I forgot to mention the shorebirds in pools along Rumbly Point Road on 24 May. These included:
10 Semipalmated Plover,
60 Semipalmated Plover,
1 Least Sandpiper,
1 Ruddy Turnstone.

Also, 4 Royal Terns with 10  Forster's Terns on the nets off Rumbly Point in the Bay.

Dave


 -----Original Message-----
From:   CURSON, David
Sent:   Tuesday, May 26, 2009 9:28 AM
To:     MD Osprey (E-mail)
Cc:     BUTCHER, Greg; CECIL, John; SANCHEZ, Constance; BONOMO, Jacquelyn; ELFNER, Mary; FIELD, Christopher; COMINS, Patrick
Subject:        Going for global at Irish Grove

Over the memorial Day weekend I visited Somerset County with Greg Butcher and Linda Fuller on a mission to determine whether the coastal marshes here qualify as a globally Important Bird Area. These marshes have already been identified as an IBA at the state level (Somerset-Wicomico Marshes IBA), and they support two species on the Red category of the Audubon/American Bird Conservancy WatchList http://web1.audubon.org/science/species/watchlist/  that are listed as globally Vulnerable (Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow) and globally Near-Threatened (Back Rail) respectively, by Birdlife International.

The question is, are populations of either of these 2 species high enough in Somerset and Wicomico Counties to give this IBA globally-important status? The global IBA threshold populations for both Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow and Black Rail are 10 breeding pairs or 30 individuals.

We used Bird Blitz surveys to count these and other salt marsh species. We stayed at the MOS Sanctuary at Irish Grove and on Sunday we Blitzed Rumbly Point Road, taking 3.5 hours to walk the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) length of road through the marsh. The marshes were alive with all the classic marsh birds: SEASIDE SPARROWS and SALTMARSH SHARP-TAILS were everywhere and gave great views by coming close to us on the road. Some (of both species) were carrying food for nestlings. We counted the sparrows with the help of scopes to spot them perched upto 200m away across the marsh. The air was filled with territorial calls of WILLETS, which turned to alarm calls as Fish Crows and NORTHERN HARRIERS flew over. BLACK DUCKS were much in evidence, including a single flock of 28 - perhaps failed breeders?  We watched a CLAPPER RAIL strutting down a tidal ditch and taking a half-hearted stab at a couple of snakes (couldn't tell which species) swimming by.  Small flocks of SNOWY EGRET  and GLOSSY IBIS flew in to forage from their nesting colonies on islands in the Chesapeake Bay.   It was a beautiful setting and perfect conditions for counting birds, with enough clouds to keep the sun covered and enough wind to keep the mosquitoes down.

Our counts didn't disappoint us. The 49 Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows show that this area is indeed of global importance for this species! Counts of all target species are below:

Rumbly Point Road, Somerset County. 24 May, 2009; 6:40-10:10am
Primary target species
   36  American Black Duck
     3  Bald Eagle
     3  Northern Harrier
   12  Clapper Rail
   49  Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow
  123 Seaside Sparrow
     1  Swamp Sparrow (Coastal Plain subspecies)

Secondary target species (marsh bird assemblage)
     3  Virginia Rail
    18  Willet
    11  Marsh Wren

A late evening excursions down Rumbly Point Rd at 9:30pm on 24 May yielded 8 Virginia Rails and 3 Clapper Rails. The previous evening we heard one KING RAIL there. We also drove some of the roads a little inland from Irish Grove in the evning but heard no Chuck-will's Widows calling, perhaps due to fairly strong winds and a new moon.

The next day we Blitzed the North Trail of Irish Grove Sanctuary, which cuts right through the marsh to the NW of the house. The marsh here has a very different character than at Rumbly Pt Rd, being dominated by dense stands of black needlerush rather than the low open meadows of Spartina grasses at Rumbly Pt. Seaside Sparrows were as common as yesterday but we found no sharp-tails, which require Spartina meadows. Other differences from yesterday were the greater abundance of Marsh Wrens and the absence of Willets. Counts of all target species:

Irish Grove Sanctuary, North Trail. 25 May, 2009; 6:35-8:00am  (0.6 km)
Primary target species
     5  American Black Duck
     2  Northern Harrier
     1  Clapper Rail
   21 Seaside Sparrow
     1  Swamp Sparrow (Coastal Plain subspecies)

Secondary target species (marsh bird assemblage)
     3  Virginia Rail
    17  Marsh Wren


We could certainly use counts of Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed and Seaside Sparrows from other parts of Somerset-Wicomico Marshes IBA as well as the other coastal marsh IBAs on the eastern shore (Southern Dorchester, Maryland Coastal Bays, Central Chesapeake Islands IBAs).  If anyone is plans on birding places like Fairmount WMA, Deal Island, Ellis Bay WMA, E. A. Vaughn WMA, Elliott Island Rd etc this summer and feels crazy enough for an intensive count of marsh birds then please let me or David Yeany know and use Bird Blitz forms to capture your counts.  Bird Blitz materials available at http://www.audubonmddc.org/SciCon_IBAs.html

Good birding!

Dave

David Curson, PhD
Director of Bird Conservation,
Audubon MD-DC,
2437 Eastern Avenue,
Baltimore  MD  21224
Tel: (410) 558 2473
E-mail: