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Subject:

Kent County Fall Count - 17 September

From:

Walter Ellison

Reply-To:

Walter Ellison

Date:

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 21:34:36 -0400

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"