From: Harry Armistead [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 10:39 AM
To: Norman Saunders
Subject: 84th Dorchester County May Bird Count (in full), May 9, 2009.
84th DORCHESTER COUNTY MAY BIRD COUNT (in full), Saturday, May
9, 2009.
ABBREVIATIONS are place names except for observers' initials;
cf. Participants List for those): BNWR, Blackwater National Wildlife
Refuge. C, Cambridge. EIR, Elliott Island Road. HI, Hooper's Island.
LWR, Lewis Wharf Road. MS, Moneystump Swamp. ND, Neck District. OFR, Old
Field Road. SH, Swan Harbor. TI, Taylor's Island.
180 species. Total individuals: 15,334. Midnight - 10 P.M.
WEATHER: for weather and some other general commentary please
see my posting of a few days ago that accompanied the summary of birds seen
by my party on May 9.
PARTICIPANTS: Terry Allen, Henry T. ("Harry") Armistead
(compiler), Nate Carle, Diane Cole, Bill Giese, Bill & Karen Harris, Brendan
Klick, Carol & Lee McCollough, Jim Moore, Will Russell, Jared Sparks, Matt
Whitbeck,
THE BIRDS, starting with the PRIMITIVES: common loon 10.
pied-billed grebe 1 (EIR). American white pelican 1 (present for months;
seen by 3 parties today at Sewards on the Little Blackwater River). brown
pelican 1. double-crested cormorant 208. least bittern 3. great blue
heron 57. great egret 33. snowy egret 46. green heron 7. black-crowned
night heron 3 (EIR).
WATERFOWL: Canada goose 177. mute swan 2. tundra swan 1.
wood duck 37. gadwall 3. American wigeon 2 (BNWR, seen by 3 parties).
American black duck 26. mallard 184. canvasback 1 male (Fishing Bay, seen
from EIR). lesser scaup 1 male (C). bufflehead 2 (C). red-breasted
merganser 4 (SH). ruddy duck 9 (Hurlock Wastewater Treatment Plant).
RAPTORS & GALLINACEOUS BIRDS: black vulture 31. turkey vulture
280. osprey 129. bald eagle 84. northern harrier 6. sharp-shinned hawk
1. red-shouldered hawk 1 (DC). red-tailed hawk 14. peregrine falcon 3 (C,
BNWR & OFR). Ring-necked pheasant 1 (TI; a population has been established
here for years). wild turkey 51. northern bobwhite 37.
RALLIDS: BLACK RAIL 3 (unsolicited, as usual). clapper rail 34
(27 in DC's area). king rail 3. Virginia rail 53. sora 3 (EIR). common
moorhen 3 (EIR). American coot 2 (at Bill Giese's farm).
SHOREBIRDS: black-bellied plover 63. semipalmated plover 117.
killdeer 61. American oystercatcher 2 (SH). black-necked stilt 4 (EIR).
greater yellowlegs 102. lesser yellowlegs 56. solitary sandpiper 17.
willet 9. spotted sandpiper 17. MARBLED GODWIT 1 (BNWR by JM, good
description, a flyby at close range that was also heard). ruddy turnstone 1
(SH). sanderling 15 (SH & HI). semipalmated sandpiper 103. WESTERN
SANDPIPER 1 (BNWR by TA et al.). least sandpiper 155. dunlin 567.
short-billed dowitcher 4.
LARIDS: laughing gull 2916. Bonaparte's gull 2 (C&LM).
ring-billed gull 183. herring gull 72. great black-backed gull 7. Caspian
tern 5. royal tern 26. common tern 32. Forster's tern 36. least tern 16.
rock pigeon 56. mourning dove 144. black-billed cuckoo 2
(K&BH). yellow-billed cuckoo 6. barn owl 1 (EIR). great horned owl 5.
barred owl 3 (1 ea. by 3 parties). common nighthawk 1. chuck-will's-widow
34. whip-poor-will 11 (K&BH). chimney swift 52. ruby-throated hummingbird
10. belted kingfisher 3 (1 ea. by 3 parties).
red-headed woodpecker 11 (have been on the increase for a while;
these seen by 4 parties in 6 widely-separated areas; others occur in the
BNWR Tubman Trail area, which was not covered today). red-bellied
woodpecker 51. downy woodpecker 8. hairy woodpecker 7. northern flicker
17. pileated woodpecker 12. eastern wood-pewee 44. Acadian flycatcher 9.
Traill's flycatcher 1 (DC). eastern phoebe 9. great crested flycatcher 258
(party totals ranged from 24-76!). eastern kingbird 104. white-eyed vireo
40. blue-headed vireo 2 (2 parties). yellow-throated vireo 3 (K&BH).
