Greetings,
I had a few new arrivals to my yard (Hances Point, Cecil County) this past
weekend. Going back to last Thursday I had my FOY Northern Parula heard
singing from the tree-tops. However it has not been heard since. On Friday
and Saturday I had Yellow-rumped Warblers singing all over the Hances Point
area of Cecil County. This afternoon I had flushed a Greater Yellowlegs from
my cove while standing over at the water’s edge. I also had two Cooper’s
Hawks zoom through the yard. Barn Swallows are back in large numbers...
Of more interesting note (to me) were the birds which I saw while fishing on
the Chesapeake Bay this morning. At dawn we left from Queen Anne’s Marina
south of Matapeake on Kent Island. While the fishing was not so hot (blame it
on the full moon<?>) the birding was great! I started with two chattering
Least Terns in the marina basin. Oddly these were the only terns seen all day!
Other birds of note included 39 NORTHERN GANNET! 37 birds were seen in
Queen’s County and two were seen in Talbot County waters. All birds were
adult and most provided great close-up looks! Also seen were 9 Common
Loons (all fly-overs), 29 Double-crested Cormorants, 6 Great Black-backed
Gulls, 9 Herring Gulls, 9 Ring-billed Gulls, 22 Laughing Gulls, 9 Osprey, and two
Mute Swan (in the tidal basin near the marina. Two Turkeys were seen in a
field on Kent Island as well. Are Turkeys common on the island?
Also, just after dawn and in the marina, I had a large brown dove fly through.
The bird did not call, was NOT a Rock Pigeon, and disappeared over the trees
to the south before I could get a good look at it. Had I been in the Florida
Keys, I would have had no problem calling this bird a Eurasian Collared Dove
(!). Therefore, anyone traveling the south eastern portion of Kent Island
should be on the look out for collared doves. I am stopping short of calling this
bird, but it certainly got me wishing I had had a better look!
Good Birding,
Chris Starling
North East, MD |