15th DORCHESTER COUNTY, MD, FALL BIRD COUNT, Saturday, September 18, 2010.
With 15 observers in 8 parties this was the most widespread coverage ever for either a spring or fall count in this large county that has very few resident birders. Shorebirds were scarce. There was a moderate fallout of passerines & neotropical migrants. The Taylor’s Island party had an impressive flight of raptors. North Taylor’s Island, little-birded, may be the best area in Dorchester in the fall for raptors and passerines. For many species the number of parties that encountered them is included to give some rough idea of how widespread these birds may (or may not) be. The weather was pleasant, sunny, and cool with light winds. 143 species. Number of individual birds not totalled up yet.
ABBREVIATIONS: BNWR, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. ECC, East-central county areas. EIR, Elliott Island Road. ESC, extreme south county areas. HI, Hooper’s Island. L, Linkwood. N50, north of Route 50. ND, Neck District. SH, Swan Harbor. TI, Taylor’s Island.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time deliberating over these results but without extended access to a computer in Virginia Sept. 24-Oct. 11. Consequently this writeup is done in something of a hurry. If you see any omitted numbers or other mistakes please say so. Am getting ready to leave here again for 4-5 days soon.
WATERFOWL: Canada goose 494. mute swan 9 (HI). wood duck 109 (103 ECC). American black duck 11 (low). mallard 980. blue-winged teal 50 (48 ECC). northern shoveler 12 (Hurlock, N50). northern pintail 30. green-winged teal 26. ruddy duck 1 (ND).
wild turkey 29 (5 parties). northern bobwhite 14 (ND). pied-billed grebe 2 (EIR). American White Pelican 1. Brown Pelican 40. double-crested cormorant 346. great blue heron 67. great egret 101. snowy egret 50. tricolored heron 1 (Meekins Neck). Green heron 4. black-crowned night heron 1 (EIR).
RAPTORS: black vulture 66. turkey vulture 256. osprey 15 (scarce at this time of year; 125 tallied on the spring count). bald eagle 135. northern harrier 14. sharp-shinned hawk 22. Cooper’s hawk 23. red-shouldered hawk 4. broad-winged hawk 87 (TI). red-tailed hawk 16 (7 parties). American kestrel 52 (23 ECC). merlin 7 (3 parties). peregrine falcon 1 (N50).
clapper rail 2. Virginia rail 8. common moorhen 5 (EIR). semipalmated plover 15. killdeer 15. greater yellowlegs 18. lesser yellowlegs 13. solitary sandpiper 2. spotted sandpiper 1. sanderling 53 (SH; a big total for this county). semipalmated sandpiper 20. western sandpiper 1. least sandpiper 68. peep unID’d 60. pectoral sandpiper 3. sandpiper unID’d 8.
LARIDS: laughing gull 1,371. ring-billed gull 56. herring gull 333. great black-backed gull 188 (185 at HI). gull unID’d 7. Caspian tern 15. royal tern 195 (3 parties). common tern 2 (SH). Forster’s tern 257.
THE 7 GROUPS IN BETWEEN WATER AND (other) LANDBIRDS: rock pigeon 180. mourning dove 167. yellow-billed cuckoo 2. barn owl 1 (ESC). eastern screech-owl 23 (5 parties). great horned owl 25 (6 parties; 6 ESC). barred owl 5 (2 parties). common nighthawk 1 (TI). chimney swift 14 (TI). ruby-throated hummingbird 10 (6 parties). belted kingfisher 6.
red-headed woodpecker 2 (BNWR). red-bellied woodpecker 35. downy woodpecker 44. hairy woodpecker 16 (4 parties). northern flicker 69. pileated woodpecker 13 (5 parties). eastern wood-pewee 21 (7 parties). YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER 1 (ND). Traill’s flycatcher 2 (2 parties). least flycatcher 2 (2 parties). empidonax unID’d 8 (4 parties). eastern phoebe 13. great crested flycatcher 7 (4 parties; compare with the 172, no doubt almost all breeders, found on the spring count). eastern kingbird 1 (L).
white-eyed vireo 13 (5 parties). blue-headed vireo 1 (TI). red-eyed vireo 13 (6 parties). blue jay 87. American crow 222. fish crow 22. crow unID’d 36. tree swallow 35 (1 party). barn swallow 1 (N50). Carolina chickadee 217. tufted titmouse 79. red-breasted nuthatch 19 (5 parties; an invasion year). White-breasted nuthatch 1 (N50). brown-headed nuthatch 106 (4 parties).