WARBLING VIREO 1 (BNWR by WR, rare in this county; 1st record for the
count). red-eyed vireo 63.
blue jay 64. American crow 119. fish crow 31. crow unID'd 30.
horned lark 102 (83 by JS in east-central Dorchester, who felt he did not
find all that were there). purple martin 78. tree swallow 255. northern
rough-winged swallow 8. bank swallow 12. cliff swallow 3 (K&BH; cliffies
nest under the Brookville & Sharptown bridges, where I believe Lynn Davidson
and Hal Wierenga first found them several years ago). barn swallow 401.
Carolina chickadee 115. tufted titmouse 111. white-breasted nuthatch 1.
brown-headed nuthatch 65.
Carolina wren 97. house wren 32. marsh wren 61. blue-gray
gnatcatcher 57 (seen by all parties). eastern bluebird 74. Swainson's
thrush 4. wood thrush 47. American robin 371. gray catbird 42. northern
mockingbird 132. brown thrasher 10. European starling 873. cedar waxwing
2 (has to be the ranking "squeaker" today).
WARBLERS: Nashville warbler 1 (BK @ TI). northern parula 30
(all 7 main parties). yellow warbler 16. chestnut-sided warbler 4 (2
parties). magnolia warbler 6 (3 parties). black-throated blue warbler 5.
yellow-rumped (myrtle) warbler 56. black-throated green warbler 6.
Blackburnian warbler 1 (by C&LM in ND). yellow-throated warbler 3. pine
warbler 94. prairie warbler 42. bay-breasted warbler 3 (BNWR & TI).
blackpoll warbler 2 (BK @ TI). black-and-white warbler 18. American
redstart 9. prothonotary warbler 22. worm-eating warbler 20. ovenbird 82.
northern waterthrush 1. Louisiana waterthrush 3. Kentucky warbler 1.
common yellowthroat 205 (the 7 main parties' totals ranged from 18-40) .
hooded warbler 1 (WR @ LWR). yellow-breasted chat 26 (all 7 main parties).
summer tanager 44. scarlet tanager also 44 (all 7 main
parties). eastern towhee 78. chipping sparrow 198. field sparrow 40.
Savannah sparrow 8 (3 parties). grasshopper sparrow 52 (37 of these in ND
by C&LM). saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow 8. seaside sparrow 71. song
sparrow 19. swamp sparrow 7. white-throated sparrow 5 (3 parties).
northern cardinal 181. rose-breasted grosbeak 5 (2 parties).
blue grosbeak 77 (party totals ranged from 1 to 25). indigo bunting 151 (48
by K&BH in ND). bobolink 24 (2 parties). red-winged blackbird 1325.
eastern meadowlark 58 (6 parties; a good showing for this declining
species). common grackle 1549. boat-tailed grackle 7 (SH & EIR).
brown-headed cowbird 228. orchard oriole 61. Baltimore oriole 9. house
finch 27 (7 parties). American goldfinch 97. house sparrow 101.
GROUP SPECIES TOTALS: good - 18 shorebirds, 7 rallids, 6
flycatchers, 25 warblers. Maximum to be reasonably expected but not all
that surprising: 6 swallows, 6 woodpeckers, 5 gulls, 5 terns. O.K. or
O.K.+ but not outstanding: 9 raptors, 13 waterfowl, 9 sparrows (not
including towhee). Poor: 6 heron types, 3 owls.
BOBCAT. Congratulations to Diane Cole for getting a good look
at a Bobcat near Bishop's Head, a near mythic species on the Delmarva
Peninsula. I'd heard rumors in other years but this is the only sighting I
know of that I can get my teeth into.
SPECIES WE MISSED, a partial listing (in subjective order of
most surprising to least surprising, an impossible ranking, but, worth a
try): eastern screech-owl, American woodcock, American kestrel, tricolored
heron, veery, cattle egret, vesper sparrow, blue-winged warbler, Canada
warbler, glossy ibis, merlin, ruby-crowned kinglet, stilt sandpiper,
white-crowned sparrow, white-rumped sandpiper. Various others of what I dub
the spruce-northern-montane warbler persuasion are always electrifying if
they are seen here - such as Wilson's, Cape May & Tennessee - but I don't
expect to see them. Today's 3 bay-breasted warblers were a nice surprise.
the 15 MOST NUMEROUS SPECIES: laughing gull 2916, common
grackle 1549, red-winged blackbird 1325, European starling 873, dunlin 567,
barn swallow 401, American robin 371, turkey vulture 280, great crested
flycatcher 258, tree swallow 255, brown-headed cowbird 228, double-crested
cormorant 208, common yellowthroat 205, chipping sparrow 198, northern
cardinal 181.
