MARYLAND SECTOR

2006 CHINCOTEAGUE, VIRGINIA, CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

 

Stockton, MD. Dec. 29, 2006. Times: 0630-1724; owling 0532-0642. Freshwater
ponds, streams, salt marshes, bays and running water open. Observers: 6 in 3
parties. Total party-hours 23.2; 18.5 on foot, 4.7 by car. Total party-miles
48.9; 16.5 on foot, 32.4 by car. Owling party-hours 2.5; party-miles 6.3.

 

All areas in Worcester County, Maryland, including E. A. Vaughn Wildlife
Management Area-Central Area (areas south of Scarboro Creek and north of
Pikes Creek), E. A. Vaughn Wildlife Management Area-Southern Area (areas
south of Pikes Creek and north of George Island Landing Road), George Island
Landing, Stockton, Big Mill Pond, Jones, Steel Pond, Swans Gut,
Greenbackville, and Rabbit Knaw Roads, and private farms along Purnell Bay.

 

All comments refer to the 16 years (1991-2006) for which complete data are
currently available for this sector. Species in caps are new to the
cumulative list. New highs and lows are indicated. (X/16) means the species
has been recorded on X of the 16 counts. All species recorded during 16-year
period listed.  Initials are given for species recorded by a single party.
CW = count week.

 

Snow Goose 3,540 (16/16); Ross' Goose 0 (3/16); Canada Goose 826 (16/16);
Brant 0 (9/16); Tundra Swan 11 (13/16); Wood Duck 6 (11/16); Gadwall 14
(9/16, Big Mill Pond, MLH); American Wigeon 4 (10/16, Big Mill Pond, MLH);
American Black Duck 1,069 (15/16); Mallard 185 (15/16); Blue-winged Teal 0
(1/16); Northern Shoveler 0 (5/16); Northern Pintail 0 (4/16); Green-winged
Teal 0 (9/16); Ring-necked Duck 0 (4/16); Lesser Scaup 0 (2/16); Surf Scoter
0 (1/16); Long-tailed Duck 1 (2/16, George Island Landing, MOB); Bufflehead
917 (16/16); Common Goldeneye 2 (7/16, George Island Landing, MOB); Hooded
Merganser 47 (16/16); Common Merganser 0 (4/16); Red-breasted Merganser 27
(15/16, George Island Landing, MOB); Wild Turkey 0 (2/16); Northern Bobwhite
10 (14/16, private farm managed for wildlife along Purnell Bay, MLH);

 

Common Loon 3 (7/16); Pied-billed Grebe 5 (11/16); Horned Grebe 21 (9/16);
Double-crested Cormorant 0 (2/16); American Bittern 0 (2/16); Great Blue
Heron 25 (16/16); Great Egret 0 (6/16); Tricolored Heron 0 (1/16); Green
Heron 0 (1/16); Black-crowned Night-Heron 3 (5/16, private farm on Purnell
Bay, flying/calling to marsh at dusk, MLH); Black Vulture 39 (15/16); Turkey
Vulture 180 (16/16); Bald Eagle 14 (13/16, new high, prev. high 12, hard
know to believed, missed in first three years of count for which data is
available, 1991-93); Northern Harrier 3 (15/16); Sharp-shinned Hawk 0
(15/16, new low, missed for first time!); Cooper's Hawk 1 (11/16, Payne
Road, MLH); Red-shouldered Hawk 1 (10/16, Vaughn/South, MOB); Red-tailed
Hawk 6 (16/16); American Kestrel 5 (16/16); Merlin 0 (2/16); Peregrine
Falcon 0 (4/16);

 

Clapper Rail 0 (1/16); large rail (sp.) 0 (2/16); Virginia Rail 1 (9/16,
Vaughn/Central, JLS et al.); American Coot 0 (1/16); Black-bellied Plover 7
(11/16, inland field, Swan Gut Road, MLH); Killdeer 2 (15/16); American
Avocet 0 (1/16); Greater Yellowlegs 22 (16/16); Lesser Yellowlegs 0 (9/16);
Sanderling 0 (1/16); Western Sandpiper 0 (1/16); Least Sandpiper 0 (1/16);
Dunlin 80 (14/16, Vaughn/South, MOB); Long-billed Dowitcher 1 (8/16,
Vaughn/Central, JLS et al.); dowitcher (sp.) 0 (2/16); Wilson's Snipe 6
(11/16); American Woodcock 11 (16/16); Bonaparte's Gull 0 (1/16);
Ring-billed Gull 38 (16/16, new low, prev. low 40); Herring Gull 122
(16/16); Great Black-backed Gull 5 (15/16); Forster's Tern 0 (1/16);

 

Rock Pigeon 24 (16/16, not overly common here, Big Mill Pond area, MLH);
Mourning Dove 220 (16/16); Barn Owl 0 (2/16); Eastern Screech-Owl 29
(16/16); Great Horned Owl 10 (16/16); Barred Owl 0 (4/16); Long-eared Owl 0
(2/16); Short-eared Owl 0 (7/16); Belted Kingfisher 8 (16/16, tied prev.
high); Red-bellied Woodpecker 19 (16/16); Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 0 (13/16,
need more observers!); Downy Woodpecker 21 (16/16); Hairy Woodpecker 4
(16/16, new low, prev. low 5, all Big Mill Pond area, MLH); Northern Flicker
17 (16/16, new low, prev. low 22); Pileated Woodpecker 5 (16/16);

 

