3/1 - 10 Mallard, 3 Amer Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, 2 Woodies plus Swan, Canadas and the 1 Snow continue at the Kinder Rd location. A Gadwall in Caroline that is sticking around....who needs it for their county list?
Glen
From: Lovelace Glen (DelDOT)
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2010 8:18 AM
To:
Subject: RE: Caroline Ducks
Good morning,
Caroline duck update:
2/26 - 5 American Wigeon with the geese and swans at the sharp bend in Kinder Rd. Only my 4th record here since '94.
2/27 - Mallard and Wood Duck arrive at Kinder Rd. The 2 Gadwall re-locate here. One male Bobwhite found along Oak Grove Rd because a brown blob stood out against a remaining snow bank. Also a flock of pipits in the field at the NW corner of Kinder and N. Oak Grove Rd.
2/28 - 5 Green-wing Teal join the Mallard (4), Wood Duck (11), Gadwall (2), swans (50), Canada Geese (1100), Snow Goose (1) on Kinder Rd. 10th record for teal. FOY YR Warbler on Oak Grove Rd. The recent influx of ducks brought my home list total to 69, a record for the end of February.
I took a little bit longer spin around the area, going down Oak Grove Rd, Davis Mill Rd and Adams Rd in the edge of Dorchester Co. and Guard Rd in Caroline. There was something like 3000 swans in several groups. The largest concentration was on Adams Rd along with a few Snow Geese, but no other ducks were found.
Good birding,
Glen Lovelace III
Seaford, DE
From: Lovelace Glen (DelDOT)
Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2010 7:50 AM
To:
Subject: RE: Get Ready for Caroline Ducks
Hello again,
Yesterday the puddles emerged from the melting snow (instead of saturated slush spots in the snow cover) and, bingo, there were birds. About dusk yesterday, I found a flock of Snow Geese, about 75 Swan and the first arrival of ducks - 2 male Gadwalls. Now they did have the indecency to be on the DE side of the line (on North Oak Grove Rd at the east end of Kinder Rd), but it goes to my point. These Gadwall were the first for my home list since 2003 and only the 3rd ever. Inland ducks really are hard to come by.
Good birding,
Glen Lovelace III
Seaford, DE
From: Lovelace Glen (DelDOT)
Sent: Monday, February 22, 2010 9:13 AM
To:
Subject: Get Ready for Caroline Ducks
Hello All,
I finally got out yesterday morning to do a little birding around Oak Grove after the last two weeks occupied with snow removal and then being sick. The most interesting find was the collection of geese and swans found at the sharp bend in Kinder Rd (southern tip of Caroline Co.). There were 500 swans, 1100 Canada Geese, 2000 Snow Geese and a single Ross' Goose. It seems an odd spot for geese and swans as it is not that large of a field and has woods on three sides (I have never seen such numbers here in 15 years). Maybe it was the unharvested soybeans in part of the field. 4 Killdeer have returned, on schedule, but perhaps a bit early for conditions. Beyond that, birding was very slow. Many of the songbirds seems to have cleared out.
And now my plug....As many of you know, waterfowl in Caroline are a challenge. But the snowmelt may present a good opportunity if experience tells me anything. At home at Oak grove, there is a very small window to find any numbers of ducks. The has to be large puddles in the fields at the end of February or early March. It happened after the ice storms in '94 and after the large snow in '03 and conditions would seem to be set up for it again. In '03, I had a flock of 250 Pintail and Oak Grove Rd on 3/1 or 3/2. Seriously, 250 Pintail in Caroline Co.
So check out Oak Grove Rd, Kinder Rd, the large puddle 1 mile north of Reliance on MD 577 (just south of Oak Grove Rd), Guard Rd in my area. Try the pastures at White Rd and Handy Rd, east of Federalsburg. Try the fields north of Hynson (American Corner Rd and MD318) Try the Line Rd farm pond, east of MD 313. Try the large puddle in the SE corner of Garland Rd and Baker Rd, east of Denton. For that matter the photos on Google maps still show the aftermath of the '06 floods. All of those little dark, wet spots have potential now. Have fun searching.
Good birding,
Glen Lovelace III
Seaford, DE |