Hi all,
Hot but luckily a breeze today out on Poplar Island, Talbot Co., where Jan
Reese guided 20 birders around the impoundments. Jan told us there had been
a big "clear-out" of shorebirds since Monday including apparently all the
Stilts and Avocets but we managed to find enough to keep everyone
interested for the morning. The King Eider which has been hanging around
was, alas, elusive today. Though we missed the Oystercatchers which Jan had
seen earlier in the day, we scored with a nice Wilsonıs Phalarope as well as
good numbers of beautiful Black Terns.
Birds seen included (large round numbers are estimates):
Canada Goose 6
Am. Black Duck 6
Mallard 500
Surf Scoter 9
Ruddy Duck 1
Double-crested Cormorant 1000
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 30
Cattle Egret 1
Osprey 35
Bald Eagle 2 ad. 5 juv
Cooperıs Hawk 1
small falcon (prob Merlin) 1
Black-bellied Plover 15
Semipalmated Plover 50
Killdeer 10
Greater Yellowlegs 2 (rare on island)
Lesser Yellowlegs 200
Willet (Western) 5
Spotted Sandpiper 7
Ruddy Turnstone 6
Sanderling 50
Semipalmated Sandpiper 3000
Western SP 5
Least SP 45
WHITE-RUMPED SP 4
Pectoral SP 30
Dunlin 5
Stilt SP 35
Short-billed Dowitcher 15
WILSONıS PHALAROPE 1
Laughing Gull 125
Ring-billed Gull 30
Herring Gull 150
Greater Black-backed Gull 1600 (!)
Caspian Tern 3
Royal tern 1
Forsterıs Tern 60
Common Tern 1300
Least Tern 70
BLACK TERN 19 + 6 seen from boat en route to island
Fish Crow 14
Purple Martin 4
Bank Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 30
Eurasian Starling 20
Red-winged Blackbird 200
Brown-headed Cowbird 400
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Thanks to the Maryland Environmental Services for again accommodating us
with their boat and bus, to Robin and of course to Jan!
Gail Mackiernan & Barry Cooper
Colesville, MD |