Eastern Phoebe 16 (16/16, new high, prev. high 13); Blue-headed Vireo 0
(1/16); Blue Jay 17 (16/16); American Crow 209 (16/16); Fish Crow 24 (6/16,
new high, prev. high 9, scarce here, but increasing, not recorded 1991-98,
count week in 1999, found 6 out of 7 years since then, all in Big Mill Pond
area, MLH); Horned Lark 9 (13/16); Tree Swallow 0 (3/16); Carolina Chickadee
96 (16/16); Tufted Titmouse 27 (16/16); Red-breasted Nuthatch 0 (5/16);
White-breasted Nuthatch 0 (7/16); Brown-headed Nuthatch 10 (13/16, new high,
prev. high 7); Brown Creeper 3 (15/16); Carolina Wren 112 (16/16); House
Wren 0 (13/16); Winter Wren 26 (16/16); Sedge Wren 3 (13/16, Vaughn/Central,
JLS et al.); Marsh Wren 3 (9/16, Vaughn/Central, JLS et al.); Golden-crowned
Kinglet 22 (16/16); Ruby-crowned Kinglet 21 (15/16, new high, prev. high
15); Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 0 (1/16); Eastern Bluebird 76 (16/16); Hermit
Thrush 39 (16/16); American Robin 488 (16/16); Gray Catbird 8 (15/16);
Northern Mockingbird 15 (16/16); Brown Thrasher 13 (15/16); European
Starling 183 (16/16, new low, prev. low 243); American Pipit 103 (15/16);
Cedar Waxwing 26 (13/16, Vaughn/South, MOB); 

 

Orange-crowned Warbler 0 (3/16); Nashville Warbler 0 (0/16, previously
recorded in count week only); Y.-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler 244 (16/16);
Y.-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler 0 (1/16); Pine Warbler 3 (12/16, Big Mill Pond
area, MLH); Prairie Warbler 0 (1/16); Palm Warbler (yellow) 2 (4/16, Big
Mill Pond area, MLH); Palm Warbler (western) 5 (6/16, Big Mill Pond area,
MLH); Palm Warbler (total) 7 (12/16); Common Yellowthroat 0 (8/16);
Yellow-breasted Chat 0 (2/16); (in the annual "battle of the warblers" in
the Big Mill Pond area covered by Hoffman, Myrtles again took third place
with a fat goose egg total of "0", while Palms were victorious with 7 and
Pines in second with 3, though 2 of the latter were outside the traditional
warbler-war zone along Rabbit Knaw Road). 

 

Eastern Towhee 22 (16/16); Chipping Sparrow 3 (11/16, Big Mill Pond area,
MLH); Clay-colored Sparrow 0 (1/16); Field Sparrow 19 (16/16); Vesper
Sparrow 3 (7/16, along Steel Pond Road, just north of intersection with Big
Mill Road, single group with 2-3 Savannah Sparrows in ag field/low hedgerow,
photo at http://www.pbase.com/wcbirding/image/72386841, MLH); Savannah
Sparrow 70 (16/16); Grasshopper Sparrow 0 (0/16, previously recorded in
count week only, the "Hoffman-Iliff thriller in Stockton"); Le Conte's
Sparrow 0 (2/16); Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow 27 (9/16, new high, prev.
high 7, total blows away prior counts, credit marsh walking by Stasz et al.
at Vaughn/Central, reported as 6 "Acadian' and 21 "James Bay"); Saltmarsh
Sharp-tailed Sparrow 11 (9/16, new high, prev. high 6); sharp-tailed Sparrow
(sp.) 6 (8/16, total sharp-tailed count of 44 far exceeds prior totals, high
of 12 in 2004); SEASIDE SPARROW 2 (1/16, new species, Vaughn/Central, one by
ZB, one by JLS); Fox Sparrow 15 (16/16); Song Sparrow 197 (16/16); Lincoln's
Sparrow 1 (2/16, in small clear-cut on Big Mill Road, photo at
http://www.pbase.com/wcbirding/image/72386747, MLH); Swamp Sparrow 191
(16/16); White-throated Sparrow 709 (16/16); Harris's Sparrow 0 (1/16);
White-crowned Sparrow 0 (5/16); Dark-eyed ("Slate-colored") Junco 128
(16/16); Dark-eyed ("Oregon") Junco 0 (1/16); Northern Cardinal 104 (16/16);
Painted Bunting 0 (1/16); 

 

Red-winged Blackbird 1,315 (16/16); Eastern Meadowlark 322 (16/16); Rusty
Blackbird 0 (13/16); Brewer's Blackbird 0 (1/16); Common Grackle 1,089
(16/16); Boat-tailed Grackle 0 (8/16); Brown-headed Cowbird 1 (15/16, has
been missed, Vaughn/South, MOB); Purple Finch 0 (8/16); House Finch 14
(16/16); Red Crossbill 0 (1/16); Common Redpoll 0 (1/16); Pine Siskin 0
(2/16); American Goldfinch 33 (16/16, ties prev. low); House Sparrow 4
(15/16).

 

TOTAL SPECIES 97 (very pedestrian, best 112, 100+ in six years). 13,702
individuals. Cumulative species total (for count days) 152, 1 species added.
No count week species.

 

PARTICIPANTS: Zach Baer, Mike Burchett, Mark L. Hoffman (MLH, compiler-7263
Norris Ave., Sykesville, MD, 21784, ), Hans Holbrook,
Michael O'Brien, James L. Stasz.

 

General party locations: Hoffman (Big Mill Pond and vicinity; private farms
along Purnell Bay); Baer/Burchett/Holbrook/Stasz (Vaughn WMA-Central Area);
O'Brien (Vaughn WMA-Southern Area and George Island Landing Road). 

 

Commentary: Near perfect weather, with short-sleeve weather briefly in the
pm.  Nonetheless the species total was a little disappointing.  Birding was
good, but not great.  Always a greatly enjoyable day in Maryland's premier
CBC territory!

 

Mark L. Hoffman

Sykesville MD