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Subject:

New Year on the Shore--Snowy Owls, King Eiders, Western Sandpiper, etc.

From:

Ronald Gutberlet

Reply-To:

Ronald Gutberlet

Date:

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 23:50:36 -0500

Happy New Year Everyone!

Carol and I made the rounds in parts of Worcester County today.  We had a great day with 22 waterfowl species (including 2 KING EIDERS at the OC Inlet) and 8 shorebird species (including a WESTERN SANDPIPER and a "Western" WILLET at Eagles Nest Campground).  Also, there are now TWO SNOWY OWLS in the Assateague ORV Zone.  Today they were just north of the Bullpen, not too far from one another--very cool!

We first saw the King Eiders (a female and an immature male) at about 9 am near the tip of the south jetty.  They provided fairly decent views (we could see the pale orange of the male's bill), but a bit distant and in the chop.  We had better views at the end of the day when the water was calmer at the inlet.  During both of our visits, the eiders were only in view for a few minutes before disappearing behind the south jetty.

It was good to run into Mike Burchett and his friend Betsy at Eagles Nest Campground.  Mike pointed out the Willet and a couple Brown-headed Nuthatches.  Conditions at Eagles Nest were great at about 3:30 pm, with many flats exposed and busy with shorebirds.

We hope you'll find some other birds of interest in the lists below.  Best wishes for a great birding year in 2009!  Have fun,

Ron Gutberlet
Salisbury, MD
 



Location:     Ocean  City Inlet

Brant     20
American Black Duck     6
King Eider     2
Surf Scoter     10
Black Scoter     3
Long-tailed Duck     15
Bufflehead     50
Red-breasted Merganser     10
Red-throated Loon     6
Common Loon     5
Northern Gannet     2
Peregrine Falcon     1
Ruddy Turnstone     4
Sanderling     1
Purple Sandpiper     4
Bonaparte's Gull     35
Ring-billed Gull     150
Herring Gull     8
Great Black-backed Gull     3
Rock Pigeon     40
Northern Mockingbird     1
European Starling     20


Location:     Bayside Development

Gadwall     33
American Wigeon     76
Mallard     20
Redhead     12
Ring-necked Duck     3
Greater Scaup     1
Lesser Scaup     5
Ruddy Duck     2
Great Blue Heron     1
Turkey Vulture     3
Bald Eagle     1
Ring-billed Gull     1
American Crow     1
Eastern Bluebird     4
Northern Mockingbird     2
European Starling     20
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)     2
Palm Warbler (Western)     4
Savannah Sparrow (Eastern)     2
Song Sparrow     1
American Goldfinch     1


Location:     South Point

Brant     45
Canada Goose     4
Canvasback     1
Greater Scaup     480
Surf Scoter     20
Bufflehead     160
Common Goldeneye     2
Red-breasted Merganser     2
Common Loon     2
Horned Grebe     14
Black Vulture     3
Turkey Vulture     1
Killdeer     1
Herring Gull     2
Great Black-backed Gull     1
Mourning Dove     3
Red-bellied Woodpecker     1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)     1
Carolina Wren     1
American Robin     20
Northern Mockingbird     1
Brown Thrasher     1
European Starling     20
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)     8
Song Sparrow     5
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)     1
Red-winged Blackbird     3
Eastern Meadowlark     4
House Sparrow     6


Location:     Eagles Landing Golf Course

Gadwall     4
Mallard     26
Pied-billed Grebe     1
American Coot     1
Ring-billed Gull     20


Location:     Eagles Nest Campground

Brant     48
Canada Goose     12
American Wigeon     20
American Black Duck     40
Bufflehead     15
Red-breasted Merganser     2
Common Loon     1
Horned Grebe     1
Black-bellied Plover     2
American Oystercatcher     8
Willet (Western)     1
Sanderling     30
Western Sandpiper     1
Dunlin     70
Ring-billed Gull     200
Herring Gull     60
Great Black-backed Gull     3
Downy Woodpecker     1
Carolina Chickadee     1
Brown-headed Nuthatch     2
Carolina Wren     1
American Robin     9
Gray Catbird     1
European Starling     10
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)     20
Chipping Sparrow     1
Song Sparrow     2
White-throated Sparrow     12
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)     1
Northern Cardinal     1
Red-winged Blackbird     30
American Goldfinch     1


Location:     West Ocean City Pond

Canada Goose     10
Mallard     10
Canvasback     1000
Hooded Merganser     20

This report was generated semi-automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)