1. Wednesday, August 8. OCEAN CITY, MD. Skimmer Island. Low tide. From
9-9:30 A.M. I scoped from Route 50. No sign of the Red-necked Stint but: 1
Willet, 42 Semipalmated Plovers, 6 Short-billed Dowitchers, 7
oystercatchers, 225 Sanderlings, and 40 Brown Pelicans. Fair, winds SW
10+, 90 degrees.
Launch from West Ocean City. Emily Uphoff, John Weske, Dave Brinker &
Laurel Brinker-Cole, Tami Pearl & Caroline Causey, the latter 2 resplendent
and impressive in their National Park Service uniforms and regalia. It's a
couple of mi. N to Reedy Island where there's a colony of Royal Terns, the
northernmost anywhere. We band 325. In July 86 had been tagged here = a
grand total of 411. There are 10 unhatched royal eggs, perhaps viable.
This colony has tripled since last year. Prior to 2006 they nested on
Skimmer I. 2 Diamondback Terrapin. Several young Forster's Tern chicks
present plus more flying adult Common Terns. Emily secures 25 fecal
samples from the royals to be sent to Ohio State U. to be tested for avian
influenza. Reedy consists mostly of Spartina alterniflora but there is
some Sea Lavender and Baccharis. Laughing Gulls nest here, too, with c. 70
adults and 30 young today, some of latter flying. When I leave Ocean City
it is 97 degrees, 102 on going through Cambridge.
2. Thursday, August 9. 101 species, ELLIOTT ISLAND ROAD including Kraft
Neck Rd., the Chicamacomico River at Drawbridge, Lewis Wharf Rd., Vienna,
the Route 50 borrow pit, Indiantown Rd. & Chicone Creek. 5:45 A.M. - 8:30
P.M. 70.4 mi. by car, 1 by foot. Carol McCollough & Harry Armistead.
Clear or fair and calm becoming NE 5-10, briefly N 15-20+ in mid-afternoon,
82-95 degrees. A hot day but not very humid. This is a drill I like to do
in mid-summer as a sort of celebration of the last hurrah of the singing
and breeding season. Singing has fallen off a lot but there is still much
to hear and see.
" ... And be the singing masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away ..." whatever
-Yeats, 'Sailing to Byzantium.'
Highlights:
A male, winter plumage Scarlet Tanager flying by us to the north at the
Elliott village bridge at 5:50 P.M., miles from the nearest breeding
habitat. Small numbers of migrants occur at Elliott at this time of year,
e.g., Carol also found a gnatcatcher and an Ovenbird here today. 2 singing
SEDGE WRENS at dawn at the Moorhen Spot where Mel Baughman, George
Armistead, and I heard them singing on May 12 this year. 2 Red-shouldered
Hawks calling continuously 2 miles north of Savanna Lake. Post-breeding
swallows: numbers around incl. 225 Purple Martins (species in sight almost
continuously all day), 125 Tree, 3 Bank & 165 Barn swallows. 6 Bobolinks
on phone wires at Lewis Wharf Rd.
We added 5 heron species at dusk, 14 Great & 16 Snowy egrets plus 7
Tricolored, 10 Green & 1 Black-crowned Night heron, the latter the last
species today. There seem to be 2 flight lines for Green Herons here at
day's end, one heading S along the E side of Fishing Bay, another also
heading S as seen SE of Gadwall Bend, apparently coming from the Nanticoke
River, both lines heading towards Elliott village.
Also: 2 Brown Pelicans. 5 young Wild Turkeys on Kraft Neck Rd. capable of
flight. only 1 bobwhite. 3 Clapper & 7 Virginia rails. 1 Western, 15
Least & 24 unID'd peep sandpipers. 4 Caspian, 11 Royal & only 6 Forster's
terns. a flock of 20 Rock Pigeons at Elliott village, unusual for there.
2 screech & 1 horned owl, the latter on a telephone wire at Vienna, first
bird of the day. 4 hummingbirds. 2 kingfishers. 2 Pileated Woodpeckers.
5 pewees. 12 White-eyed & 4 Red-eyed vireos. 2 Horned Larks. 8
Brown-headed Nuthatches. only 8 Marsh Wrens, 1 carrying food. 3 Cedar
Waxwings. 2 Prothonotary Warblers (Kraft Neck Rd.). only 4 yellowthroats.
16 Chipping, 6 Field (all singing), 1 Grasshopper, 8 Saltmarsh
Sharp-tailed (1 seen & heard singing at close range), 4 Song & only 9
Seaside sparrows. 15 Blue Grosbeaks. 25 Indigo Buntings. 6 meadowlarks.
28 Boat-tailed Grackles, 1 female carrying food at McCready's Creek. only
1 Orchard Oriole.
Missed: Mute Swan, Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall, Willet (local breeders leave
in July), House Wren, Prairie & Worm-eating warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat,
Summer Tanager.
