Message:

[

Previous   Next

]

By Topic:

[

Previous   Next

]

Subject:

Lower Shore Highlights, 8/23

From:

Bill Hubick

Reply-To:

Bill Hubick

Date:

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:54:47 -0700

Hi Everyone,

I spent Sunday (8/22) birding Worcester and Somerset Counties with Mikey Lutmerding. We arrived at Bayside on Assateague before sunrise and found the humid pre-dawn swarming with mosquitos. They were formidable, even for August. Fortunately the heron flight was distracting and equally impressive (see totals below). 

There were great birds throughout the day, which I'll note in-line in the slightly abridged eBird reports below. As noted earlier, our big thrill was a probable adult ARCTIC TERN roosting at Skimmer Island. Here are some preliminary comments that I entered in eBird:

tern sp.--1. ** Strong candidate for Arctic Tern observed for several minutes. Field notes and sketch created in the field by Mikey Lutmerding and will be submitted to MD/DCRC. Mikey took some distant photos just as it became partially blocked by a Royal Tern. Immediately recognized it as a strong candidate for an adult Arctic Tern based on the following: 
- tiny, stubby all red bill
- very gray underparts, with gray continuing all the way to throat. 
- short legs, which were conspicuously, significantly shorter than those of a Common Tern beside it. The full legs and feet were visible, ruling out optical illusion. 

Here's the full list for Bayside, followed by somewhat shortened lists for other sites.

Assateague I. NS--Bayside

Brown Pelican--28. Flew by in one flock.
Double-crested Cormorant--14
Great Blue Heron--3
Great Egret--19
Snowy Egret--133. Impressive flight this morning.
Little Blue Heron--207. Great flight observed in full and carefully counted.
Tricolored Heron--87. Carefully counted all individuals in the morning flight. 
Cattle Egret--20. Exact count. Left roost after all of the other herons.
white egret sp.--64
Green Heron--3
Black-crowned Night-Heron--2
Glossy Ibis--61
Turkey Vulture--4
Semipalmated Plover--1
American Oystercatcher--2
Spotted Sandpiper--1
Greater Yellowlegs--2
Willet (Western)--2
Sanderling--1
Least Sandpiper--10
Laughing Gull--147
Herring Gull (American)--6
Great Black-backed Gull--2
Caspian Tern--3
Common Tern--3
Forster's Tern--2
Royal Tern--12
Mourning Dove--1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo--1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird--1
Belted Kingfisher--1
Eastern Wood-Pewee--1
Great Crested Flycatcher--1. Small push detected today.
Eastern Kingbird--18. Migrants continue to increase.
White-eyed Vireo--2
Fish Crow--43
Purple Martin--2
Barn Swallow--5
Carolina Wren--6
Gray Catbird--12
Northern Mockingbird--2
Brown Thrasher--7
European Starling--142
Cedar Waxwing--2
CAPE MAY WARBLER--1 female. Mikey only.
Yellow Warbler--6
Yellow-throated Warbler--1
Black-and-white Warbler--1
American Redstart--6
Prothonotary Warbler--1. Only my second on Assateague.
Ovenbird--1
Common Yellowthroat--1
warbler sp.--2
Eastern Towhee--1
Northern Cardinal--6
Bobolink--1
Red-winged Blackbird--27
Boat-tailed Grackle--42. Many juveniles. Feeding on berries. Two males with no tail feathers. 28 in a single flock.
Orchard Oriole--1. Likely our last of the year.
Baltimore Oriole--3

Assateague Island NS--Bayside Campground

Great Egret--11
Snowy Egret--9
Little Blue Heron--23
Tricolored Heron--7
Osprey--1
Black-bellied Plover--1
Semipalmated Plover--4
American Oystercatcher--2
Greater Yellowlegs--2
Lesser Yellowlegs--2
Least Sandpiper--4
Short-billed Dowitcher--1
Short-billed Dowitcher (Prairie)--1--One obvious adult hendersoni in near full alternate plumage
Laughing Gull--180
Herring Gull (American)--11
LEAST TERN--3. Flew over, low and calling. Getting late.
Forster's Tern--7
Royal Tern--17
Yellow-billed Cuckoo--2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird--1
Downy Woodpecker--2
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH--1. Mikey only.
Great Crested Flycatcher--4
Eastern Kingbird--3
White-eyed Vireo--4
Tree Swallow--35
Brown Thrasher--5
Yellow Warbler--2
Prairie Warbler--1
American Redstart--2
Common Yellowthroat--2
Eastern Towhee--6
Blue Grosbeak--1
Boat-tailed Grackle--15
Baltimore Oriole--3

Assateague I. NS--Ferry Landing

Brown Pelican--4
Snowy Egret--4
Little Blue Heron--1
Cattle Egret--1. Pony-riding
Glossy Ibis--1
Plegadis sp.--2
Least Sandpiper--7
White-rumped Sandpiper--2
Short-billed Dowitcher--1
Caspian Tern--7
Forster's Tern--1
Royal Tern--4
Belted Kingfisher--1
Eastern Kingbird--1
Tree Swallow--250. First big gathering of the season for me.
Barn Swallow--10
Boat-tailed Grackle--2

Assateague I. NS--Sea watch from Life of the Dunes
* Many Bottlenose Dolphins visible.

