RIGBY'S FOLLY, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, 25124
West Ferry Neck Road near Royal Oak but nearer still to Bellevue. 

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2007.  1 Eastern Cottontail and 1 deer (a doe) right
in front of the house as I arrived at 11:14 P.M.  

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12.  Fair to overcast then becoming fair again, 26-45-41
degrees F., winds calm most of the time, tide very low, lots of ice but not
as much as last Tuesday (in Dorchester) but more around Rigby with all of
Irish Creek and "Tranquility Cove" frozen plus out in the Bay 1,000 feet in
some places.  

23 waterfowl species today.

6 A.M. - Noon, much of this spent on Jim Meholic's property, which adjoins
ours.  Jim convened a meeting of several resource managers to advise him on
improving his impounded areas for waterfowl and possibly building new ones.
 Present: Stephen D. Hale, Sr., James Tyler, Frank Felbaum, Don Webster (MD
DNR), Jim, and myself.  For many years Frank oversaw the use of tax form
checkoff funds in Pennsylvania for conservation purposes.  During this
recent hunting season Jim and his friends killed 13 deer, including an
impressive 11-point buck Jim showed me a photograph of in his digital
camera, the remainder being does.

Nice concentration of fowl just off our shoreline at Lucy Point hemmed in
by the extensive ice on the Choptank River mouth but including:  55 Canada
Geese, 50 Mute & 110 very vocal Tundra Swans, 1 black duck, 8 Mallards, 145
Canvasbacks, 20 Redheads, 40 Lesser Scaup, a female goldeneye, and 9 Ruddy
Ducks plus 155 Surf Scoters and 60 Buffleheads, most of the scoters far
offshore.  An immature Bald Eagle lurked over the ice but I didn't see it
prey on anything dead or alive.  But best of all was an American Coot
hanging out with the waterfowl, a species very seldom seen here anymore,
although there used to be large flocks of hundreds seen nearly annually
nearby at Benoni Point in late March and early April on their way through
from farther south. 

Also:  A Red-tailed Hawk.  2 Great Horned Owls calling from Woods 2 at 6:14
A.M.  a Pileated Woodpecker.  70 robins.  55 Song Sparrows, a new high
count, they've been hanging in the weedy areas and small trees along the
driveway in front of the house where they feed on seeds of Panicum virgatum
and other plants.  1 Swamp Sparrow.  

Mammals:  1 Eastern Cottontail.  4 deer (does).  1 Gray Squirrel.  1
Raccoon, a big, fat one seen at 7:54 P.M.  2 White-footed Mice caught since
last Monday.  

CHOPTANK RIVER (Malkus) BRIDGE, Talbot County side, 12:45 P.M.  The 'Tank
is frozen as far as one can see but there are here and there open areas. 
450 Snow Geese resting on the river considerably upstream, an area where
I'm not used to seeing them.  120 Ruddy Ducks.  8 Bald Eagles sitting on
the ice.  Whenever there is a big freeze there are always eagles out on the
ice.

BLACKWATER N.W.R.  1-3 P.M.  6 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS looking healthy and
flying around a lot.  Also:  870 Tundra Swans.  2 Wood Ducks flying over
Pool 1, a surprise.  That Pool has a small unfrozen area where there are 55
Northern Shovelers, 2 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Hooded Mergansers, and a coot. 
Also on the refuge, mostly out in the Blackwater River:  30 black ducks,
600 Mallards, 475 pintails, 60 Green-winged Teal, and 40 Common Mergansers.


Raptors:  A good show - 8 Black & 11 Turkey vultures, 4 Northern Harriers
including 1 gray ghost, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 6 red-tails, 4 kestrels, and
at least 54 Bald Eagles.  The eagle total is impressive when you consider
that many birds are out of sight incubating.  The videocam in the Visitor
Center shows a bird with 2 loaded, yellow corn cobs in its nest and its two
eggs were laid on Jan. 24 and 26.  Whenever I'm in the V.C. it is fun to
watch the incubating bird fussing and putzing around rearranging twigs and
other nesting material.  Good homemakers.

Also:  4 Killdeer.  1 kingfisher.  1 Pileated Woodpecker.  2 Fish Crows.  A
big Common Grackle flock, a smaller one of Red-winged Blackbirds.  5 Sika
Elk, 3 of them right on the shoulder of Route 335 after 6:30 P.M., VERY
close to traffic.  18 Great Blue Herons, looking miserable as they always
do in harsh winter conditions.  No Snow Geese here.

