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Subject:

Eastern Neck Big Sit: 64 species

From:

Walter Ellison

Reply-To:

Walter Ellison

Date:

Sun, 8 Oct 2006 20:03:58 -0400

Hi All,

There was a question about the nature of the Big Sit, so here's a link 
to the official Big Sit page from Bird Watcher's Digest:
http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/funbirds/bigsit/bigsit.aspx

The Kentish Plovers were on-site from 6:45 AM to 2:45 PM and tallied 64 
bird species. Highlights of the day were having the currently resident 
GREAT WHITE HERON in sight for a fair portion of the day at the mouth of 
Calfpasture Cove; a good hawk flight featuring 55 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 
10 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS (all youngsters) and a Merlin; the usual, but 
nonetheless spectacular, Bald Eagle show; a brief visit by a 
BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH; a SNOWY EGRET; 7 Pied-billed Grebes in 
Calfpasture Cove; a CACKLING GOOSE among the many Canadas; four Royal 
and one Common Tern; over 500 Blue Jays with most trying to retreat 
northward from the island; and two fly-over HORNED LARKS (scarce on the 
refuge). It was a beautiful, if breezy, day enlivened by the near 
constant presence of Palm (far more yellow than western) and Pine 
warblers, the steady hawk flight in the morning, eagles and Osprey, and 
our companions: Peter Mann, Meg Parry, Gail Regester, and Ryan 
Scheuermann and friends.

 I have appended a list below to entertain other Big Sitters who wish to 
make comparisons among site lists.

Canada Goose; Cackling Goose; Mute Swan; American Black Duck; Mallard; 
Northern Pintail; Green-winged Teal; Ruddy Duck (6); Pied-billed Grebe 
(7); Double-crested Cormorant; Great Blue Heron (including Great White 
Heron); Snowy Egret; Black Vulture; Turkey Vulture; Osprey; Bald Eagle 
(14 with 7 adults); Northern Harrier (6); Sharp-shinned Hawk (55); 
Cooper's Hawk (4); Red-shouldered Hawk (1); Broad-winged Hawk (10); 
Red-tailed Hawk (2); American Kestrel (5; we offer to trade one of these 
for one of Turkey Pt's Peregrines); Merlin (1); Yellowlegs (sp); 
Laughing Gull; Ring-billed Gull; Herring Gull; Great Black-backed Gull; 
Caspian Tern; Royal Tern (4); Common Tern (1); Forster's Tern; Belted 
Kingfisher; Red-bellied Woodpecker; Hairy Woodpecker; Northern Flicker; 
Eastern Phoebe (2); Blue Jay; American Crow; Horned Lark; Tree Swallow; 
Northern Rough-winged Swallow; Carolina Chickadee; Brown-headed 
Nuthatch; Brown Creeper; Carolina Wren; House Wren; Marsh Wren; 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet; Eastern Bluebird; American Robin (just one); 
Northern Mockingbird; European Starling; Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler; 
Pine Warbler; Palm Warbler (ca. 2 Westerns & 20 Yellow); Blackpoll 
Warbler (3); Common Yellowthroat; Song Sparrow; Swamp Sparrow; Dark-eyed 
(Slate-colored) Junco; Northern Cardinal; Red-winged Blackbird.

Ah, if only those birds we had when we took bathroom breaks back at the 
Tubby Cove parking lot could have been added (e.g. Golden-crowned 
Kinglet, catbird; towhee, Winter Wren). Wait till next year (the 
familiar cry of Red Sox Nation).

Good Birding (sitting or moving),

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"