at the head of the cove. A very small clutch. The State did
> not see
> this nest in its aerial survey and so did not oil the eggs. 2 Cow-
> nosed
> Rays off the dock, the first I've seen this year.
>
> Saturday, June 17. Flushed a fine Luna Moth while doing brush work
> on the
> Warbler Trail. Such long wings I thought at first it was a Swallow-
> tailed
> Kite. 2 Cow-nosed Rays.
>
> Sunday, June 18. 1 Wild Turkey. During 6 pre-dawn tries for
> Chuck-will's-widows on Ferry Neck, Patricia Valdata and I heard none.
> Worrisome. 1 young Raccoon. 4 rabbits. 2 Gray Squirrels.
>
> Monday, June 19. A cardinal nest in a wax myrtle bush 6' up with 1
> egg
> along the Warbler Trail. 5 rabbits. 1 hummingbird. A splendid
> ad. Bald
> Eagle flying below treetop level along the Field 2 hedgerow. 4.5'
> Black
> Rat Snake. A Wild Turkey hen with 3 small chicks right on the edge
> of the
> lawn. 61 Fish Crows I.S.S. In other years there have been high
> summer
> counts when one would think they'd be all paired off and separated
> out.
> Thunder and lightning and several hours of rain from dusk 'til
> midnight,
> perhaps 1" total.
> Tuesday, June 20. The 2 young Black Vultures in the Field 1 goose
> blind
> now the size of chickens. They do not so much hop as leap or saltate
> around the blind floor. See juvenile Raccoon again, 5 deer. Orchard
> Oriole carrying food in the yard. A Green Tree Frog calling on the
> S side
> of Field 6. 1 Red-spotted Purple, 2 Tiger Swallowtails, 2
> Pearlcrescents.
> Great Crested Flycatchers are nesting in the bluebird house on the
> S side
> of Field 4 right next to the driveway.
>
> Wednesday, June 21. 41 Diamondback Terrapin I.S.S. from Lucy Point
> at 6
> P.M. Juvenile Great Horned Owl calling c. 6 P.M. from below the
> top of the
> bank; peering over I flush an adult that is carrying a snake. 8
> rabbits
> I.S.S. in the yard. While leaving to atlas at Taylor's Island I
> see an
> opossum, a Raccoon, and 1 deer along the driveway 3:11-3:18 A.M. 1
> Brown
> Thrasher.
>
> Thursday, June 22. An almost dead fawn along the W Olszewski trail.
> Stubby-tailed young crested flycatcher next to the aforementioned
> bluebird
> house. 1 Red Admiral, many Little Wood Satyrs. At dusk Anne's car
> expires
> along Route 329 (alternator). While waiting for the AAA truck we
> hear a
> Chuck-will's-widow and Frances Weems has heard one on Ferry Neck also.
> Green Tree Frog chorus from the direction of the Saffs' pond.
>
> Friday, June 23. 12 deer incl. a small fawn and a 4-point buck in
> velvet.
> Crested Flycatcher carrying food.
>
> Saturday, June 24. 1 Snowy & 1 Great Egret. Rehearsal dinner
> compliments
> of the Solomonv family at Mason's Restaurant in Easton near the
> Tidewater
> Inn. John & Lynne Cheney are eating downstairs. During the course
> of the
> evening I have a whiskey, a martini, 3 glasses of red wine, brandy,
> and
> champagne. Just enough.
>
> Sunday, June 25. WEDDING DAY. Daughter Mary marries Michael
> Solomonov
> here. 6" of heavy rain from midnight until 8 A.M. WATER, MUD &
> LUMBER.
> One third of the driveway is submerged and ALL of the area under
> the tent.
> The dance floor floats. 140 guests due to arrive at 3. The Field 2
> parking areas are a quagmire. Rami Amar, Michael, Carl & Rachel
> Perry (the
> latter 2 barefoot in the mud) and my immediate family dig an 80
> yard trench
> to drain it off somewhat plus 21 more yards of "distributaries".
