Hi Everyone,

Mikey Lutmerding and I had a fantastic time covering the North Beach section of the Jug Bay CBC on Sunday (12/14). This area is primarily the small section of Calvert Co. in the circle usually covered by Jim Stasz. I'll include all the abridged lists below, but I'll start by highlighting the highlights:

ROSS'S GOOSE--Top CBC honors go to one adult found by Danny Bystrak from his bucket, across from, and just north of, Selby's Landing. The bird was with a large Canada Goose flock most easily seen from the Selby's Landing boat launch on the P.G. side; the bird was on the AA Co. side of the river only, northeast of the boat launch.

BROWN PELICAN--We scoped a pelican from North Beach on the distant pound nets to the north in Anne Arundel Co. This was a coveted and slightly overdue county bird for both of us.

GANNETS--We found gannets at most of our thorough Bay scans from Chesapeake Beach Marina north to Herrington Harbor. The breakdown by county was two in AA Co., five in Calvert, and one distant bird in Talbot. All were adult birds.

RAILS--We had THREE species of rail not including coot. We had stunning, close-up views of two Virginia Rails in Calvert Co. and then of an adult SORA in Anne Arundel. Excited by our luck with the Sora, we tried a little King Rail playback at a promising location and were shocked by an immediate, clear response. 

Abridged lists follow:

North Beach, Calvert Co.

Mallard--27
NORTHERN SHOVELER--1 along the waterfront; same bird that wintered last year?
Redhead--1 hen
Greater Scaup--252
Lesser Scaup--1
Greater/Lesser Scaup--120
Long-tailed Duck--1; roosting on the beach when I first arrived
Bufflehead--150
Ruddy Duck--35
BROWN PELICAN--1; scoped on the distant pound nets in Anne Arundel Co.
NORTHERN GANNET--2 adults
Killdeer--9
Ring-billed Gull--48
Herring Gull (American)--13
Great Black-backed Gull--6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet--1
American Robin--1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)--3
Non-avian: Common Gray Fox 

Chesapeake Beach Marsh, Calvert Co.

Canada Goose--32
American Black Duck--1
Mallard--4
Black Vulture--1
Bald Eagle--1
Cooper's Hawk--1
VIRGINIA RAIL--2; see story below
Ring-billed Gull--10
Herring Gull--5
Great Black-backed Gull--14
MARSH WREN--1; same location where we had one last year
Eastern Bluebird--1
American Pipit--1; flyover, calling
Song Sparrow--4
Swamp Sparrow--7
Pine Siskin--2; at least two flyovers, calling

Chesapeake Beach Marina, Calvert Co.

Tundra Swan--5
Mallard--21
Greater Scaup--69
Lesser Scaup--1
Surf Scoter--2
Long-tailed Duck--2
Bufflehead--111
Common Goldeneye--2
Red-breasted Merganser--3
Common Loon--1
NORTHERN GANNET--4 adults; three clearly in Calvert, one apparently in Talbot
Double-crested Cormorant--1
Killdeer--1
Ring-billed Gull--28
Herring Gull (American)--125
Lesser Black-backed Gull--1 adult
Great Black-backed Gull--47
Rock Pigeon--1; roosting on the rocks on the edge of the marina; not the easiest bird in the county
Pine Siskin--1; Chattering and calling near a feeder a block away

Herrington Harbor, Anne Arundel Co.

Canada Goose--785
Tundra Swan--6
American Black Duck--1
Mallard--25
Canvasback--3
Greater/Lesser Scaup--790 (probably nearly all Greater, but too distant)
Surf Scoter--37
Long-tailed Duck--364
Bufflehead--162
Common Goldeneye--108
Common Loon--1
NORTHERN GANNET--2 adults; close
Black Vulture--4
Turkey Vulture--1
Red-tailed Hawk--1
Killdeer--1
Ring-billed Gull--24
Herring Gull (American)--260
Great Black-backed Gull--3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet--1
Song Sparrow--6

Schoolhouse Pond, P.G. Co.

Canada Goose--167
TRUMPETER SWAN--1; interestingly, we could not see the wing tag to confirm that it was #962 despite it clearly being a Trumpeter Swan. We wondered if the tag somehow came off.
WOOD DUCK--2
Mallard--17
Northern Shoveler--13
Pied-billed Grebe--1
American Coot--1
Ring-billed Gull--72
Herring Gull (American)--2

Jackson Landing, Patuxent River Park, P.G. Co.

Common Merganser--3

Jug Bay--AA Co. across from Selby's Landing

ROSS'S GOOSE--1 adult found by Danny Bystrak while pursuing a December big sit record from his bucket. Mikey and I chased this bird and got great scope views from the top of Selby's Landing boat launch on the P.G. side. Thanks, Danny!
Canada Goose--800
American Black Duck--20
American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid)--7
Mallard--125
Bald Eagle--2 adults
Northern Harrier--2
Wilson's Snipe--5

Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, Anne Arundel Co.

Canada Goose--8000++; huge movements at dusk, which apparently involve all of the birds from the surrounding area
Tundra Swan--1
American Black Duck--134
Mallard--24
Northern Pintail--21
Green-winged Teal (American)--2
teal sp.--3; probably all GWTE
Common Merganser--1
Great Blue Heron--2
Northern Harrier--3
KING RAIL--1; a very unexpected find, especially in December; responded to ambitious playback and heard well
VIRGINIA RAIL--1 heard calling several times
SORA--1 adult; responded with a strange whining call to Common Moorhen playback, then keeked a couple times; walked into the open a couple times and provided great looks; very exciting to find one so late
Ring-billed Gull--225
Herring Gull (American)--75
Ruby-crowned Kinglet--1
Brown Thrasher--1 calling at dusk
Cedar Waxwing--13
Eastern Towhee--3
Swamp Sparrow--12
Rusty Blackbird--6
Common Grackle--775

OK, I have to spend the extra couple minutes and tell the story about the Calvert Co. Virginia Rails. I met Mikey at a stretch of marsh where I have tried for rails many times, but have never had any luck. I told him to not worry, that I don't need Virginia Rail for the county anymore, so they would be there. I played one loop of playback, and we saw something run near our feet almost instantly. "Jeez, was that one already, or was that a rat?" We played another loop or two of calls and were treated to looks at two close Virginia Rails through the marsh grass. One bird called a few times and then blew our minds when it came walking right out of the marsh toward us. We were crouched down less than 10 feet from the marsh grass along some rip rap, and one bird proceeded to wind its way through a tunnel network under the rocks. It repeatedly disappeared and popped up elsewhere, often surfacing to provide more impossibly close-up views. At one point Mikey
 could see the bird literally under me, looking up. It was a fantastic, very memorable encounter. Here are some photos I managed to snap: 

http://www.billhubick.com/new_set.html

Please note that this was more a matter of luck than of harassing the bird. I think a bit of tape use is appropriate for detecting rails, and we always cut the audio quickly after getting any response. 

Standing there afterward, excited about the encounter, Mikey and I were watching and listening for other marsh birds. As is so often the case, my mischievous side took over and, after a long, quiet moment, I whispered emphatically, "Dude... the RAIL is on your SHOULDER." To my sheer delight, he very slowly looked to his left, where a gull had conveniently just cast a shadow, before groaning about falling for it. I tried to make him feel better later by calling a distant Muscovy Duck a Bald Eagle.

A very fun, satisfying day!

Good birding,

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com