Hi Everyone,

Sunday was another memorable birding day on the Eastern Shore. We had an exciting flight on Assateague in the morning, enjoyed the abundant flooded fields in the afternoon, and of course made time to enjoy the SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER found by Jan Reese. Jim Brighton, Tom Feild, and I ended the day on the Nanticoke River in Vienna watching the unforgettable spectacle of thousands of PURPLE MARTINS going to roost.

I joined Jim Brighton, Tom Feild, Jim Green, Ron Gutberlet, and John Hubbell at dawn at Bayside, and we met up with Mike Burchett a bit later. The morning's highlights were great looks at a juvenile BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, a juvenile YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, and good numbers of AMERICAN REDSTARTs, EASTERN KINGBIRDs, and other migrant songbirds. Below is the full eBird list for Bayside, followed by abridged lists from the rest of the day.

BLUE-WINGED TEAL--2
Brown Pelican--8
Double-crested Cormorant--19
Great Blue Heron--5
Great Egret--7
Snowy Egret--6
Little Blue Heron--5
Tricolored Heron--9
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON--1; juvenile; finely patterned white spots on wings, all black bill, legs trailing well behind tail in flight
Glossy Ibis--46
Black-bellied Plover--5
Semipalmated Plover--1
American Oystercatcher--2
Spotted Sandpiper--1
Whimbrel (American)--4
Short-billed Dowitcher--4
Laughing Gull--40
Herring Gull (American)--22
Caspian Tern--5
Common Tern--1
Forster's Tern--2
Royal Tern--7
Mourning Dove--3
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO--1; * Rarely detected migrant; juvenile bird studied well via scope including light yellow eye, gray lower mandible, and distinctive undertail pattern; county bird for all except John 
Chimney Swift--5
Ruby-throated Hummingbird--1
hummingbird sp.--4
Wood-Pewee sp.--1; one silent individual seen; if you're feeling optimistic about finding an East Coast vagrant Western Wood-Pewee, September might be your best bet. (Get audio!) :)
EASTERN KINGBIRD--37
Fish Crow--32
Purple Martin--9
Tree Swallow--2
Barn Swallow--2
Carolina Wren--2
American Robin--6
Gray Catbird--7
Northern Mockingbird--1
Brown Thrasher--4; including one juvenile
European Starling--2
Cedar Waxwing--2
Yellow Warbler--7
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER--3; first migrants of the season for us
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER--12
AMERICAN REDSTART--59; about 20% adult males
NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH--2
warbler sp.--16
Northern Cardinal--2
Bobolink--4
Red-winged Blackbird--12
BALTIMORE ORIOLE--16
American Goldfinch--1

Assateague I. NS--Maintenance Yard

Great Egret--2
Least Sandpiper--2
Caspian Tern--1 flyby
Royal Tern--1 flyby
Eastern Wood-Pewee--1; heard calling
White-eyed Vireo--1
Blue Grosbeak--1
Bobolink--1
Baltimore Oriole--1

Assateague Island NS--Bayside Campground

Snowy Egret--6
Tricolored Heron--1
Glossy Ibis--24
Killdeer--1
Greater Yellowlegs--1
Lesser Yellowlegs--5
Laughing Gull--55
Forster's Tern--1
Royal Tern--1
Eastern Kingbird--1
Purple Martin--4
Bank Swallow--1
Yellow Warbler--4
Prairie Warbler--1; quietly singing full song
Black-and-white Warbler--4
American Redstart--2
Common Yellowthroat--1
Eastern Towhee--4; including nice looks at a juvenile
Bobolink--2
Boat-tailed Grackle--2

Assateague I. NS--Life of the Marsh

Great Egret--1
Snowy Egret--6
Tricolored Heron--1
Cattle Egret--2; one pony-riding
Glossy Ibis--40
Black-bellied Plover--2
Spotted Sandpiper--1 on the boardwalk
Purple Martin--1
Yellow Warbler--1
American Redstart--2
Common Yellowthroat--1; immature male
Eastern Towhee--4; inc. another juvenile
Bobolink--1

((Jim Brighton, Tom Feild, and I parted ways with the rest of the gang.))

