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Subject:

Worcester Co. Highlights, 6/26

From:

Bill Hubick

Reply-To:

Bill Hubick

Date:

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:33:13 -0700

Hi Everyone,

I spent a very full and enjoyable day in Worcester Co. with Dan Small and Jim Stasz. We started the day at Truitt's Landing, where an impressive gathering of over 100 Snowy Egrets was so loud that I recorded audio of their foraging party. The best birds were a GREATER YELLOWLEGS and two LESSER YELLOWLEGS, both of which were new June birds for me (and month closeouts). A few Saltmarsh Sparrows were cooperative and even heard singing near the east end of the road. A NORTHERN BOBWHITE was calling from some nice habitat on Cherrix Road.

We spent much of the morning working field habitats between Truitt's and Public Landing, tallying good totals for species such as Grasshopper Sparrow, Horned Lark, and Eastern Meadowlark. A LEAST TERN working a small pond off Public Landing Road was interesting.

A slow drive around Assateague Island did not turn up anything unexpected, but the island certainly warrants repeated checks at this time of year. COMMON GRACKLEs were present in numbers higher than I would expect as breeders. A NORTHERN BOBWHITE's calls were a welcome sound as we entered Bayside Campground. I hadn't been able to find any personal records of Boat-tailed Grackle for June, so Boat-tailed Grackle was a month closeout (#76), a novel but inappropriate month for one's closeout. Jim Stasz pointed each out emphatically for the rest of the day. 

West OC Pond held expected numbers of wading birds. The shorebird habitat is looking ideal for shorebird migration.

The Ocean City Inlet was unexpectedly productive, hosting a number of seasonal rarities. All three scoters were present south of the south jetty--three WHITE-WINGED SCOTERs, two BLACK SCOTERs, and six SURF SCOTERs. The latter two were probables until confirmed by better looks by Matt Hafner while we were on the Judith M. Two WILSON'S STORM-PETRELs were working the mouth of the Inlet, while another was visible far to the south. We counted at least 18 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLs among the gulls on the north end of Assateague. Seventeen Ruddy Turnstones seemed like a good count for the date on the south jetty.

We went out on an afternoon Poor Man's Pelagic aboard the Judith M out of Bahia Marina, spending four hours working out to about 12 miles offshore. While fishermen dropped their lines for tautog, we scanned the swaying horizon for signs of marine life. The trip was slow at first, slowly adding to a tally of WILSON'S STORM-PETRELs that reached 20 birds. On the return trip, we encountered six CORY'S SHEARWATERs, all of them quite cooperative. I photographed most of them, while Jim Stasz took coordinates for more useful eBird data. Each was scrutinized and confirmed to be the expected subspecies (borealis). Two PURPLE MARTINs were novel additions to our pelagic list. Here is the Judith M web site: http://www.judithmfishing.com/.

Our dusk watch at Skimmer Island was outstanding. We were joined by Matt Hafner at 6:40 p.m. and we counted the continually growing flocks until the last light faded. The list of shorebirds and novelties was exceptional for the date. Here is the full eBird list:
(NOTE: If you park in the Hoopers Restaurant parking lot during tourist season, please stop in and ask permission at the front desk. This is a very reasonable request from the owner of Hoopers.)

Ocean City--Skimmer Island
Jun 27, 2011 6:35 PM - 8:40 PM
Dusk watch at Skimmer Island--Jim Stasz, Dan Small, Matt Hafner, Bill Hubick. Viewed from along Route 50 near Hoopers. Careful counts with clickers for all species, most of which increased significantly as dusk approached. A horseshoe crab spawning event was underway when we arrived, with a quick count noting over 600 present on the west side. At least this many were visible on the east side when we returned on the Judith M. Their eggs were being scavenged by LAGU, RUTU, AMOY, and many others.

American Black Duck--2
Double-crested Cormorant--14
Brown Pelican--18. 94 counted mid-afternoon on the east side of the island. Most probably just not visible.
Great Blue Heron--1
Great Egret--36. Numbers built over the course of the dusk watch.
Snowy Egret--3
Little Blue Heron--10. Five adults and five calico individuals
Tricolored Heron--2
Cattle Egret--15
Black-crowned Night-Heron--8----Including two recently fledged young that stepped out of the Phragmites on the island.
Osprey--2
American Oystercatcher--6
Willet (Eastern)--62
WILLET (WESTERN)--1. * ADULT. Rare at this date. Documentation photos show lighter gray plumage and delicate, godwit-like features, larger size; long, even-edged bill. My first in June.
Ruddy Turnstone--4
RED KNOT--10
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER--4. * Scarce at this date.
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER--15. ** Noteworthy high count for date! Carefully scrutinized and repeatedly counted via scope over 2 hours. A few distant documentation photos. Larger than nearby SESA, long-winged and attenuated shape, white rumps visible on a couple occasions in flight.
peep sp.--1. One distant peep not identified to species.
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER--57. All non-breeding individuals not identified to subspecies. Interesting that the only adult bird was a hendersoni.
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER (PRAIRIE)--1. Adult hendersoni, especially orange across the full lowerparts.
Laughing Gull--200. Exact count, many feeding on horseshoe crab eggs.
Ring-billed Gull--14. One arrived on the close sandbar in the late evening. 13 showed up and hung out together on a distant flat.
Herring Gull (American)--85
Great Black-backed Gull--26
Least Tern--9
Common Tern--16, including 2 first-cycle. (See note below list.)
Forster's Tern--3
Royal Tern--68. Numbers increased drastically as dusk fell.
SANDWICH TERN--7. * High count for date. Two adults and five first-cycles in sight simultaneously. One adult had a completely full cap, while the second adult was starting to molt out feathers at the front of the cap.
BLACK SKIMMER--12. Flock built over the course of the watch with others arriving in the failing light. A couple arrived carrying food. At least two pairs were displaying.
Fish Crow--4
Purple Martin--2
Barn Swallow--12
American Robin--2
Northern Mockingbird--1. Singing outside of Hoopers at dusk
European Starling--8
Red-winged Blackbird--7
Common Grackle--1
Boat-tailed Grackle--2
House Finch--1. Adult male scope ON the island
House Sparrow--2

One first-cycle Common/Arctic tern appeared especially diminutive and showed features that suggested Arctic. Review of photos should confirm its identity. 

Good birding!

Bill


Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com

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