This is a belated report on an overnight trip to Dorchester and Wicomico
Counties last Thursday and Friday. Many of the birds encountered have been
previously reported by others, but some of the locations were new to me it, making
it especially enjoyable. Highlights were BLACK RAIL, CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW and
DICKCISSEL in Dorchester, and CHUCK, WHIP, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and lots of
county ticks in Wicomico.
I started around 9 PM on Thursday at the N end of North Tara Road in
Dorchester. It had become surprisingly breezy and nightjars were hard to come by. A
single CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW sang on North Tara but no other nightjars were
found there or on Puckham Road just south. By the time I reached El Dorado it was
10 PM and time to head down to Elliott Island Road. The breeze continued but
I did hear one BLACK RAIL, a personal county first. This was almost
certainly the same bird found by Ron Gutberlet, giving an unusual "ki-ki-ki-ki-derr"
song. Many CLAPPER RAILS and 2 VIRGINIA RAILS were also heard. Quite a
symphony of frogs, too. My last stop of the night was Old Bradley Road in Wicomico,
where I was fortunate enough to find singing WHIP-POOR-WILL and CHUCK within
the first half mile.
After a few hours of sleep I started at dawn Friday on Twilley's Bridge Road
in Wicomico, a site often described by Ron, Steve Sanford and others. This
road, and adjoining Wango, Bear Swamp and Laws Roads, comprise a peaceful,
beautiful and very birdy area with many picturesque stream crossings. The
warblers (10 species), and other forest and field birds, were very cooperative. I
finally tore myself away for one last stop in Wicomico, at Rewastico Road near
Hebron. Bill Hubick had found RED-HEADED WOODPECKER here hast summer. It
seemed like a long shot, but after about 20 minutes of waiting a beautiful adult
flew through my binocular field for a fleeting but conclusive view. The last
bit of business was back in Dorchester, were I viewed one of the previously
reported DICKCISSELS on the wires on Egypt Road. Blackwater NWR was pretty
quiet, but the male SUMMER TANAGER was singing in the woods across from the
Woodland Trail parking lot.
The trip home, which should have taken 2 hours, turned into a 5-hour ordeal
due to the murder/barricade situation in Trappe. All in all the authorities
handled the detouring of traffic very well. On the plus side, being routed
through downtown Easton gave me 2 more county ticks for Talbot, CHIMNEY SWIFT
and HOUSE SPARROW.
Joel Martin
Catonsville, MD
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