Hi Everyone,
This morning I joined Stan Arnold and Tom Feild in kayaking north along the Patuxent River from the town of Benedict (Rte. 231) in Charles Co. We paddled upriver and covered about 3.5 miles total while exploring Swanson Creek. Here along the county line of Prince George's and Charles Counties we found an impressive cattail marsh and a wooded shoreline accented by Mountain Laurel in peak bloom. MARSH WRENs were singing nearly constantly throughout the marsh, and the potential for marsh birds like Least Bittern seems very high. Our highlights included a KING RAIL in Charles Co., a singing WILLOW FLYCATCHER in PG Co., and a surprising RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH in Charles Co. Other noteworthy birds were six RUDDY DUCKs, a passable showing of warblers, and SUMMER TANAGERs in Charles and PG Counties. The waters were nearly glassy on our paddle up, but the south winds kicked in as the morning progressed and we were soaked and beaten up a bit on our return trip.
Because this is a rarely covered area, here is the full list for Charles Co. and a handful of notable species in P.G.
Ruddy Duck--6; small flock first seen in the cove just north of the Rte 231 bridge
Double-crested Cormorant--16; one carrying sticks
Great Blue Heron--7
Green Heron--2
Black Vulture--2
Turkey Vulture--3
Osprey--8
Bald Eagle--2
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern)--1
King Rail--1; called persistently from a marsh north of the Rte 231 bridge; seen by Tom Feild
Spotted Sandpiper--2
Laughing Gull--6
Ring-billed Gull--1
Mourning Dove--2
Red-bellied Woodpecker--2
Downy Woodpecker--1
Pileated Woodpecker--2
Eastern Wood-Pewee--4
Acadian Flycatcher--4
Great Crested Flycatcher--1
Eastern Kingbird--8
White-eyed Vireo--2
Yellow-throated Vireo--2
Red-eyed Vireo--7
Blue Jay--3
American Crow--3
Purple Martin--4
Northern Rough-winged Swallow--2; nesting in an exposed bank
Barn Swallow--15
Carolina Chickadee--4
Tufted Titmouse--6
Red-breasted Nuthatch--1
Carolina Wren--8
Marsh Wren--9
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher--1
Eastern Bluebird--1
Wood Thrush--1
American Robin--1
Gray Catbird--2
Northern Mockingbird--1
Brown Thrasher--1
European Starling--50
Cedar Waxwing--14
Northern Parula--3
Yellow Warbler--4
Yellow-throated Warbler (dominica)--5
Pine Warbler--2
Blackpoll Warbler--4
American Redstart--2
Worm-eating Warbler--1
Ovenbird--5
Louisiana Waterthrush--2
Common Yellowthroat--8
Hooded Warbler--1
Summer Tanager--1
Scarlet Tanager--1
Chipping Sparrow--1
Song Sparrow--4
Northern Cardinal--11
Blue Grosbeak--2
Indigo Bunting--13
Red-winged Blackbird--40
Orchard Oriole--1
Baltimore Oriole--1
American Goldfinch--5
Swanson Creek, PG Co.
Ruddy Duck--6; same flock
Eastern Wood-Pewee--1
Willow Flycatcher--1; singing from a power line cut near the power plant; probable breeder
Yellow-throated Vireo--1
Marsh Wren--7
Summer Tanager--1
Blue Grosbeak--1
With winds from the southwest, we headed north to Fort Smallwood in hopes of a kite and spent a few hours in the good company of Sue Ricciardi and Gwen Brewer. George Jett was there, too. ;) I'll let Sue cover Fort Smallwood in her post. We saw no kites, but it was a good afternoon.
Tom and I ended the afternoon in my yard (Rockwood Beach, Anne Arundel Co.), having a couple drinks and seeing what birds were still hanging around. The first highlight was my yard's first HAIRY WOODPECKER, which appeared briefly on one of our trees. Later, Tom and I were talking about all the nighthawks hunting during the day lately and how rarely people find roosting nighthawks in Maryland. Literally within minutes a COMMON NIGHTHAWK flew through the yard and landed in a large oak. I would say I'd just had too many glasses of wine if it weren't for the photos that prove it happened.
In other news around Rockwood Beach:
At 3:30 a.m. this morning, while packing up for kayaking, a CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW called persistently from Weinberg Park and a BARRED OWL sounded off several times nearby. On Saturday, 5/24, we had an unexpected adult WHITE-THROATED SPARROW make a very brief appearance.
I've posted a number of photos from the weekend, including the Olive-sided Flycatcher and Mourning Warbler in Frederick, a Dunlin in Washington, and the perched nighthawk in our yard:
http://www.billhubick.com/new_set.html
I still owe a post of other details from Frederick and Washington Counties on Sunday. I'll try to knock that out tomorrow.
Have a great (short) week,
Bill
Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland
http://www.billhubick.com |