> Nancy
> Lytell brings 2 sump pumps which we install to begin pumping the
> water off
> into the thickets using 350' of extension cords, 100' or more of
> hoses.
>
> We lay down 32 plywood sections, 5 old wooden doors, 23 wood
> boards, and
> the Lytells' fiberglass diving board to make pathways between the 18
> tables, over to the bar area, and as a platform for the 6-person band.
>
> Carl Perry's take on this, a few days later: "It was certainly a
> study in
> creativity, will power, and the importance of friends."
>
> Later one of the caterer's trucks goes DEEP into a ditch on Rt. 329
> (for
> some reason, the ditch off the oncoming lane). The caterers arrive
> late,
> do not bring the cornbread, run out of water and mint juleps (both
> promoted
> as being limitless), and fail to set up the chairs. But the band
> is great.
> So is the hors d'oeuvres crew. John Swaine is on hand with a
> tractor in
> case any of the 54 vehicles gets stuck (miraculously, NONE do).
>
> But the afternoon is rainless, mostly sunny, and with a fine
> breeze. The
> wedding ceremony takes place between the house and the dock; the
> toasts,
> dancing, and eating under the tent - all as planned. Brother,
> Gordon, is
> the officiant. The wedding party and family photographs are done
> on the
> dock or the adjacent lawn, the photographer being one of George's best
> friends, Mike Regan. The last diehards remain past midnight. It is a
> triumph. Lots of shouting, whistling, laughter, hugging, kissing,
> conversation, a few tears, and good times. 76-81 degrees F. Never
> going
> to forget this day. Never.
>
> WEDDING DAY BIRD LIST: Bald Eagle, mockingbird, Osprey, Black &
> Turkey
> vultures, Blue Grosbeak, Common Grackle, Mute Swan, Red-bellied
> Woodpecker,
> Canada Goose, Orchard Oriole, starling, Great Blue & Green herons,
> Mourning
> Dove, kingbird, crested flycatcher, Fish & American crows, Blue Jay,
> Carolina Wren, robin and bluebird. 3 deer.
>
> Monday, June 26. Ben Weems comes to help us police up the area. A
> Yellow-billed Cuckoo calls in the yard, living up to its moniker "rain
> crow". A Green Tree Frog at the conjunction of Fields 3 & 4 on the
> E side.
> At one point the human population of Rigby has gone from a maximum
> of 150+
> yesterday to just Liz and me today.
>
> Tuesday, June 27. Winds becoming SE 25-35 m.p.h. Essentially a
> tropical
> storm, the Choptank a seething mass of white caps much of the
> time. I do a
> "sea watch" for 2.5 hrs. thinking something might get blown in but
> only see
> 3 Royal, 11 Forster's & 3 Common terns, 4 Laughing and 3 Herring
> Gulls.
> Cormorants and Ospreys are still active even in the strongest
> winds. In
> the midst of the chop are 4 Diamondback Terrapin, necks fully
> extended. 1
> Bald Eagle. 3 Snowy Egrets. 150 or so Mallards over on Mike
> Davidson's
> lawn I assume are pen-raised birds recently released. 4 deer incl.
> a large
> but still spotted fawn. 1 Red Fox.
>
> Wednesday, June 28. Liz stays on later than me, sees an imm. Bald
> Eagle,
> hears a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and the Orchard Orioles, which are
> back, not
> having nested in the yard for several years.
>
>
> BLOODSWORTH ISLAND & ITS SATELLITE ISLANDS. Dorchester County,
> Maryland.
> Sunday, JUNE 18. Patricia Valdata & myself. Pat has arresting,
> knee-length Wellies, the color of dilute Lancer's rose or white
> zinfandel.
> She thinks they're a hoot, and so do I. Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, go
> to the
> islands. A 26.5 statute mile boat trip leaving from Crocheron.
> Fair if
> often hazy. Winds SW 10-20. c. 72 - 82 degrees F. Tide high at the
> start, then falling most of the day. Water temps in the low 70s.
