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Subject:

Some migrants in Harford Co., 8/31

From:

Bill Hubick

Reply-To:

Bill Hubick

Date:

Thu, 1 Sep 2011 03:33:18 -0700

Hi Everyone,

I was feeling overdue for some Harford birding, so Ed Carlson and I headed up after work and hit a few favorite spots. We walked around the main impoundment and a short woodland section at Swan Harbor, scanned the flats at Tydings, then watched the Susquehanna River from Lapidum at dusk. 

As Matt Hafner had warned me, the impoundment is very full and difficult to view due to heavy cattail growth. The only birds of interest were two MARSH WRENs that responded to some pishing and three BANK SWALLOWs. A woodland stretch northeast of the impoundment was more productive, with a NASHVILLE WARBLER, MAGNOLIA WARBLER, four AMERICAN REDSTARTs, and a YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. Thank you to the increasing number of eBird users including notes and documentation photos for Empids in eBird. Please keep them coming - our data is getting better and better! Here's a documentation photo: http://www.billhubick.com/images/201108/yellow-bellied_flycatcher_swan_harbor_20110831.jpg. I also got my first photo of Russet-tipped Clubtail, a cool dragonfly I've only seen a few times and only in this area (not yet posted).

Tydings lacked diversity, but there were some good counts, including 202 FORSTER's TERNs. John Hubbell will be pleased to know that he holds the eBird county high count of 462 (9/16/2007), perhaps more so since I shared the checklist with him :) (with Stasz, Hafner, and Feild). He prides himself on eBird efficiency and is almost certainly the #1 Maryland eBirder if you count only shared checklists. Tydings does get some great counts of Forster's Tern in late summer and fall. Also present were 35 Great Blue Herons, one Great Egret, one Lesser Yellowlegs, one Solitary Sandpiper, nine CASPIAN TERNs, and three LAUGHING GULLs (one adult in winter plumage, two juveniles). 

We ended the day at Lapidum, where we kept track of the dusk commute. All commuting larids, as well as all visible Chimney Swifts, were on the Port Deposit (Cecil Co.) side. All 25 Forster's Terns were flying south with purpose, while all 158 Ring-billed Gulls were headed north. At one point eight BALD EAGLEs were fighting over a prey item on a single log out on the river. At least 60 Chimney Swifts were feeding over Port Deposit. When three COMMON NIGHTHAWKs joined the mix at 7:20 p.m., my plan for a solid afternoon of after-work birding was complete - county closeout!  Woohoo! That one took some work!

Good birding!

Bill 


Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com

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