SINGLETONS (22 species), the only lonelies: just one each of -
pied-billed grebe, American white & brown pelicans, tundra swan, canvasback,
lesser scaup, sharp-shinned & red-shouldered hawks, ring-necked pheasant,
marbled godwit, ruddy turnstone, western sandpiper, barn owl, common
nighthawk, Traill's flycatcher, warbling vireo, white-breasted nuthatch,
Nashville & Blackburnian warblers, northern waterthrush, and Kentucky &
hooded warblers.
EASTERN SCREECH-OWL: At least 3 parties made a real effort to
find them but with no luck. On May 2 I tried for them 10 times with only 1
responding, and that was a visual. Both days conditions seemed good for
them. This is an unprecedentedly bad showing. Is there something going on
with screech-owls?
EFFORT, party totals: 566 miles by car, 18 miles on foot; 55
hours by car, 59 hours on foot.
PARTY AREAS: 1: Blackwater N.W.R. morning bird walk Terry Allen
et al. 2: traditional, expansive south countywide route, EIR, BNWR, SH, HI,
MS, Harry Armistead & Will Russell (Brendan Klick, too, until 3:45 A.M.).
3: County north of Route 50, Karen & Bill Harris; this is a seminal area
with specialties that breed nowhere else in Dorchester County, such as
yellow-throated vireo, the 3 scarce swallows, vesper sparrow & Louisiana
waterthrush, other species that are most dependable here, such as
kingfisher, whip-poor-will, and phoebe, and great potential for other
breeders (cf. the Harris's 31 prairie warblers) and migrating passerines as
well. Taylor's Island, Brendan Klick, who found 26 scarlet tanagers. 4 &
5: Blackwater N.W.R. restricted areas (2 parties consisting of refuge
staff), Nate Carle, Bill Giese, Matt Whitbeck. 6: Neck District, Carol &
Lee McCollough. 7. Circuit Rider (BNWR, HI, Cedar Creek Road), Jim Moore.
8: East-central County, bounded by Route 50 on the north, Nanticoke River on
the east, Bucktown Road to the west, and Kraft Neck, Drawbridge & Decoursey
Bridge roads on the southside, Jared Sparks. 9: extreme south, Dorchester
incognita, Diane Cole. Parties 1 & 7 overlapped widely with parties 2 & 9,
in which case numbers from parties 1 & 7 are used here only if they exceed
those of parties 2 & 9. Parties 2-6 & 8-9 are thus referred to as the "7
main parties" above.
GENERAL COMMENTARY. Today's coverage in terms of the number of
party areas and participants, and their deployment, is by far the best ever
and so is the species total. All parties put in excellent effort. It was
gratifying to receive every one of their very neat, immaculate reports less
than 3 days after the count. There was a moderate flight of neotropical
migrants and other passerines, just enough lingering cold weather birds, and
fair numbers of shorebirds to insure a fine species total, not to mention
great counts of common species such as Indigo Bunting, the 2 tanagers,
Grasshopper Sparrow, gnatcatcher, Ovenbird, Prairie Warbler, Great Crested
Flycatcher, Common Yellowthroat, and some others.
Migrant landbirds were in only fair numbers, as is often the
case here, compared with the Piedmont and mountains. Good coverage in the
county interior and northern areas underscored how many more landbirds there
are in those places than in the marshy southern reaches of Dorchester. It
was a very poor night for owls and few nocturnal migrant passerines were
heard overhead, e.g., there was no Catharus thrush flight to speak of. Jim
Brighton found 2 species that we missed, but the day after the count:
Dickcissel and Pectoral Sandpiper. Any boat trip to the islands would have
netted 5 heron/ibis types that we also failed to locate. But in sum, I
expect to be getting a good buzz from these results weeks from now.
LOADS OF TOADS ON THE ROADS. And frogs, too. After the
considerable rains in the wee small hours of May 9 big numbers of frogs and
toads appear on the steamy roads, making Elliott Island and Henrys (yes, it
lacks the apostrophe in the ADC county atlas) Cross roads into a tortuous
slalom course. These creatures show up as more lightly-colored than the
paving, like pale lumps or small rocks, but this is subtle and I am afraid
many motorists miss it, or else don't care. Philistines! "Frogs really
blanked out the night's sounds. After the thunderstorm, in pitch dark I
drove a wet steaming road that made me think reptiles had fallen with the
rain . snakes, frogs, toads crossing the blacktop in my headlights. Mighty
strange views, expected a notice; "No Animals Were Harmed in This Filming."
(Jared Sparks)
THANKS ALL AROUND to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
staff for permitting and gaining access to off-limits areas of the refuge,
and to the 14 participants.
NEXT FALL the 14th Dorchester County Fall Bird Count will be
Saturday, September 19 (rain date Sunday, September 20). Please contact me
if you are interested.
Best regards to all. - Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
_____
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