> 8 A.M. -
> 4:45 P.M.
>
> Decide to get the somewhat rough aspect of the trip over with right
> off by
> ploughing SW into the wind 11 miles or so, then we have the wind
> behind us
> most of the rest of the day, a strategy that works pretty well.
>
> 1. Spring I. 8:45 A.M. Just motor slowly by. A large juvenile
> Peregrine
> Falcon is begging food from the adult female on the hacking tower. 2
> Seaside Sparrows, 1 Little Blue Heron, 1 Great Egret. Spring I.
> does not
> have much birdlife anymore.
>
> 2. Holland I., S segment, S side. 9 - 9:30 A.M. Watch the bustle
> and
> activity at the heronries by anchoring and without making a
> landing. 1
> yellowthroat. 8 Boat-tailed Grackles. 14 Mute Swans. 5
> oystercatchers.
> 4 Willets. 2 Barn Swallows. 9 Fish Crows. See all of Maryland's
> herons &
> ibises except Green Heron.
>
> 3. Holland I., S segment, W side. 9:45 - 10:30. My first landing
> here
> this year. What really attracts our attention here are 165 Brown
> Pelicans
> sitting in the extensive and dense Baccharis halimifolia thicket
> but we
> find only 4 nests, these all empty - still under construction.
> Still this
> large presence augurs well for this becoming a major pelican colony
> later
> in the summer. Find 19 Herring (80 adults present)/Great Black-
> backed (15
> adults present) gull nests configured as follows: 0 eggs 1; 1 egg
> 5; 2
> eggs 5; 3 eggs 1; 1 young 1; 1 egg & 1 young 2; 3 young 1; 1 young
> & 2
> eggs 3. We do not penetrate the thicket out of respect for the
> birds but
> approximately 5 Glossy Ibis, 9 Cattle & 20 Snowy egrets, 3 Little
> Blue, 10
> Yellow-crowned Night, 2 Tricolored & 1 Green heron flush out of
> it. 1 Bald
> Eagle. 6 Fish Crows plus 1 stubby-tailed juvenile that has
> recently died.
> Also present: 2 oystercatchers, 3 Royal Terns, 2 willets, 2
> Ospreys and 10
> cormorants (but apparently no nests). The joint is jumpin'.
>
> 4. Adam I. S segment. 10:40 - 11:35. 13 species. Twice we traipse
> slowly through the area where Jared Sparks and I flushed a Wilson's
> Snipe
> on June 11 (I mistakenly referred to this as Common Snipe in a
> previous
> posting) but w/o seeing it. I STILL think this bird behaved like a
> breeding bird on June11 and will fill out the appropriate atlas
> forms for
> Walter Ellison and Lynn Davidson to do with as they wish. The area
> where
> the snipe was seen is almost pure Distichlis spicata, forming a
> dense and
> continuous cover, but with a nice, muddy substrate. I'll try to go
> here
> again on Sunday, July 2, weather permitting. 4 Ospreys. 6 Seaside
> Sparrows. 4 Marsh Wrens. 5 Fish Crows, 1 carrying food. 7 Boat-
> tailed
> Grackles. There is extensive Juncus roemerianus marsh in this
> segment, no
> doubt with Clapper Rails although I've yet to hear any there this
> year.
>
> 5. Adam I. N segment. 11:50 - 12:25. 17 species. 335 Mute Swans
> visible
> to the E on sandbars along with 90 pelicans, 115 Herring & 45 Great
> Black-backed gulls. 1 Royal Tern. We landed primarily to relocate
> the
> dead Loggerhead Turtle Jared & I had found on June 11 so Pat can take
> digital photographs to transmit to Trish Kimmel at the Oxford Lab. 4
> Ospreys. 10 Boat-tailed Grackles (1 carrying food). 7 Yellow-crowned
> Night Herons. 1 Song & 3 Seaside (1 carrying food) sparrows. 2
> oystercatchers. 5 Diamondback Terrapin incl. 1 travelling over the
> duneline to lay eggs. An ad. Bald Eagle seen flying just to the N
> over
> Pone I.
