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Subject:

Eastern Neck NWR Sunday (2 Sept): Parasitic Jaeger, Black Terns, et al.

From:

Walter Ellison

Reply-To:

Walter Ellison

Date:

Sat, 2 Sep 2006 19:52:06 -0400

Hi All,

Nancy and I had bookshop duty this afternoon at Eastern Neck NWR. High 
tide covered the road with five inches of water at 1:00 PM at Bogle's 
Wharf Rd. and a downed tree blocked the way down to Bogle's. By late 
afternoon the water was off the road, but the tree was still there. Not 
only were there some good waterbirds around, we also noted a nice array 
of migrant songbirds on the refuge. Our species total at Eastern Neck 
came to 70 for about three and a half hours of birding.

Our best bird was an adult light morph PARASITIC JAEGER seen from the 
platform on the Bay on the Bayview-Butterfly  Trail.  The bird cruised 
north  from the direction of Queenstown and passed by the fish pound 
offshore taking a couple of perfunctory shots at Forster's Terns and 
Laughing Gulls as it passed by flapping with occasional shearing over 
the waves. After the jaeger passed I saw a distant flock of 20 
PHALAROPES heading south, based on their darkness and slender 
proportions they were probably Red-neckeds. There were 14 Royal Terns on 
the fish pound stakes.

We had 12 BLACK TERNS at Eastern Neck; 8 were over the salt pan off the 
new boardwalk/blind behind the Lodge (The Marsh Overlook Trail), and 4 
were at Calfpasture Cove south of the Tubby Cove platform. Also in 
Calfpasture Cove were 2 Pied-billed Grebes, and a GREATER SCAUP. Joining 
the Black Terns at the Marsh Overlook Trail were a Royal Tern and two 
late LEAST TERNS.

Highlights among the landbirds were seven warbler species including a 
TENNESSEE; two LEAST FLYCATCHERS; 9 Bobolinks; and 16 Eastern Kingbirds 
(a good count for September).

A brief visit to Great Oak Pd. on our way home produced the drake 
Canvasback; hen Redhead; drake Lesser Scaup; a juvenile Hooded 
Merganser; three Green-winged Teal; both yellowlegs; 2 Pectoral 
Sandpipers; and 5 BLACK TERNS.

Good Birding,

Walter Ellison

23460 Clarissa Rd
Chestertown, MD 21620

phone: 410-778-9568

e-mail: rossgull(AT)baybroadband.net

"Nothing is as easy as you would like it to be, and nothing is as hard 
as you might fear"