Hi Everyone,

Several of us were rewarded for a dedicated, waterlogged 10-hour sea watch at the Ocean City Inlet. At various times our ranks included myself, Jim Brighton, Tom Feild, Geraldine King, Ron and Carol Gutberlet, Mikey Lutmerding, and Dan Haas. The highlights for the day were two SOOTY SHEARWATERs, a ROSEATE TERN, an immature male HARLEQUIN DUCK, SURF and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERs, and a GREAT CORMORANT. The tern numbers were the most impressive that any of us had ever seen at the inlet. Below are the full lists:

Brant (Atlantic)--28; mainly roosting on the south jetty; several flyby flocks
American Black Duck--2
Mallard--2
HARLEQUIN DUCK--1; immature male hanging out with the White-winged Scoter behind the south jetty; Matt Hafner said this is the new MD late date
SURF SCOTER--4; three behind south jetty; one at the mouth of the inlet
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER--1; behind south jetty
Common Loon--3; two flybys (basic plumage), one back in the bay (alternate plumage)
SOOTY SHEARWATER--2; two well seen despite distance, all dark shearwaters soaring dynamically in distinctive undulating pattern; did not rule out Short-tailed by plumage/structure, but the odds are in our favor :)
Northern Gannet--22; ones and twos passing by in the distance all day
Brown Pelican--1
Double-crested Cormorant--32
GREAT CORMORANT--1; apparently an immature coming into adult plumage, roosting on the south jetty
Great Blue Heron--1
Great Egret--1
Osprey--1
Piping Plover--1; scoped on north end of Assateague; noted a couple nesting enclosures present there
American Oystercatcher--4
Willet--3
Ruddy Turnstone--31
Sanderling--38
Purple Sandpiper--64; exact count of a large flock and then the handful of individuals present on the jetty; however, smaller flocks were seen throughout the day, some of them appearing to be moving north away from the inlet; could have been a few hundred total
Short-billed Dowitcher--flyby; Tom only
Laughing Gull--15
Herring Gull--40
Great Black-backed Gull--55

TERNS:
** Greatest concentration of terns any of us had seen at the inlet; numbers are careful estimates based on highest in-sight-simultaneous counts and impressions of turnover/northbound migration. Numbers could have easily been double or triple if the turnover was greater than noted.

Least Tern--20
ROSEATE TERN--1 adult seen well by Jim B., Mikey, Ron and Carol; I was getting pizza for everyone and Tom & Geraldine were checking the beach. Fighting massive depression at this time. 
Common Tern--200
Forster's Tern--150
Royal Tern--35

Chimney Swift--4
Fish Crow--1
Purple Martin--15; all coming in off the ocean; one every 20-30 minutes, it seemed
Tree Swallow--1
Barn Swallow--2
European Starling--10
Common Grackle (Purple)--3--Flying back and forth between OC and north Assateague
House Sparrow--5
Non-avian: Dolphins (~6); fishermen were catching skates (3) and blues (~10).

Ocean City--Skimmer Island

Canada Goose--4
Mallard--6
Double-crested Cormorant--400; conservative estimate; too large flocks roosting on the sandbars
Great Blue Heron--5
Great Egret--3
Snowy Egret--6
Cattle Egret--2--One in the parking lot near Hooper's
Black-crowned Night-Heron--1
Clapper Rail--4; calling spontaneously, persistently
Black-bellied Plover--2; calling as we approached, two on the sandbars
Semipalmated Plover--2
American Oystercatcher--7
Willet--7
Ruddy Turnstone--7
Dunlin--21
Short-billed Dowitcher--15
Ring-billed Gull--3
Herring Gull--160
ICELAND GULL--1; strikingly white individual with dainty black bill; probably the same individual noted by Hans Holbrook and family recently; beware a very pale, molting Herring Gull that was present at the inlet for much of the day
Lesser Black-backed Gull--1 subadult
Great Black-backed Gull--85
Least Tern--5
Common Tern--46; just a fraction of the birds seen at the inlet
Forster's Tern--4
Royal Tern--10
Carolina Wren--1
Gray Catbird--1; singing in the scrub; song included a nice imitation of Seaside Sparrow
Common Yellowthroat--1
Song Sparrow--1
Red-winged Blackbird--2
Boat-tailed Grackle--2

Good birding!

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com