Wilson's Storm-Petrel--2
Northern Gannet--4. Three adults and a subadult. My first in August, and my first of the season. 
Brown Pelican--6
Willet (Western)--5
Ruddy Turnstone--1
Sanderling--20
Laughing Gull--55
Ring-billed Gull--2
Herring Gull (American)--9
Great Black-backed Gull--5
Black Tern--11
Common Tern--3
Royal Tern--2

Bayside Development Pond

Great Egret--4
Snowy Egret--2
Little Blue Heron--4
Tricolored Heron--1
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON--1. * Scarce. Juvenile flushed from the marsh edge, where it was probably feeding on fiddler crabs. Noted finely patterned upperparts and long trailing legs as well as overall structure. Flew to roost in a pine.
Glossy Ibis--1. Landed awkwardly in a treetop with two immature Little Blues.
Osprey--3
Black-bellied Plover--1
American Oystercatcher--2
Willet (Western)--2
Least Sandpiper--3
Short-billed Dowitcher--1
shorebird sp.--200. Distant shorebirds backlit and in the heat shimmer
Laughing Gull--10
Herring Gull (American)--5
Tree Swallow--80
Blue Grosbeak--1

Ocean City Airport

Killdeer--43
Horned Lark--1
Eastern Meadowlark--1

Ocean City--Skimmer Island
((See previous post for Hooper's Crab House access notes))

Brown Pelican--27
Double-crested Cormorant--16
Great Blue Heron--2
Snowy Egret--4
Little Blue Heron--2
Cattle Egret--4
Black-crowned Night-Heron--1. Very young juvenile on the island.
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON--1. Bill only. Juvenile flushed into water bush in parking lot. Noted fine whie patterning on upperparts and long legs extending beyond tail in flight. 
Semipalmated Plover--89
American Oystercatcher--4
Willet (Western)--2
MARBLED GODWIT--2. Rare but regular. Continuing. Noted huge size, large bicolored slightly upturned bill, cinnamon-colored plumage. Considered and ruled out Bar-tailed. 
Ruddy Turnstone--5
Sanderling--142
Semipalmated Sandpiper--15
Least Sandpiper--6
Short-billed Dowitcher--10
Laughing Gull--32
Herring Gull (American)--25
Great Black-backed Gull--10
Caspian Tern--2
Common Tern--43
Forster's Tern--3
Royal Tern--68
Sandwich Tern--9
tern sp.--1. See notes above. 

West Ocean City Pond

Wood Duck--14
American Black Duck--7
American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid)--5
Mallard--105
Blue-winged Teal--1
Green-winged Teal--1
Pied-billed Grebe--2
Great Egret--5
Little Blue Heron--13
Glossy Ibis--6
Greater Yellowlegs--1
Semipalmated Sandpiper--4

Truitts Landing 
** Water level is very high.

Wild Turkey--3. Adult with two poults crossed the road.
Snowy Egret--2
Semipalmated Plover--8
Greater Yellowlegs--1
Semipalmated Sandpiper--4
Least Sandpiper--3

Pocomoke SF--Fleming Mill (Somerset Co.)
* Similar species in Worcester

Yellow-billed Cuckoo--2
Eastern Wood-Pewee--3
Acadian Flycatcher--1 
White-eyed Vireo--2 
Yellow-throated Vireo--1
White-breasted Nuthatch--1 (Somerset only)
Black-and-white Warbler--1
Non-avian: Cyrano Darner over the stream.

Wellington WMA
Expected species in good numbers.
Non-avian: Northern Black Racer, Common Checkered Skipper.

Messick Road

Canada Goose--165
Mallard--29
Double-crested Cormorant--52
Great Egret--3
Glossy Ibis--2. Pond edge
Osprey--7
Semipalmated Plover--2
Least Sandpiper--5
Laughing Gull--51
Royal Tern--47
Eastern Kingbird--3
Purple Martin--15
Barn Swallow--3

Wenona

Brown Pelican--1
Great Egret--3
Snowy Egret--2
Osprey--3
Laughing Gull--25
Herring Gull (American)--18
Great Black-backed Gull--2
Royal Tern--7

Deal Island--Riley Roberts Rd

American Black Duck--17
Great Egret--18
Snowy Egret--3
Little Blue Heron--1
Tricolored Heron--1
Glossy Ibis--8
Osprey--2
Bald Eagle--1
Greater Yellowlegs--2
Lesser Yellowlegs--2
Laughing Gull--5
Yellow-billed Cuckoo--1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird--2
Eastern Wood-Pewee--1
Eastern Kingbird--1
White-eyed Vireo--3
Brown-headed Nuthatch--4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher--3
American Redstart--1
Common Yellowthroat--1
Song Sparrow--2
Indigo Bunting--1

Stockyard Road Turf Farm, Wicomico/Somerset Counties
* Former sod fields are in corn during this fall shorebird migration. 

Old Railroad Road Ponds, Wicomico Co.
* Checked the ponds in the pouring rain. No shorebirds.
American Kestrel--1. Flew by in the rain.

For anyone interested, I posted some new photos from a July trip to Panama at http://www.billhubick.com/photos/updates/20100823.php

Good birding!

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com