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Subject:

Southern Maryland--Glaucous Gull, Short-eared Owl, Common Eider

From:

Bill Hubick

Reply-To:

Bill Hubick

Date:

Sun, 6 Dec 2009 19:53:55 -0800

Hi Everyone,

Today I joined John Hubbell, Tom Feild, and Geraldine King to bird St. Mary's and Calvert Counties. We spent the morning at Point Lookout State Park and slowly worked our way north to Solomons in Calvert Co. Some of our highlights were the continuing COMMON EIDER found by Joe Hanfman on 11/29, a SHORT-EARED OWL on Cornfield Harbor Road, and a GLAUCOUS GULL at Solomons. (More on each below.) Here is the full list for Point Lookout and the somewhat abridged lists for elsewhere.

Point Lookout State Park

Tundra Swan--7
American Black Duck--3
Mallard--1
Greater Scaup--18
COMMON EIDER--1. ** Very rare away from Worcester Co. Female found on 11/29/09 by Joe Hanfman. Thanks, Joe! Photos. First for all of us away from coastal Worcester in Maryland.
Surf Scoter--16
Black Scoter--208. The vast majority was assembled just off the causeway, where they were very active and very vocal. We spent a lot of time there scanning and enjoying their strange nasal "waa" calls. Took a number of photos and some video.
dark-winged scoter sp.--2
Long-tailed Duck--35
Bufflehead--205
Common Goldeneye--23
Red-breasted Merganser--6
Red-throated Loon--1
Common Loon--12
Horned Grebe--2
Northern Gannet--6
Brown Pelican--7
Double-crested Cormorant--7
GREAT CORMORANT--1
Great Blue Heron--1
Black Vulture--6
Turkey Vulture--9
Bald Eagle--6
Sharp-shinned Hawk--1
Red-tailed Hawk--1
SANDERLING--1. Single bird on the large jetty north of the causeway.
Bonaparte's Gull--18. Flew by while we were scanning from the causeway.
Ring-billed Gull--34
Herring Gull (American)--56
Great Black-backed Gull--6
Forster's Tern--2
Mourning Dove--3
Red-bellied Woodpecker--1
Downy Woodpecker--3
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)--1
American Crow--4
Carolina Chickadee--7
Brown-headed Nuthatch--4
Carolina Wren--6
Winter Wren--3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet--1
Eastern Bluebird--12
Gray Catbird--3
Northern Mockingbird--4
Brown Thrasher--1
European Starling--45
American Pipit--1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)--95
Eastern Towhee--1
Song Sparrow--11
Fox Sparrow (Red)--15
White-throated Sparrow--14
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)--16
Northern Cardinal--11
Red-winged Blackbird--125
American Goldfinch--5

Cornfield Harbor Road

Great Blue Heron--1
Turkey Vulture--15
Bald Eagle--3
Red-tailed Hawk--2
Ring-billed Gull--1
Herring Gull (American)--2
SHORT-EARED OWL--1. * Flushed from the marsh along the road. First I've heard of at this location.

Long Neck Road

Great Blue Heron--2
Northern Harrier--1
American Kestrel--1
Killdeer--25
Eastern Bluebird--6
Savannah Sparrow (Eastern)--3
Song Sparrow--4
White-crowned Sparrow--5. Two seen closely were Eastern.
Red-winged Blackbird--75
Eastern Meadowlark--1

Beauvue Ponds

Canada Goose--270
Mute Swan--4
Tundra Swan--32
Gadwall--24
American Wigeon--2
Mallard--1
Ring-necked Duck--146
Hooded Merganser--4
Ruddy Duck--19
Pied-billed Grebe--2
Great Blue Heron--1
Turkey Vulture--17
Bald Eagle--1
Northern Harrier--1
Red-shouldered Hawk--1
Red-tailed Hawk--2
American Kestrel--1
American Coot--2
Ring-billed Gull--2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)--2
Eastern Bluebird--9
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)--2
Song Sparrow--1
Eastern Meadowlark--12

Rosebank Road

Canada Goose--150
Mallard--18
NORTHERN PINTAIL--2. * Two adult males. Strangely tough in the county!
Canvasback--7. Some of the first of the season
Ring-necked Duck--68
Lesser Scaup--7
Ruddy Duck--5
American Coot--6
Ring-billed Gull--27
Herring Gull (American)--2
Hairy Woodpecker--1
Blue Jay--1
Golden-crowned Kinglet--1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)--5

Solomons - Chesapeake Biological Laboratory Pier
(Joined by Tyler Bell, Jane Kostenko, and Kyle Rambo.)

Mallard--24
Long-tailed Duck--1
Bufflehead--78
Common Loon--5
Great Blue Heron--3
American Coot--14
LAUGHING GULL--1 adult. One of my later Laughing Gulls in Maryland.
Ring-billed Gull--155
Herring Gull (American)--235
GLAUCOUS GULL--1. ** Rare in the county. Beautiful first-cycle bird found floating beside the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory pier. An especially fresh and white individual; much larger than surrounding Herring Gulls with large bi-colored bill, dark eyes, all white primaries. Many photos and video. Went to roost on the pier at dusk, so very likely to be present at first light. County bird for everyone present.
Great Black-backed Gull--56

Photos: http://www.billhubick.com/photos/updates/20091206.php

Good birding!

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com