Greetings,
Kent County's fall count was essentially a one-party effort - Nancy and
I met Tom Feild and Bob Ringler at the Eastern Neck narrows after an
early visit to Great Oak pond. We spent most of the day on Eastern Neck
Island, with late afternoon visits to Rock Hall harbor, the Chesapeake
Farm main pond, and the Chestertown and Worton wastewater treatment
plants. We closed the day with 115 species and 3169 individuals, when
one of our neighborhood Barred Owls spoke up after dark.
The Great Oak summer waterfowl collection, including the Canvasback,
Redhead and Lesser Scaup, were augmented by sizable numbers of Canada
Geese and Green-winged Teal as well as a handful of Blue-winged Teal and
shoveler. The few shorebirds wading around the brimful pond were
highlighted by a Short-billed Dowitcher. Surrounding cornfields
sheltered several Blue Grosbeaks and a LINCOLN'S SPARROW. A cuckoo
flying across the road in Fairlee caused us to stop and chance upon an
early migrant RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and the first Northern Parula of the
day.
Birds at the Eastern Neck narrows included the expected assortment of
larids, featuring Caspian Terns roosted on a new log west of the bridge,
but high water levels covered any potential shorebird flats. The Tubby
Cove GREAT WHITE HERON was visible in the distance, with a dainty SNOWY
EGRET nearby for contrast. The small stand of trees around the Tubby
Cove viewing platforms sheltered Yellow Warbler and Ruby-crowned
Kinglet, among others such as House Wren and Pine Warbler. The cove
itself provided better views of the white heron, as well as three
Pied-billed Grebes.
The Boxes Point trail produced a good diversity of birds, although not
in great number except for a flock of about 100 Bobolinks taking
advantage of the weedy cornfield about halfway out the trail. Migrants
overhead included a nighthawk, swifts, swallows, and a lone Broad-winged
Hawk. In trees along the trail we found LEASTand Acadian flycatchers,
Black-and-white, Black-throated Green, Magnolia, Palm and Canada
warblers, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager and Rose-breasted
Grosbeak. The resident Brown-headed Nuthatches did not put in an
appearance, but three White-breasted Nuthatches were a surprise for the
island, one of the few places in Kent County where they do not nest as
yet. Highlights scattered around the rest of the island were a beautiful
male WILSON'S WARBLER along the Bogles Wharf Road, a Great Egret in the
salt pond off the end of the new Marsh Overlook trail behind the Lodge,
and a YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER near the gate on the old headquarters road.
Off the island, we stopped at Green Lane landing, where we found five
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS and our only Green Heron and Song Sparrow of
the day. The sun angle was bad at the main Chesapeake Farm pond, but we
managed to locate pintail and Least Sandpiper, as well as numerous
Lesser Yellowlegs. The only new species among the shovelers and Caspian
Terns at the John Hanson Rd ponds was black duck, but the Worton
treatment plant was adorned by an assortment of shorebirds including
Greater Yellowlegs, Pectoral, Semipalmated and White-rumped sandpipers.
The swallow flocks overhead yielded a couple of late Bank Swallows and
an even later CLIFF SWALLOW before we called it a day.
Good Birding,
Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin
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" |