79th DORCHESTER COUNTY MAY BIRD COUNT, May 5, 2007, Saturday.
My apologies, especially to the participants, for getting to this at such a
late date.
145 species.
EFFORT: 4 parties. 308 miles by car, 5 by foot. 14.5 hours by car, 24.5
by foot (or perhaps I should say ON FOOT STANDING NEAR CAR, which is mostly
the way I do it in the spring).
PARTY AREAS:
1. Harry Armistead & Jared Sparks at Elliott Island Road, Blackwater
N.W.R., Hooper's Island and in between. I have already summarized our
findings and the day's weather back in an early May posting (q.v.).
2. Diane Cole, Cambridge area.
3. Jim Stasz & Jim Brighton, the greater Taylor's Island area.
4. Levin Willey & Gordon Jennings, the Neck District.
ABBREVIATIONS: BNWR, Blackwater N.W.R. EIR, Elliott Island Road. HI,
Hooper's Island.
common loon 15. American white pelican 5 (BNWR; some continued to be
present into June). brown pelican 29. double-crested cormorant 392.
great blue heron 54. great egret 37. snowy egret 12. green heron 11.
black-crowned night heron 1. black vulture 9. turkey vulture 85.
Canada goose 74 incl. 5 goslings at Hooper's I. mute swan 7. wood duck
12. gadwall 4 (BNWR). American black duck 12. mallard 277. blue-winged
teal 2. northern shoveler 1 male (BNWR, Pool 1). canvasback 3 males
(EIR). surf scoter 1 male (HI). common merganser 1 (only the 2nd or 3rd
record on May counts here; party 3). red-breasted merganser 11 (HI, all
female plumaged). ruddy duck 34 (seen by 2 parties).
osprey 58. bald eagle 32. northern harrier 2 (EIR). Cooper's Hawk 1
(party 3). red-shouldered hawk 1 (Old Field Rd.; probably the same bird
seen May 12 also). red-tailed hawk 5. American kestrel 2 (party 4; missed
on May 12). ring-necked pheasant 3 (semi-established on Taylor's I.).
wild turkey 15 (3 parties). northern bobwhite 10 (seen by all 4 parties,
but in such pathetic numbers). black rail 0. clapper rail 15. king rail
3 (2 parties). Virginia rail 51. common moorhen 3 (EIR). American coot 3
(BNWR).
black-bellied plover 1. semipalmated plover 35. killdeer 18. American
oystercatcher 4 (HI). black-necked stilt 1 (EIR). greater yellowlegs 36.
lesser yellowlegs 15. solitary sandpiper 7 (3 parties). willet 22.
spotted sandpiper 2. ruddy turnstone 2 (HI). sanderling 5 (HI).
semipalmated sandpiper 7 (BNWR). least sandpiper 125. dunlin 290. common
snipe 1 (Golden Hill). American woodcock 1 (EIR).
laughing gull 1,020. ring-billed gull 107. herring gull 67. great
black-backed gull 10. Caspian tern 1. royal tern 20. common tern 1 (HI).
Forster's tern 112. least tern 6.
rock pigeon 10. mourning dove 57. yellow-billed cuckoo 1 (always easier
to find on the count on the 2nd weekend of May, as are pewee, Acadian
Flycatcher, and Indigo Bunting). barn owl 1. eastern screech owl 4.
great horned owl 13 (3 parties). barred owl 7. chuck-will's-widow 67 (3
parties). whip-poor-will 1 (disappearing in the southern part of the
county).
chimney swift 12. ruby-throated hummingbird 4. red-headed woodpecker 3.
red-bellied woodpecker 14. downy woodpecker 6. hairy woodpecker 4.
northern flicker 9. pileated woodpecker 5 (3 parties). great crested
flycatcher 48. eastern kingbird 13. white-eyed vireo 13. red-eyed vireo
17.
blue jay 23 (as with flicker, not a lot for 4 parties travelling c. 313
miles). American crow 60. fish crow 21. horned lark 2. PURPLE MARTIN 4
(3 Parties; missed by one of the most active parties; later on in May and
June their numbers seemed normal but today their weak presence was
absolutely incredible and puzzling; did a lot of them arrive very, very
late?). tree swallow 125. barn swallow 129.
Carolina chickadee 47. tufted titmouse 17. brown-headed nuthatch 24.
Carolina wren 20. house wren 12. marsh wren 34. blue-gray gnatcatcher 7.
eastern bluebird 58. wood thrush 5. American robin 172. gray catbird
16. northern mockingbird 23. brown thrasher 4 (1 party only). European
starling 284. cedar waxwing 0.
northern parula 2. yellow warbler 2. black-throated blue warbler 1.
yellow-rumped warbler 43. yellow-throated warbler 1. pine warbler 76
(party 3 recorded 54). prairie warbler 6. blackpoll warbler 1 (a male
seen at Robbins). prothonotary warbler 1 (Egypt Road). worm-eating
warbler 3. ovenbird 9. northern waterthrush 1 (Egypt Road). common
yellowthroat 56. yellow-breasted chat 9.
summer tanager 8. scarlet tanager 0 (the uncommon tanager in the S part of
the county). eastern towhee 20. chipping sparrow 72. field sparrow 18 (4
parties). Savannah sparrow 8. grasshopper sparrow 3. saltmarsh
sharp-tailed sparrow 5 (Shorter's Wharf & EIR). seaside sparrow 40. song
sparrow 2. swamp sparrow 4. white-throated sparrow 11 (missed by all
parties on May 12).
northern cardinal 61. blue grosbeak 11. indigo bunting 3. red-winged
blackbird 435. eastern meadowlark 17. RUSTY BLACKBIRD 1 (party 3; only 2
or 3 other records for the Dorchester May counts of this rapidly declining
bird). common grackle 503. boat-tailed grackle 4 (HI & EIR).
brown-headed cowbird 55. orchard oriole 11. Baltimore oriole 0 (not
unusual to miss them on these counts). house finch 9. American goldfinch
36. house sparrow 19.
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 ....) |