Dan Haas <> wrote:

>I set the alarm for 3:30 and made my way down to Bayside for an
>absolutely beautiful morning flight on the shore.  The winds were
>slight, and most passerines only stopped (if at all) for a moment
>before making the jump to the mainland.  I was the only person out
>there, so counting was tricky and most numbers are best estimates.  I
>did, however, take extra care tallying the morning heron/egret flight.
>After a very brief visit to the beach near the entrance to the ORV
>zone, I checked out the Life of the Forest trail and then made my way
>to the Murray Sod Farm in N Worcester.  I also hit the sod farm on Log
>Cabin Road before making my way home.  I do love election days.
>
>Location:     Assateague I. NS--Bayside
>Observation date:     9/14/10
>Notes:     Gull-billed Tern flew North directly over the beach parking
>lot, offering clear views.  The White Ibis were, all three immatures,
>feeding with the many herons and egrets in the marsh behind the
>campgrounds (scoped from the B section).
>Number of species:     50
>
>Pied-billed Grebe     1
>Brown Pelican     1
>Double-crested Cormorant     12
>AMERICAN BITTERN     1 (took part in the morning heron flight, flying
>Northeast over the parking lot)
>Great Blue Heron     4
>Great Egret     48
>Little Blue Heron     33
>Tricolored Heron     28
>WHITE IBIS     3 (not observed during the morning flight, but found
>foraging later in the AM with the other waders)
>Black Vulture     1 (drinking water from the campground water source)
>Osprey     3
>Merlin     1
>Black-bellied Plover     1
>American Oystercatcher     2
>Ruddy Turnstone     1
>Semipalmated Sandpiper     2
>Laughing Gull     250
>Ring-billed Gull     55
>Herring Gull     13
>GULL-BILLED TERN     1
>Caspian Tern     7
>Common Tern     8
>Forster's Tern     3
>Royal Tern     29
>Mourning Dove     3
>Downy Woodpecker     1
>Eastern Kingbird     1
>White-eyed Vireo     1
>Fish Crow     5
>Carolina Wren     11
>House Wren     4
>Gray Catbird     23
>Northern Mockingbird     14
>Brown Thrasher     25 (conservative estimate)
>European Starling     550
>Cedar Waxwing     15
>Yellow Warbler     1
>Magnolia Warbler     5
>Cape May Warbler     1
>Black-throated Green Warbler     4
>Pine Warbler     2
>Palm Warbler     1 (yellow)
>Blackpoll Warbler     1
>American Redstart     18
>warbler sp.     25
>Summer Tanager     1
>Scarlet Tanager     2
>Northern Cardinal     13
>Red-winged Blackbird     28
>Boat-tailed Grackle     22
>Baltimore Oriole     12
>
>Location:     Assateague Island National Seashore
>Observation date:     9/14/10
>Number of species:     11
>
>Double-crested Cormorant     12
>Bald Eagle     1
>Willet     2
>Sanderling     5
>Laughing Gull     19
>Ring-billed Gull     7
>Herring Gull     1
>Great Black-backed Gull     5
>Royal Tern     5
>Red-winged Blackbird     3
>Boat-tailed Grackle     2
>
>Location:     Assateague I. NS--Life of the Forest
>Observation date:     9/14/10
>Number of species:     15
>
>Clapper Rail     1
>Caspian Tern     1
>Downy Woodpecker     1
>Hairy Woodpecker     1
>Eastern Wood-Pewee     1
>Great Crested Flycatcher     1
>Red-eyed Vireo     1
>Carolina Chickadee     4
>Red-breasted Nuthatch     1
>Carolina Wren     3
>Swainson's Thrush     1
>Pine Warbler     3
>Black-and-white Warbler     1
>Baltimore Oriole     2
>American Goldfinch     1
>
>Location:     Murray Sod Farm
>Observation date:     9/14/10
>Notes:     All but two of the distant plovers showed dark rumps in
>flight. There was one probable Baird's Sand in the mix.  It looked
>like a Pectoral, but with a smudgy breast with no distinct demarkation
>line.
>Number of species:     11
>
>Black Vulture     2
>Turkey Vulture     5
>Black-bellied Plover     2
>AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER     9
>Semipalmated Plover     8
>Killdeer     9
>Pectoral Sandpiper     2
>BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER     6
>American Crow     7
>Tree Swallow     1
>Brown-headed Cowbird     55
>
>Location:     Log Cabin Road - Wicomico
>Observation date:     9/14/10
>Notes:     The Buffies have landed!  Three more here this afternoon
>made 9 total for the day. I did not observe the American Golden Plover
>reported by Sam and Carol.  All of the shorebirds were on the western
>edge of this farm.
>Number of species:     8
>
>Turkey Vulture     1
>Semipalmated Plover     10
>Killdeer     19
>Least Sandpiper     1
>BAIRD'S SANDPIPER     1  (foraging alongside one of the Buffies.
>Smudgy breast, long primary extension)
>BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER     3
>American Crow     45
>Horned Lark     15
>
>This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
>
>On the way home,  I stopped at the Northbound parking lot in Cambridge
>for the fishing pier (old bridge).  There I greeted one Peregrine
>Falcon on her regular perch at the tallest portion of the middle of
>the bridge.  For any falcon enthusiasts, if you're up for a walk, one
>can travel to the end of this pier / bridge and get some fairly
>up-close viewing of this bird in it's regular spot.
>
>Good Birding,
>
>Dan
>West Annapolis, MD
>