MDOsprey,
While home for Thanksgiving I have done some local birding around Annapolis.
Today (29 Nov, 8:30 am) I was pleased to get a county bird (#270?) within 5
miles of my old home off Forest Drive. Three Purple Sandpipers were foraging
right at the tip of the point. Although there may be 10-15 records for Anne
Arundel County, (almost?) all of these are from Sandy Point State Park and
the vast majority are from the 1970s and early 1980s when the park was
birded intensively. There seems to be a decent chance that they will hang
out here for a few days, since they were feeding actively and still present
when I left. Purple Sandpipers may be more common in this part of the Bay
now, since sizeable flocks winter at Poplar Island now where only occasional
migrants had been present in the past.
Good luck to those that might look for them. Three Black Scoters and a lone
male Redhead rounded out the other highlights. See the full eBird list
below.
Good birding,
Marshall Iliff
Miliff AT aol.com
West Roxbury, MA (formerly Annapolis, MD)
-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2008 10:10 AM
To:
Subject: eBird Report - Thomas Point , 11/29/08
Location: Thomas Point
Observation date: 11/29/08
Notes: I visited here to walk out to the point hoping for Purple
Sandpiper or other coastal species. No migration evident from point, but the
scoter flock off the tip looked great for other sea ducks like eiders. Light
was harsh looking towards Thomas Pt. Light. WEATHER: Cold (35 F), calm,
clear.
Number of species: 46
Canada Goose 40
Mute Swan 5
Tundra Swan 85 55 along S side of point, just W of gate, where guy
was feeding waterfowl
Wood Duck 1 male; N side of point
American Black Duck 4 along S side of point, just W of gate, where
guy was feeding waterfowl
Mallard 125 along S side of point, just W of gate, where guy was
feeding waterfowl
Canvasback 25 along S side of point, just W of gate, where guy was
feeding waterfowl
Redhead 1 male; along S side of point, just W of gate, where guy was
feeding waterfowl
Lesser Scaup 7 along S side of point, just W of gate, where guy was
feeding waterfowl
Greater/Lesser Scaup 4 flybys
Surf Scoter 85 25 right off point, probably feeding on rocks;
another 50+ offshore
Black Scoter 3 *rare off Annapolis Neck (my first actually); two
females distantly from point and one female along S side of point, just W of
gate, where guy was feeding waterfowl
Long-tailed Duck 35
Bufflehead 125
Ruddy Duck 15 flock off N side in cove
Common Loon 7
Double-crested Cormorant 30 most distant; those sitting on Thomas
Pt. light did not look consistent with Great Cormorant, but would be worth
checking in the future
Great Blue Heron 1
Purple Sandpiper 3 **rare; county bird; two juveniles, one adult; in
rip-rap right at end of point. First identified by call as they moved onto
the rocks below me. Identification was obvious at 20 ft: orange legs, dull
orange-based bill with dark tip, chunky shorebird about the size of
Sanderling; body blue-gray with narrow pale fringing (juveniles) and white
fringing on coverts; underparts blue-gray on chest with thick blue-gray
streaking down sides. Call a scrapy "tcheet". It was interesting to watch
them swim between exposed rocks.
Ring-billed Gull 25
Herring Gull (American) 80
Great Black-backed Gull 10
Mourning Dove 15
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Blue Jay 6
Fish Crow 1
Carolina Chickadee 8
Carolina Wren 3
Winter Wren 1 one in rip-rap at end of point; a recently-arrived
migrant?
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 5
American Pipit 1 calling flyover at entrance gate
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2
Eastern Towhee 2
Song Sparrow 10
Swamp Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 35
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 5
Northern Cardinal 5
Red-winged Blackbird 35 flocks roosting in Phragmites near gate
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 5
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
-------------------------------------------------
eBird/AKN Project Leader
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
http://www.ebird.org
http://www.avianknowledge.net
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