Carolina wren 54. house wren 17 (6 parties). marsh wren 7 (2 parties). ruby-crowned kinglet 3. blue-gray gnatcatcher 29 (3 parties). eastern bluebird 96. veery 4 (TI). Swainson’s thrush 9 (TI). American robin 89. gray catbird 44 (all 8 parties). northern mockingbird 38. brown thrasher 8. European starling 894. cedar waxwing 49.
WARBLERS: northern parula 34 (6 parties). yellow warbler 1. chestnut-sided warbler 7 (4 parties). magnolia warbler 31 (7 parties). black-throated blue warbler 8 (2 parties). yellow-rumped (myrtle) warbler 1 (L). black-throated green warbler 3. pine warbler 94. palm warbler 17 (5 yellow, 7 western, 5 undiagnosed). black-and-white warbler 23 (6 parties). American redstart 70 (7 parties). ovenbird 4 (4 parties). northern waterthrush 1 (SH). common yellowthroat 47 (7 parties). warbler unID’d 15.
summer tanager 3 (3 parties). scarlet tanager 4 (4 parties). eastern towhee 4. chipping sparrow 97. field sparrow 1. Savannah sparrow 1 (EIR). seaside sparrow 4 (EIR). song sparrow 1 (N50). sparrow unID’d 2. northern cardinal 87. rose-breasted grosbeak 6 (4 parties). blue grosbeak 37 (5 parties). indigo bunting 27 (6 parties).
bobolink 181 (4 parties). red-winged blackbird 977. common grackle 408 (2 parties). brown-headed cowbird 398. blackbird unID’d 120. Blatimore oriole 2. PURPLE FINCH 1 (TI). house finch 12. American goldfinch 235. house sparrow 20 (2 parties).
PARTICIPANTS (15): Harry Armistead (compiler), Wayne Bell, Diane Cole, Stephen Ford, Richard & Rob Heritage, Emmett Mayberry, Colin McAllister, Dave Palmer, George Radcliffe, Amanda Spears, Paul Spitzer, Matt Whitbeck, Diane & Levin Willey.
EFFORT: Foot hours 50. Car hours 21. Foot miles 21. Car miles 672. Owling hours 9. Owling miles 46. 15 observers in 8 parties. 4:30 A.M.-9:30 P.M.
WEATHER: 53-74-61°F., winds NW5-10 in A.M., briefly NE15 midday and early afternoon, NW5 towards dusk, then calm. No clouds. Tide low in A.M., high at midday, then very low at dusk.
FAMILY REPRESENTATION: waterfowl 10 species (so-so). heron types 6 (ho hum). raptors 13 (good). rail types 3 (poor). shorebirds 11 (poor). terns 4 (par). gulls 4 (par). owls 4 (good). woodpeckers 6 (par). flycatchers 7 (excellent). vireos 3. swallows 2 (poor). wrens 3 (par). warblers 14 (so-so). sparrows 4.
MISSES: This September count is always of interest in light of what is often NOT seen, which in this case involves the following birds during my own day, most not surprising misses; what follows in brackets are the number seen by the 14 other observers with the number of parties seeing them following the slash: swallows (barn 1/1; tree 35/1), vireos (red-eyed13/6; blue-headed 1/1; white-eyed 13/5), thrushes (Swainson’s 9/1; veery 4/1), grackles (common 408/2; boat-tailed 0/0), robin (89/6), swift (14/1), towhee (4/2), meadowlark (0/0), crested fly. (7/4), kingbird (1/1), black-bellied plover (0/0), horned lark (0/0), prairie warbler (0/0) wood thrush (0/0) house finch (12/2), song (1/1), field (1/1), and swamp (0/0) sparrows. All of these were no doubt present … somewhere.
PARTY AREAS:
1. Steve Ford: east-central county, s. of Route 50, Griffiths Neck, Steele Neck, DeCoursey Bridge, Fork Neck. Steve covered this last fall.
2. Levin & Diane Willey: areas south of Route 50 but close to Linkwood, same as he did last spring and fall - Aireys, Drawbridge roads.
3. Wayne Bell, George Radcliffe, Amanda Spears, Paul Spitzer, Richard & Rob Heritage, Emmett Mayberry: Taylor's Island but also including Smithville Rd., Slaughter & Parsons creeks.
4. Diane Cole: extreme south county: Toddville, Wingate, Crapo, Bishops Head, Cedar Creek Rd. area.
5. Colin McAllister: Neck District west of Cambridge.
6. Matt Whitbeck: restricted areas of Blackwater refuge.
7. Harry Armistead: central Blackwater, Hooper's I.-Meekins Neck, Elliott I. Rd.
8. Dave Palmer: county north of Route 50.
Many, many thanks to the participants. Best regards to all. – Harry Armistead, Philadelphia. |