>
> 6. NW Bloodsworth I. 1:25 - 2 P.M. Kits Point. 13 species. 6
> Seaside
> Sparrows. 2 Clapper Rails. 3 Osprey nests. 1 Tricolored Heron.
> 3 Marsh
> Wrens. Countless numbers of Seaside Dragonlets. At one point
> hundreds
> land in the stern on the ropes, the Bimini top, our trousers, on the
> cooler, etc. Hundreds of Greenhead Flies rest on the underside of the
> Bimini top, for the most part leaving us alone.
>
> 7. NE Bloodsworth I. (Fin Creek, which penetrats S into the heart
> of the
> island for over 1.2 miles). 23 species. 2:10 - 3:40. 1 Saltmarsh
> Sharp-tailed (in the grassy marsh at the creek's mouth) & 20 Seaside
> sparrows. 1 Green, 3 Tricolored & 5 Little Blue herons. 1 Northern
> Harrier. 10 Ospreys. 4 Clapper Rails. 6 Willets. 10 Marsh
> Wrens. 1
> catbird. 1 yellowthroat. 3 Glossy Ibis. 12 Boat-tailed Grackles. 5
> Red-winged Blackbirds. 10 Snowy Egrets.
>
>
> TAYLOR'S ISLAND NE ATLAS BLOCK. JUNE 21. A gem of an area. Up at
> 2:50
> A.M. to get there early. 4:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. 85 species (52 by
> 6 A.M.,
> 71 by 7:15, 80 by 9:15. All public roads covered including Rt. 16,
> Robinson Neck, Hoopers Neck, Pine Top, Bay Shore & Smithville roads.
> Habitats: saltmarsh (tracts of both Spartina patens and Juncus
> roemerianus), mixed woodland, Loblolly Pine forest, open bay, many
> fallow
> fields (some full of milkweed), cultivated fields, wooded church
> yards,
> yard and residential-town areas, tidal guts.
>
> 1 Brown Pelican. 4 Snowy & 5 Great egrets. 61 Canada Geese. 258
> Mallards
> (most common species). 12 Ospreys. 4 Bald Eagles. 3 Wild
> Turleys. 4
> bobwhite. 2 Clapper & 2 Virginia rails. 2 Willets. 1 woodcock. 45
> Forster's & 1 Common tern. 1 nighthawk (calling and booming, too). 1
> screech & 1 horned owl. 3 Chuck-will's-widows. 2 Red-headed
> Woodpeckers.
> 4 White-eyed & 4 Red-eyed vireos. 11 Tree Swallows incl. a female
> D.O.R.
> (lacking brood patch). 5 Brown-headed Nuthatches. 1 Marsh Wren. 1
> gnatcatcher. 3 thrashers. 5 waxwings. 14 Pine, 3 Prairie & 1
> Worm-eating
> warbler. 9 yellowthroats. 7 chats. 2 Summer Tanagers. 4 Field & 3
> Seaside sparrows. 6 Blue Grosbeaks. 7 Indigo Buntings. 6 House
> Finches.
>
> Tide: very low to high. Clear, calm becoming NE 5-20 m.p.h. 72 - 90
> degrees F.
>
> Missed are: Killdeer, Hairy & Pileated woodpeckers, Wood Thrush,
> catbird,
> Grasshopper & Song sparrows, Boat-tailed Grackle.
>
> Also: 6 Green Tree, 5 Bull & 1 Green frog. 1 Mud Turtle & 3
> Diamondback
> Terrapin, 1 of the latter removed from Rt. 16 where it was basking. 3
> rabbits & 1 Gray Squirrel. 2 Tiger Swallowtails & 1 Red-spotted
> Purple.
>
>
>
> Best to all.-Henry ("Harry") T. 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 ....)
> |