RIGBY’S FOLLY, FERRY NECK, TALBOT COUNTY, MARYLAND, July 27-30, 2009.
MONDAY, JULY 27. 3P.M.-dark only. Fair becoming mostly overcast, 87-78, calm – SE 5-15+. The presumed crippled Horned Grebe is out in the cove all 4 days of this visit. 5 Snow Egrets, incl. 4 kettling over Edwards Point, unusual behavior. 1 imm. Bald Eagle. 16 Ospreys in sight simultaneously (I.S.S.), I think a new high here for Ospreys I.S.S. For the first time, curiously, there is a large young Osprey in the nest at the head of the cove. 5 Forster’s Terns. 2 Diamondback Terrapin. 1000s of Sea Netlles (jellyfish) in the cove. 50 Canada Geese.
SITTIN’ ON A DOCK BY THE BAY. Do a watch for a couple of hours and am surprised to see 65 Common Grackles, 60 Red-winged Blackbirds, and 10 Eastern Kingbirds staging an apparent flight into the SE wind late in the day; where they come from and where they go something of a minor mystery.
Recently, according to the lady at the vegetable stand at Town and Country, there was a storm with strong winds, some rain, and mothball-sized hail locally. Many sizeable limbs are down or else twisted and bent at our place. Our fields are finally planted today. See a very furry Red Fox each of these 4 days.
TUESDAY, JULY 28. Mostly overcast becoming fair, calm to SW 5-10, 76-91, hot, still 84 at 8:45 P.M. Great Horned Owl calling at 5:30 A.M. 60 robins and 35 cowbirds forage actively in the newly-tilled soil on the e. end of Field 4. Butterflies: Tiger Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Common Wood Nymph, Little Wood Satyr, Pearlcrescent, Red-spotted Purple, American Lady. Very few rabbits this year perhaps due to the burgeoning presence of foxes and horned owls. More Fireflies, finally, including one that glows continuously. Cut up and removed broken tree limbs. Shoreline erosion control work has finally begun in back of the Field 1 blind.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29. Fair to mostly overcast, SW 5-10-20, 78-88-80-78, 4 periods of rain late in the daylight period, 2 of them inconsequential, 2 considerable, and amounting to a very much-needed solid inch of precipitation. This 2 days after the fields are planted … perfect. Plus there was a little rain last night, too. Kennedy Lawn Service arrives at 7:05 A.M. and finishes our lawn, circa 3 acres, in 15 minutes flat. The Barn Swallow nest under the catwalk is still solidly in place, lined with very soft, large white feathers, with nothing supporting it other than whatever the birds put in place on a vertical surface. They are engineers. Just e. of the launching ramp there is an empty but this year’s Red-winged Blackbird nest 4.5’ up in an Iva frutescens bush. Liz sees a Five-lined Skink. 1 adult Bald Eagle. 3 Great Egrets. 65 robins. Common Whitetails along the driveway. We do not see any Fowler’s Toads during this (and the last) visit. 78 degrees F. and a steambath after the rain at 10:15 P.M. Ben & Frances Weems see 10 Wild Turkeys here.
THURSDAY, JULY 30. Fair, 77-85, NW10, lower humidity today. A migrating immature Caspian Tern passing through. 2 Snowy Egrets seen at a distance on the north side of Irish Creek. 1 Bald Eagle. 3 Black Vultures. The Horned Grebe is still in the cove, its resplendent breeding plumage starting to fade; it spends a lot of time preening, and is seldom seen diving, but seems healthy, other than the fact that it should be in some place such as northern Manitoba at this time of year. 1 Red-tailed Hawk. Butterflies: 11 Common Wood Nymphs and 1 Monarch. In the aftermath of yesterday’s rain robins are all over the lawn. Spent 2 hours cutting small trees on the sides of the Olszewski Trails, mostly Sweet Gums. Yesterday’s rains resulted in no standing water on those trails but Lake Olszewski does have several inches of water now.
Met with the 2 contractors, an engineering company representative, and a state permit person at 12:30 P.M. concerning shoreline erosion control. After over 8 months of waiting apparently the permitting is finally complete. Not a word or gesture from the state person about the long delay … no apologies needed apparently. It is enough to turn me into a Republican. Some areas between our launching ramp on the east end of the lawn and the marsh at the mouth of the cove are best dealt with by installing what is called a living shoreline, we were told. We shall see how long it lives. Now that it is almost August it seems a poor time of year for planting Spartina alterniflora. Except for the contractors, minimal or no interest was shown in my volunteer comments on my over 40 years of land stewardship here. After all, you don’t just show up and do your job without engaging in a little small talk, or so I thought. I gave all 4 present copies of my Maryland’s Everglades, joking that there would be a test and that if they did not spell Spartina cynosuroides correctly that would mean an automatic D-. This was taken in the light-hearted manner it was intended. All’s well that ends well.
ADDENDA TO MY REPORT OF JULY 16-21. At Crisfield on July 19 one of the boats, coming from the western shore somewhere, had a Carolina Wren nest with several large young inside the cover to the trailer’s spare tire. This was not discovered until just before launching. At Rigby’s Folly over the years we have had nests inside my white waterman’s boots, in the boat trailer, in the boat, in the bicycle basket, inside a hardhat, inside the Propane gas tank lid, over the front door sill … you name it. I neglected to list Diane Cole as one of the participants in the pelican banding that date. Normally when one is close to a large pelican chick it will scurry away or else strike at you. On July 19 a large one just stood right next to me, so close I could reach down and stroke the back of its head, which it allowed me to do without protest. I made a point, while we were regrouping, to stand so that it was sheltered from the sun in my shadow. After several hours of banding I once had a hand cramp, couldn’t open my hand, but after a few minutes of rest it was O.K. for the rest of the day. East of Holland Island on July 20 there was a substantial growth of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), Ruppia maritima I think. It reminded me of the old days, before 1970, when one had to stop frequently to free the outboard propeller of such grasses. At Poplar Island on July 21 we saw 11 Surf Scoters in one group.
BASEBALL GAME, Philadelphia, July 26. Bob Ake treated me, Liz, and Rob Harting to this game. We saw: Peregrine Falcon, Eastern Kingbird, Ring-billed & Laughing gulls, House Sparrow, starling, Common Grackle, Barn Swallow, pigeon, mockingbird, and Chimney Swift. The swifts were especially impressive, actively hunting within the stadium confines in spite of all the noise and hoopla and 45,000 fans. Oh … and Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Raul Ibañez all hit 2-run homeruns. Phillies 9, Cardinals 2.
Best to all. – Harry Armistead.
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