Sudlersville--STFL Spot (see earlier posts for directions)

Cooper's Hawk--1
Solitary Sandpiper--1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird--1
SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER--We had just missed it when we arrived at 12:15 p.m., so after about 30 minutes, we decided to leave and come back. During our second watch, the bird abruptly flew in at 1:50 and hawked several large insects from the power line wires just south of the fruit stand. After posing nicely for photos, it eventually flew to the stand of trees to the southeast. 
Blue Grosbeak--1

Sudlersville Cemetery Road--a flooded field just off Rte 313, Queen Anne's Co.

Semipalmated Plover--2
Killdeer--25
Lesser Yellowlegs--14; closest individual was a very finely patterned juvenile
Semipalmated Sandpiper--10
Least Sandpiper--15
Pectoral Sandpiper--6
Horned Lark--75
Blue Grosbeak--1

Rte. 313 just north of the Caroline Co. line, Queen Anne's Co.

Black-bellied Plover--2
Semipalmated Plover--3
Killdeer--24
Greater Yellowlegs--2
Lesser Yellowlegs--4
Semipalmated Sandpiper--4
Western Sandpiper--1
Least Sandpiper--9
Pectoral Sandpiper--2
Laughing Gull--190
Horned Lark--11

A flooded field just east of Ridgely WWTP, Caroline Co.

Killdeer--25
Greater Yellowlegs--1
Lesser Yellowlegs--32
peep sp.--30

Auction Road at Route 16, Caroline Co.

Semipalmated Plover--2
Killdeer--15
Pectoral Sandpiper--3
Horned Lark--5
Blue Grosbeak--1
Bobolink--1

Tanyard Marsh, Caroline Co.

Wood Duck--5
Mallard--19
BLUE-WINGED TEAL--1
LESSER SCAUP--1; very ragged male in heavy wing molt; roosting on the edge of the marsh in a small, protected cove; Jim Brighton took many digiscoped images which show diagnostic LESC head shape.
Double-crested Cormorant--21
Common Moorhen--4
Semipalmated Plover--2
Killdeer--2
Semipalmated Sandpiper--2
Least Sandpiper--4
Laughing Gull--16
Caspian Tern--3
Forster's Tern--9

Town of Preston, Caroline Co.

Brown-headed Cowbird--250; stopped to scan a roadside cowbird flock for Shiny Cowbirds.

Hunting Creek, Caroline Co.

Forster's Tern--1
Bobolink--5

Hurlock WWTP

Mallard--62
Ruddy Duck--1
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER--1
Killdeer--14
Spotted Sandpiper--7
Solitary Sandpiper--1
Lesser Yellowlegs--6
Semipalmated Sandpiper--20
Least Sandpiper--60
Pectoral Sandpiper--6; flock of 4 flew by several times, giving nice views and repeatedly vocalizing
BLACK TERN--2; beautiful foraging duo in the later afternoon light
Chimney Swift--3
Purple Martin--35
Tree Swallow--200 
Bank Swallow--15
Barn Swallow--20
Bobolink--3

Shiloh Church Turf Farm, Dorchester Co.

UPLAND SANDPIPER--4; Great scope views as they foraged on the sod in the afternoon light
Eastern Meadowlark--9

Nanticoke at Vienna, Dorchester/Wicomico Counties

Dusk watch, thoroughly enjoying the fantastic concentration of Purple Martins. 

Laughing Gull--180
Ring-billed Gull--4
PURPLE MARTIN--2500; Known and truly impressive migrant Purple Martin roost. Should be experienced by all Maryland birders! Very conservative minimum estimate, but quite possibly thousands more.
Barn Swallow--12
Red-winged Blackbird--500
Common Grackle--200

Good birding!

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com