Rigby's Folly, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, West
Ferry Neck Road near Royal Oak but nearer still to Bellevue.  Liz & Harry
Armistead. 

Took it easy this weekend.  Feeling wiped out.  

Saturday, January 5, 2008.  Haven't been here since Dec. 9, too long to be
away.  Since then 2 House Mice caught in the kitchen traps.  Overcast,
calm, 35-45, tide low to high, below normal either way.  41 species.

Common Loon 5.  Horned Grebe 1.  Mute Swan 50.  Canada Goose 2000 (most
seen over Dorchester County across the Choptank River east of Cook's Point,
a cloud of them perhaps 6 miles away).  Northern Pintail 1 male. 
Long-tailed Duck 12.  1 White-winged & 45 Surf Scoters.  4 Common
Goldeneyes.  3 Lesser Scaup.  103 Ruddy Ducks (fussy fliers) up Irish
Creek.  1 male Red-breasted Merganser.  3 Red-tailed Hawks (in sight
simultaneously).  1 Sharp-shinned Hawk.  11 Killdeer in Field 1.  3 ad.
Great Black-backed Gulls.  110 American Robins.  45 Cedar Waxwings.  675
European Starlings (3rd highest property count: whup-dee-doo).  8 juncos.  

Most of the robins and waxwings are vigorously gorging on Red Cedar berries
on the 2 cedars between the house and the dock as well as bathing and
drinking in the pond next to the Pumphouse.

Some ice on the cove out to about 100' from the banks.  Water in the fields
frozen.  Mark Hill from Bailey Marine comes to service and check out the
boat lift, which he says is in good shape.  Jimmy, Bruce, Tom, and Chris
Olszewski and, I think it is Jim's father-in-law, too, are hunting.  They
kill several each of Canada Geese and Mallards.  They replaced the decrepit
bluebird house on the pole in Field 4 with a nice new one.  Dana Sindermann
has renovated the pumphouse with new insulation and much better protection
from the cold around the door frame.  Water levels in the ponds are good.

Sunday, January 6.  fair-clear, calm becoming DEAD calm in the afternoon,
39-58.  Nice and sunny and warm.  Took several short naps in the sun, both
on the dock and out at Lucy Point.  Low tide in morning exposes mud out
past the end of the dock, the high tide in the early afternoon like a
normal low tide.  

42 species.

Species not seen yesterday:  3 Northern Gannets (only the 3rd or so January
record). 4 sprucey-looking Fox Sparrows feeding under the cedars in the
yard.  1 Cooper's Hawk.  2 Eastern Bluebirds.  65 Common Grackles.  1
Tufted Titmouse (singing).  6 Golden-crowned Kinglets foraging in Loblolly
Pines along the Olszewski trails.  35 Canvasbacks.   

Also:  65 Tundra Swans, some coming out of the north.  285 Ring-billed
Gulls, mostly in fields.     

20 deer.  1 White-footed Mouse caught in the kitchen last night.  4 Eastern
Gray Squirreleepoohs.  Happy Pooh Year.  

OFF TOPIC (to MDOSPREY):

1.  GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE.  George Reiger called today to say he and
his fellow hunting companions saw an adult Greater White-fronted Goose on
his property at Locustville, VA, south of Accomac on Saturday, January 5. 
It first attracted his attention by its distinctive call. 

2.  CAPE CHARLES, VA, Christmas Bird Count, December 30, 2007, ADDENDA. 
MDOSPREY subscribers/readers who would like the report of this year's count
please either contact me or refer to the report as posted on VA-BIRD.

On the basis of reports just received from one observer:

American Woodcock:  raise to 32 from 28.
Eastern Screech-Owl:  raise to 9 from 8.
Great Horned Owl:  raise to 10 from 9.

Blue Jay.  The astonishing low count of 7 is not without precedent.  The
count's first year, 1965, found 5 but with only 10 observers.  In 1967 six
were found.  As recently as 2005 only 35 were seen.  Other year's high
totals, by way of contrast, have been 915, 289, 279, 178, etc.

Short-billed Dowitcher.  The total of 314 this year is a new high. 
Previous high counts have been 248, 220, 125, and 114.  

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 ....)