Hi All,

The Kent County Bird Club's trip to Blackwater NWR and points south was 
successful and a pleasure, due in no small part to striking blue, if 
chilly, weather. Our party recorded 75 total species in the piney woods 
and open marshlands with their wide horizons and skies punctuated with 
the twisting black smoke towers of prescribed burns set and controlled 
by refuge personnel. On the way to Blackwater, along Egypt Road, we 
watched for field birds and eagles. Among the Turkey Vultures and Bald 
Eagles there appeared a bird that made an airborne goose flock do a mass 
flinch causing Nancy to give it a second look. The big dark bird turned 
out to be a sub-adult GOLDEN EAGLE showing a little white at the bases 
of its primaries and at the base of the tail. The eagle gave us a good 
look and was still soaring over 4245 Egypt Rd when we left. At the south 
end of Egypt Road, near the intersection with Key Wallace Drive, there 
was a big flock of 40 CHIPPING SPARROWS feeding on the road shoulder 
with a single Hermit Thrush and six bluebirds. In the fields around the 
visitor center there were harriers, meadowlarks, bluebirds, Horned 
Larks, and Killdeer. The highlight of our tour around the Wildlife Drive 
were the 14 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS opposite Pool 3C on a bar in the 
Blackwater River. Also on the Wildlife Drive were Brown-headed 
Nuthatches, 40 Common Mergansers on the river, 2 American Coots on the 
first impoundment, the first of around two-dozen Tree Swallows for the 
day (making it feel most spring-like), 20 Dunlin on flats in the river, 
and 280 Tundra Swans.

After completing the Wildlife Drive we decided to go down to Cedar Creek 
Road south of Shorter's Wharf and continue south to Bishops Head and 
Crocheron to check out the public landings there. On the causeway across 
the Blackwater River on Key Wallace Drive we had 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 
30 Killdeer, 6 Wilson's Snipe, and 19 Forster's Terns. Heading south 
from Key Wallace the first salt pan on the east of Maple Dam Road had a 
nice selection of waterfowl including 6 American Wigeon, 12 Green-winged 
Teal, 2 Gadwall, and 2 Hooded Mergansers. Among the 30 American Black 
Ducks were two drake blackXmallard hybrids, and, stranger still -- a 
pale buffy leucistic (or hypomelanistic if you read the Sept/Oct Birding 
article on abnormal coloration in birds) black duck belying its name. On 
Cedar Creek Road it took awhile for the SHORT-EARED OWLS to start 
hunting (3:45 PM, we arrived ca. 3:35 PM), but once they got going they 
put on quite a show with four of them flying among the more ubiquitous 
harriers.  The woods along Cedar Creek Rd were packed with Yellow-rumped 
Warblers (as were many spots  on Sheep and Jenny Islands), with a few 
Brown-headed Nuthatches, and a Red-shouldered Hawk that was curious 
about Walter's Barred Owl imitation. At Crocheron Landing we added a 
number of birds including 250 Fish Crows coming down Fishing Bay heading 
to a roost further to the south (perhaps on Bloodsworth Island), 9 
Common Loons, 16 Horned Grebes, 8 Common Goldeneye, and 3 Boat-tailed 
Grackles. Counts of some widespread specialties of the house included 44 
Bald Eagles, 18 Northern Harriers, 13 Brown-headed Nuthatches, 125 
Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 49 Killdeer. Amazingly among our misses was 
Carolina Wren, and no, I don't believe that one either...but it was a 
splendid all around day of birding. Our next outing will be on Saturday 
15 March and will be an all day outing to Prime Hook NWR in southern 
Delaware, a spectacular birding area combining wetlands, woods, and 
Delaware Bay beaches.

Good birding,

Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin

23460 Clarissa Rd
Chestertown, MD 21620

phone: 410-778-9568
e-mail: rossgull(AT)baybroadband.net

Observing Nature is like unwrapping a big pile of presents every time you take a walk.