HOOPER'S ISLAND.  3:30-6:15 P.M.  Beautiful winter light, low-angled sun
coming through the clouds, calm, peaceful conditions, ice floes, little
traffic, and a good supply of waterfowl.  Excellent visibility, the Point
No Point Light easy to see over 11 statute miles to the SW off the SE end
of St. Mary's County.  If there'd been gannets or Brown Pelicans flying
around I would have seen them.  Tar Bay all frozen and much of the Honga
River so but little of the Bay proper.  Great Marsh Creek open. 

140 Tundra Swans.  2 American Wigeon foraging along the experimental
jetties S of Narrows Ferry Bridge.  425 Canvasbacks, 410 Redheads, 1,700
Ruddy Dcuks, and 190 Lesser Scaup out in the Honga River.  The Redheads are
way to the E side of the Honga but are distinctive when they fly by virtue
of their wing pattern (or lack of same) and manner of flight.  95 Surf
Scoters far out in the Bay.  70 Long-tailed Ducks (heard calling in the
distance at many of my stops, one of the great sounds of the Bay).  490
Buffleheads and 55 Common Goldeneyes.  7 Red-breasted and 9 Hooded
mergansers, the latter, known as "Pond Snouts" on Smith Island, forced out
into the open bay by the ice.  

Also:  4 Common Loons actively diving.  4 Great Blue Herons.  4 Bald
Eagles, 1 sitting on the ice of Tar Bay.  1 adult male Northern Harrier. 
20 Rock Pigeons at the Fishing Creek bridge on the wires.  5 Mourning Doves
at the Eurasian Collared-Dove spot, one of them calling frequently.  2
kingfishers.  1 Great Horned Owl calling at sunset.  40 starlings,
mentioned only because it is interesting to watch some of them feeding in
the intertidal zone.  A favorite site is the S end of the experimental
jetties.  No Horned Grebes today.

1 Sika Deer in the dusk.  

AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS IN MARYLAND UP UNTIL 1958.  Take a look at the 1958
"Birds of Maryland and the District of Columbia" by Stewart & Robbins. 
Back then there were only 3 records for the state, one shot in Garrett
county on April 31, 1887, and 2 other records without dates or specific
locations listed in a 1932 article in "the Wilson Bulletin."  About the
same number for Virginia until the 1950s.  For quite a few years they have
been annual.  

SWAROVSKI COMES THROUGH LIKE A CHAMP.  My Swarovski 10 X 42 ELs, which I
love, recently got out of alignment.  I sent them for repair on Jan. 29. 
By Feb. 13 they were back, repaired at no charge, with new attachments for
the straps, and a friendly note and card that read: "Henry.  In addition to
a full reconditioning, we've also upgraded your binos with the "fast focus"
system.  Now 1.5 turns of focus range instead of 2.5!!!  Enjoy .......
Kyle."  I did have trouble initially getting through to anyone on the phone
and was finally connected to a manager who put my repair request in as a
rush order.  And of course I did wonder why they got out of alignment in
the first place since I'd been very careful with them.    
EXCELLENT BOOK ON BEACHES.  When we were doing the Outer Banks Christmas
counts this past December Jared Sparks noticed an intriguing book:  Pilkey,
Orrin H., Tracy Monegan Rice & William J. Neal.  "How to read a North
Carolina beach: bubble holes, barking sands, and rippled runnels."  U. of
North Carolina Pr.  2004.  162p.  pb.  $13.95.  SEASHORES.  I just got my
own copy.  Pilkey does an excellent job of describing beach phenomena, such
as the differences of surging, spilling, and plunging breakers, flood vs.
ebb tidal deltas, and much more.  Good photographs, some in color, and
diagrams.  Another fine book is: Kaufman, Wallace & Orrin H. Pilkey, Jr. 
"The beaches are moving: the drowning of America's shoreline; with a new
epilogue."  Duke U. Pr.  1983.  336p.  pb.  SEASHORES.  This explains the
dynamic, constantly changing nature of barrier islands and the inevitable
problems that come, for people and the islands, when they are developed.   


OH, NO!  Not ANOTHER Bison pun.  Daughter, Anne, inspired by the news of
Bison at Milepost 98.1 on Route 301, asks if 200 Bison are a BISONTENNIAL?

Best to all.-Henry ("Harry") T. Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia,
PA 19119-1225.  215-248-4120.  Please, any off-list replies to: 
harryarmistead at hotmail dot com  (never, please, to 74077.3176 ....)