Hey everyone-
John Dennehy and I ventured out to Town Hill yesterday in hopes of Golden Eagles, Goshawks, or something else interesting. With the northwest winds, conditions seemed very favorable for a good hawk flight. However, in 4 hours spent at Town Hill, a short time at Sideling Hill, then a short time at Dan's Rock, we came away with only Red-Tails and Turkey Vultures. A Ruffed Grouse sitting right on the road at Dan's Rock was a nice consolation prize.
Today, we left Baltimore at 3:30am and arrived at Irish Grove at 6:45. We located two SEDGE WRENS within minutes, and ended up with 6 or 7. Continuing at Rumbly Point Rd., we were able to find four SALTMARSH SPARROWS and one beautiful NELSON'S SPARROW.
We then headed to the OC Inlet, where we found no sign of the previously reported Harlequin Duck, but were happily surprised to find a male COMMON EIDER swimming a few feet from the near jetty. Light was tough, so photos dont really do the bird justice, but it was amazing to watch the bird diving and fighting the surf from only a few feet away. There were also two female eiders on the north side of the north jetty. Scanning of scoter rafts produced only Black and Surf, with Black being the most numerous. At least 60 NORTHERN GANNETS were plunge-diving offshore, providing continuous entertainment with their aerial displays.
We thought about stopping at West OC Pond, but decided instead to head west (I wish I'd checked MSOsprey earlier!). We were about 20 minutes outside of Ocean City when I got a text from Bill Hubick alerting us to a PIPING PLOVER on the beach at Assateague Island State Park. The plover would be a state bird for John, so we rushed back towards Assateague, and after some searching, were able to relocate the bird. The plover had a very interesting feeding technique, where it would tap its left foot a few times on the sand, then go in for the food. It repeated this process numerous times, always with the left foot. A great bird, thanks Bill!
Complete lists from the weekend:
Location: Town Hill Overlook
Observation date: 11/6/09
Number of species: 21
Common Loon 3
Turkey Vulture 6
Red-tailed Hawk 12
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 2
American Crow 8
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
American Robin 65
Gray Catbird 1
Cedar Waxwing 145
Eastern Towhee 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 3
Northern Cardinal 4
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 14
Location: Dan's Rock
Observation date: 11/6/09
Number of species: 7
Ruffed Grouse 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 2
Location: Irish Grove Sanctuary
Observation date: 11/7/09
Number of species: 25
Canada Goose 15
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 8
Bald Eagle 4
Virginia Rail 3
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Ring-billed Gull 11
Mourning Dove 3
Great Horned Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
American Crow 3
Fish Crow 5
Carolina Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 2
Brown-headed Nuthatch 6
Sedge Wren 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Hermit Thrush 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 24
White-throated Sparrow 2
Location: Rumbly Point
Observation date: 11/7/09
Number of species: 16
Canada Goose 28
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 3
Bald Eagle 1
Virginia Rail 2
Ring-billed Gull 6
Herring Gull 3
Tree Swallow 4
Sedge Wren 1
Marsh Wren 2
Savannah Sparrow 2
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow 1
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow 4
Red-winged Blackbird 6
Location: Ocean City Inlet
Observation date: 11/7/09
Number of species: 17
Brant 80
Common Eider 3
Surf Scoter 60
Black Scoter 220
Red-throated Loon 2
Northern Gannet 60
Double-crested Cormorant 15
Ruddy Turnstone 26
Sanderling 2
Purple Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 2
Laughing Gull 25
Ring-billed Gull 66
Herring Gull 32
Great Black-backed Gull 10
Rock Pigeon 1
House Sparrow 6
Location: Shell Rd., Assateague Island State Park, MD
Observation date: 11/7/09
Number of species: 13
Surf Scoter 190
Black Scoter 40
Red-breasted Merganser 7
Red-throated Loon 36
Northern Gannet 40
Semipalmated Plover 1
Piping Plover 1
Sanderling 7
Ring-billed Gull 15
Herring Gull 28
Great Black-backed Gull 18
Yellow-rumped Warbler 12
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
Photos of Common Eider, Sedge Wren, Saltmarsh Sparrow, and Piping Plover are up at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicobirdphotos/
Enjoy!
Nico Sarbanes
Baltimore, MD
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