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Dorchester & Wicomico, 6/5-6/6

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Joel Martin

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Mon, 9 Jun 2008 01:02:11 EDT

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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