Greetings,

Late this afternoon, I decided to drive over to my Father-in-law’s house 
Hances Point; south of North East) to scan the lower North East 
River/Susquehanna Flats for ducks and gulls. As soon as I got in his driveway, 
which travels for about a quarter mile through a nice mature deciduous forest, 
I flushed about 100 juncos up into the trees... Deciding to get out here and 
see what exactly was around I was happily greeted by about 200 birds flitting 
around the trees and brushes which included American Holly, Oak, Maple, Gum, 
Poplar, and Birch. I was thrilled to find a nice array of species which included 
highlights such as Hermit Thrush, Brown Creeper, both Nuthatches (including 
at least 7 Red-breasted) and a far off Eastern Screech Owl which answered 
me for over ten minutes. I was just about to leave when I saw a flock of 
finches fly into the top of the gum trees... I figured they were goldfinches; 
however, I was delighted to discover that the flock of about 30-40 birds 
consisted entirely of COMMON REDPOLLS!!! I tried, but could not find ANY 
siskins, purples, houses, or golds... Being a LIFE bird for me, seeing so many of 
Redpolls (scope view) was a great way to be introduced to them!!! What a 
pretty little bird; one of favorites now, for sure. 

Figuring that I may be on a lucky roll, I decided to mosey over to the marinas 
at Hances Point in hopes of finding some waterfowl and/or odd gulls. In terms 
of waterfowl I only managed to round up a few hundred Canada Geese 
(though there were/are PLENTY of other ducks way out on the flats), 6 
Common Goldeneyes, and few Mallards. I did score a surprising Horned Grebe, 
also!

Most interesting to me was the number of gulls which are loaded up on the 
upper North East River. Using a sampling method, I estimate that the number 
of gulls from Charlestown to the “old Arundel” area of the river (North East 
Isles) to be in the neighborhood of 15-18,000 GULLS!!!! Broken down, I would 
estimate that they are 40% Ring-billed, 25% Bonaparte’s, 25% Great Black-
backed, and 10% Herring. I am sure there are a few oddities in the mix as 
well. The shear numbers of them insist in that, right?  Unfortunately getting a 
good look at them would require some crafty methodology as the majority of 
them were pushed up into the northwest corner of the upper river, where 
easy access is extremely limited.  I did find three Lesser Black-backed at the 
North East River Yacht Club, however! 

All-in-all a nice exciting little way to end the day considering, I had no 
intention of birding today... lol! 

Good Birding,
Chris Starling
Hances Point (North East), MD