Butterflies: 1 Eastern Tailed Blue, 1 Cabbage White, 1 Buckeye, 45
Variegated Fritillaries (Route 50 borrow pit X Indiantown Road mostly), 1
Silver-spotted Skipper, 4 Red Admirals, 30 Monarchs, 40 Cloudless Sulphurs,
4 Red-spotted Purples, 4 Black, 4 Tiger & 5 Spicebush swallowtails, 2
Viceroys & 2 unID'd sulphurs. Kraft Neck Road, a lovely, dirt way with
remote fields & forests incl. a wooded swamp, and no houses, is a
wonderland of blooming flowers, butterflies, and dragonflies.
Many of the little marsh potholes are dried up and some of the marsh
vegetation is sere and burned by the intense heat and prolonged drought.
There's a little ditch going off to the east on the upper road, steep
sides, choked with blooming Arrow Arum and today's only frogs, leopard
frogs probably, and Cardinal Flowers blooming on the banks. A Painted
Turtle on Chicone Creek. 2 Eastern Cottontails.
Roadkill: 3 Raccoons, 1 Virginia Opossum, 1 Northern Watersnake & 1
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Requiescat in pavement.
"Death seemed my servant on the road, till we were near
and saw you waiting:
When you smiled, and in sorrowful envy he outran me
and took you apart:
Into his quietness."
-T. E. Lawrence, 'to S.A.', the epigraph to his "Seven pillars of wisdom."
3. Sunday, August 12. DORCHESTER COUNTY ISLANDS.
Egypt Road. 14 Wild Turkeys c. 6:45 A.M.
A 29.0 statute mile boat trip. Water temperatures in the low 80s. Light
NW becoming SW winds so that we had a mild following sea behind us almost
all day. Delightful, sunny weather. A rising, slightly above-normal tide
the entire time.
9 of us on a banding expedition to HOLLAND: Bob Ake & Jared Sparks in my
boat launch at Crocheron in the remotest fastnesses of deepest Dorchester -
Dorchestera Deserta. Emily Uphoff, John Weske, Diana Buckalew, Dave
Brinker & Laurel Brinker-Cole & Liz Carracino-Clark in Emily's Oxford Lab
boat putting in at Chance, Deal Island. John, Liz & Dave do the banding,
the rest of us are subservient pelican chick catchers. Most of the time
Emily, Dave & Laurel are involved in drawing small blood samples from the
larger pelican chicks to be tested for West Nile Virus.
Crocheron. Launch at 7:50 A.M. 4 pelicans and 65 cormorants on the pound
net out 0.5 mi. from the rock jetties. A thoroughly repulsive, slimy,
gelatinous, stinking, and large dead unidentified marine lifeform of some
kind at the ramp. We're glad to get under way and leave that sucker
behind!
Spring Island (Blackwater N.W.R.). Not much birdlife the past few years
since the terns, pelicans, and cormorants ceased breeding. Motor by and
see 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, a Tricolored Heron, and a Peregrine Falcon.
South Holland Island segment. Arrive at 8:28 A.M., 13.6 mi. from
Crocheron. Total of 451 pelican chicks banded (includes 15 or so tagged
later in the day at Holland's middle segment). At one point I estimated
420 adult pelicans in sight simultaneously, most sitting offshore eyeing
our operation with great dignity, patience, and quiet, understated resolve.
Hard work since most nests are in high and dense Baccharis halimifolia and
Iva Frutescens.
Not much time to look around what with the intense banding activity but we
do see or hear: a Carolina Wren, 3 Seaside Sparrows, a Mallard, 3
Semipalmated Plovers, an ad. Bald Eagle, 1 Greater Yellowlegs & a Fish
Crow. 21 large Double-crested Cormorants chicks are in rather high nests
in several small Red Cedars. There's a definite southbound flight of 10
Monarchs plus a northbound Cloudless Sulphur.
Middle Holland Island segment. On July 22 eleven of us banded 323 pelican
chicks here. Combined with today's 451 plus (I think it was) 484 earlier
at S. Pt. Marsh, VA, that would total 1,258 pelican chicks banded in the
central Chesapeake this summer. Today we land just to use up the few
remaining bands on some of the band strings to simplify later reporting and
statistics. A long, dense stand of Spartina cynosuroides extends most of
the length of this island running N-S and left of center. This is where
Holland's last remaining house is, in a most precarious situation.
14 unID'd small shorebirds, 3 Least Sandpipers, 1 Boat-tailed Grackle.
Earlier in the breeding season boat-tails, Fish Crows & Red-winged
Blackbirds are conspicuous on these islands. Today they're almost
non-existent. 1 Monarch. I estimate 1,020 adult pelicans in sight
simultaneously, most resting on the water but over 100 circling clockwise
overhead. Combined with the 420 seen on the S.segment, today's 451 banded
and perhaps >300 chicks here, that totals at least 2,100 pelicans on
Holland I. today. After this the 2 boats go their separate ways. Jared,
Bob & I continue north.
