Hi Everybody:
I spent Tuesday night in Rock Hall which is about a 15 minute drive north of Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Kent County. I started down Eastern Neck Road at about 5:45 AM and pulled over several times to listen for owls. On my 3rd or 4th pullover I heard an Eastern Screech Owl calling and then heard a second one answering from the opposite side of the road. For several minutes they called back and forth. The E. Screech Owl was a County Bird. I was surprised that I did not hear any Great Horned Owls calling (which I have heard along this stretch of road in the past).
I spent about 7 hours on the refuge and had a very delightful day. The leaves were at their autumn peak, I had a mix of sun and clouds and the wind was much more subdued than was expected. Other than a few fisherman I felt like I had the entire refuge to myself.
It was interesting to compare Walter and Nancy's post from their BIG SIT over the weekend (which I had read before leaving on my 2-day trip) and also Bob Ringler's Monday visit (which I read last night after returning home) with the birds that I saw on Wednesday and how one or two nights can make a difference. The Big Sit was locked down looking over the water so their numbers of waterfowl were higher. I saw only Mallards, Black Ducks and one N. Pintail. I did not find either the Hermit Thrush or the Black-throated Blue Warbler that Bob had. I did have a number of migrants; some of the highlights included Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Blue-headed Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, Nashville and Magnolia Warblers, Lincoln's Sparrow and Rusty Blackbird. Also, as Bob Ringler witnessed Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers WERE seemingly everywhere.
Below is an abridged list of the birds I saw in Eastern Neck NWR:
A. Black Duck 65
N. Pintail 1
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 10
Red-shoulderd Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Forster's Tern 68
E. Screech Owl 1 (heard calling near Bogle's Wharf Road at 9 A.M.)
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4 (FOS)
N. Flicker 12
E. Phoebe 4
Tree Swallow 15
N. Rough-winged Swallow 3 (sitting on the telephone wires near the butterfly garden)
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown-headed Nuthatch 9
House Wren 2
Winter Wren 3 (a County Bird)
Golden-crowned Kinglet 11
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 35 (It seemed like every small pocket of birds had several)
Swainson's Thrush 2 (a County Bird)
Gray Catbird 2
Brown Thrasher 4
Blue-headed Vireo 1 (a County bird) (This bird was singing off and on for 10 minutes)
Nashville Warbler 1 (a County Bird) (on the edge of woods behind the visitor's center)
Magnolia Warbler 1 (a County Bird)
Palm Warbler 22 (4 Western & 18 Yellow) and there were probably more than this
Common Yellowthroat 1
E. Towhee 11
Chipping sparrow 7
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 16
Lincoln's Sparrow 1 (a County Bird)
Swamp sparrow 24 The Lincoln's and vast majority of the Swamps were in the overgrown field
on the right as you walk out from the butterfly garden parking lot
White-throated Sparrow 7
White-crowned Sparrow 7 (seen in 2 different locations and all 7 were immatures)
Dark-eyed Junco 6 (FOS)
Red-winged Blackbirds 12
Rusty Blackbirds 3 (a County Bird) (rummaging in the leaves along Bogle's Wharf Road and then
flew up into a tree and gave their best rusty swinging gate imitation)
I left the refuge about 1 PM and quickly checked out a few other places before gradually heading home. Along Eastern Neck Road I saw several A. Kestrels and 1 Lesser Yellowlegs. I stopped to scan a farm pond on Rt. 20 which was several hundred yards back from the road. Among the many Canada geese was a single Great Egret. What was more interesting was the grassy field in front of the pond which had at least 9 very active Eastern Meadowlarks. They were singing and repeatedly flying short distances and landing. The grass was short enough so that their vivid yellow color showed clearly even when on the ground.
I stopped quickly at Chesapeake Farms and scanned the waterfowl (dominated by Canada Geese). The only ducks I was able to pick out were Shovelers, Pintail, Mallards and Green-winged Teal. I spent about a half hour scanning the several hundred Snow Geese at Great Oak Pond. The majority of them were on the bank or hillside and it did not take long to pick out the Ross's Goose (a County Bird) which was previously reported. I then stopped by the Chestertown Wastewater Treatment Facilities and after several scans found the Red-necked Phalarope at the very far end of the ponds (my last County bird for the day). Thanks to all who found these last 2 birds and continued to post there status. I thought that it was very interesting to watch the feeding habits of the Phalarope. It would not merely pick off of the surface but many times it would quickly submerge its entire head and come up with food.
On my way back home I saw a Northern Harrier on Leverage Road in Queen Anne's County and then spent a futile half- hour at the intersection of Round Top and Kibler Roads (also QA County) in the hopes that the Northern Shrike reported by Dan Small happened to invade public lands near Chino Farms.
All in all I had a very successful and enjoyable visit. For those that have never been there it is a beautiful place to visit, especially this time of year and the birding is usually very good. I had one eye out the whole time (at Bill hubick's request) for a vagrant flycatcher but the Phoebes were the only representative from this family of birds. If you are planning on visiting contact them ahead of time because like most NWR's this time of year there are some days when they are closed to the public for hunting. The office phone number is (410)-639-7056.
Jim Green
Gaithersburg, MD
work in moderation, BIRD IN EXCESS!!! |