Holland Island north segment. No sign of the hundreds of Common &
Forster's terns that were nesting here earlier. One hopes the young
fledged successfully. 1 Boat-tailed Grackle & 2 Great Black-bcked Gulls.
Adam I. Motor past. 4 oystercatchers, a Royal & a Caspian tern, and 1
Monarch.
Bloodsworth Island. Okahanikan Cove: 10 Mute Swans, the only ones seen
today. Apparently the eradication program is effective. Fin Creek,
Bloodsworth Island: 2:55-3:25 P.M. 18 species. Many of the Great Blue
Heron chicks have fledged - the nesting platforms are quite empty. Scores
of 2' or even longer Sea Nettles are in the creek plus 7 Diamondback
Terrapin. 13 Ospreys in sight simultaneously once. 7 Little Blue, 4
Tricolored, 6 Yellow-crowned Night, 13 Black-crowned Night & 2 Green
herons, 1 Marsh Wren, a black Duck, 2 Clapper Rails, 2 ad. Bald Eagles, 6
Seaside Sparrows, and 1 kingbird.
Gum Swamp, Blackwater N.W.R. A Gray Squirrel d.o.r. on Route 335.
4. RIGBY'S FOLLY, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD,
West Ferry Neck Road near Royal Oak but nearer still to Bellevue. August
5-13, Liz & Harry Armistead. 9 very hot, dry days with sunny, fair
weather. 3 pitiful, short periods of rain do little to help the parched
landscape. Fawns seen every day with their attendant doe mothers..
Sunday, August 5. 2 sets of twin fawns, ea. w/ a doe + the small,
leucistic buck. 1 squirrel. 1 rabbit. We sit out on the front porch and
enjoy the dusk thunder and lightning show, son et lumiere, some of the
thunder rolls lasting more than 15 seconds. The storm segments of the
Alpine Symphony, William Tell Overture, and Pastoral Symphony are
impressive and affecting, but nothing can touch the real thing.
Monday, August 6. Daughter Mary and son-in-law Mike Solomonov visit. 3
Cedar Waxwings, 70 Red-winged Blackbirds, a Least Tern, 32 Mute Swans. 13
butterfly species incl. the 1st Cloudless Sulphur of the year, 4 Monarchs,
4 skipper spp. & a Hackberry Emperor. 61 frogs at The Pond. 34
Diamondback Terrapin. 7" Five-lined Skink on the front porch, 5" one at
the pumphouse. 2' Black Rat Snake on the driveway. Haven't seen them all
year but suddenly 2 adult Mute Swans and 6 very large, brown cygnets
materialize. A Red Fox & 3 squirrels. 85 degrees at 10:15 P.M.
Tuesday, August 7. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher by the dock; one can depend on
their first migrant showing up each year in early August. 4 young Barn
Swallows have fledged from the dock nest under the catwalk. 6 Killdeer.
11 cardinals. 3 Five-lined Skinks, 7", 5" & 2" respectively, a high count
for here. Woodchuck with a dark cap foraging near the big Willow Oak. 87
degrees at 9:15 P.M.
Wednesday, August 8. 101 degrees at 4:15 P.M., 95 at 8 P.M., 93 at 8:45
P.M. 3 Snowy Egrets.
Thursday, August 9. 85 degrees at 4 A.M. 82 at 10 P.M. Liz spots a male
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, sees it well in the backyard, the earliest by
15 days, also sees a Great Egret, 4 Gray Squirrels, and a small Five-lined
Skink trying to catch a cricket on the front porch.
Friday, August 10. 97 degrees all afternoon. 1 Rock Pigeon, seldom seen
here, a year bird, such as it is. 4 Snowy Egrets. 1 Bald Eagle. 25
Canada Geese. A large doe in Field 1 at close range, tongue hanging out of
its mouth several inches the entire time, did not look good. 1 ea. of
Black Vulture, Yellow-billed Cuckoo & thrasher.
Saturday, August 11. A refreshing 68 degrees at 8 A.M. with 68 Canada
Geese foraging in Field 1, which has been disked. A Worm-eating Warbler
along the Olszewski trails. 60 Cedar Waxwings, an all-time high in the
period from May through August. 17 Chimney Swifts. 1 ad. Bald Eagle. 4
rabbits. 6 Monarchs, 7 Common Wood Nymphs, 1 Little Wood Satyr. Bob Ake
arrives to overnight & we see 13 Least Sandpipers fly by, a new high for
here. I capture a Green Tree Frog in the seam next to the bow seat cushion
of my boat.
Sunday, August 12. Bob & I see 4 young & 3 hen Wild Turkeys on Anderby
Hall Road. 1 rabbit.
Monday, August 13. Heading out the driveway a splendid adult Bald Eagle
flushes from a tree at the bend, almost on the level with the top of the
car. 2 Green Tree Frogs calling half-heartedly from the Magnolia
grandiflora.
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 ....) |