DORCHESTER COUNTY & FERRY NECK, SEPTEMBER 14-19, 2011. Liz & Harry Armistead. Warblers! 16th DORCHESTER COUNTY FALL BIRD COUNT (in part).
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14. 81 Turkey Vultures on the way down. Arrive at Rigby’s Folly 3 P.M. Clear, S 5-10, 87-80°F., hot, tide high, c. 1’ above normal. 1 Merlin, 3 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Snowy Egrets, 2 ad. Bald Eagles, 2 Green Herons, 95 American Crows, 1 Osprey, a kingfisher. Five Diamondback Terrapin in the cove.
Still lots of water in the ponds and low areas of the fields. The soy beans, although not planted until late July, are doing very well. For the first time, lots of mosquitoes and more ticks than before. 1 Common Wood Nymph. Redeployed outside chairs, which had been stashed during Hurricane Irene. Cleaned up along Lucy Point Trail. The fallen Black Locust on the lawn, to my surprise, has been cut up by a friend, providing plenty of firewood.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15. Fair becoming overcast, 73-79-68 (6:30 P.M.), 66 (7 P.M.), 63°F. (9:30 P.M.), winds calm becoming NW 10 increasing to a scary 40 m.p.h. In sight simultaneously: 7 Bald Eagles, 9 Black & 13 Turkey vultures. Also during the day 1 Sharp-shinned & 2 Red-tailed hawks, 5 Ospreys, 2 American Kestrels. One Gray Squirrel.
At the height of the wind storm, at 6:45 P.M., checking out a mysterious rattle from some window, I see a Bald Eagles at treetop level right over the house. A web spun by one the common, rather large brown spiders (more of them than usual this summer) extends 21 feet, most of it perfectly horizontal. There’s nothing resembling this spider in the National Wildlife Federation guide to insects and spiders of North America, but, Lord knows they are common here, esp. along the driveway where they impact on the windshield most times one comes in during the summer. A Green Frog in the Waterthrush Pond.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16. 57-66°F., clear becoming fair then mostly overcast, NW10-5, low tide lower than usual. 52 species. A pretty day with numbers of migrants around, including 10 species of warblers: Tennessee 2, Nashville 1, Yellow 1, Chestnut-sided 2 (1 a ♂ still with its chestnut side), Magnolia 5, Black-throated Green 1, Blackburnian 1, Black-and-white 3, unID’d warbler 6, Northern Parula 2, and American Redstart 5, all of these in trees right on the lawn.
Also: Snowy Egret 2, Bald Eagle 6 (including 2 immatures talon-clasping high in the air and cartwheeling down 100 feet or so), a Cooper’s and a Broad-winged hawk, 1 ea. of Royal and Forster’s terns, a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (8th record; spotted by Liz and refound by us 2 more times), unID’d empidonax flycatcher, 2 crested flycatchers, a Red-eyed Vireo, a White-breasted Nuthatch (in woods 2; the most unusual bird of the day … after the YB fly), 1 House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 6, 15 Cedar Waxwings, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, 10 Bobolinks, and 2 Baltimore Orioles. Nice way to spend my 71st birthday.
Critters: a Buckeye, a Red-spotted Purple, a Monarch and 2 unID’d skippers. Two does each with one fawn. A Gray Squirrel and a brilliant green Green Tree Frog on the lawn by the dock.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17. 16th Dorchester County Fall Bird Count (in part; just my own totals). 4:45 A.M. – 7:45 P.M. 97 species. 56-66°F., calm becoming for the rest of the day NE5 and (mostly) 10-15 m.p.h., rain, mostly light from noon until c. 7 P.M., almost continuously completely overcast.
A cool, windy day not conducive to great birding. Tides mostly high, above normal, except at Hooper’s I. where it was low. 112 miles by car. With the overcast, gray lighting it is hard to get really good looks at most of the birds that are in woods and scrubby areas. Hence a lot of unID’d warblers and others.
ABBREVIATIONS: BNWR, Blackwater N.W.R. EIR, Elliott Island Road. HEF, Harry Elzey’s Farm, Route 335. HI, Hooper’s Island. SH, Swan Harbor.
MILESTONE or MILLSTONE? Although I have carefully kept track of the # of respective spring and fall counts in Dorchester County, for some reason it never occurred to me, until now, to total them together. Today’s count, then, is the 104th bird count I have compiled in the county. The 100th was the count of May 8, 2010. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson. Or … is it?
Others submitted, or will soon, lists by 7 other parties, which will be totaled with commentary, probably sometime in mid-October since I’ll be at Kiptopeke, Virginia, September 26-October 11 w/o a computer. Suffice it to say, most of these other lists reflect a very good flight day, incl. at least 24 species of warblers (so far). Few species were missed.
My complete list, somewhat depauperate by comparison:
pied-billed grebe 2 (1 EIR-the Moorhen spot; 1 from the Rt. 335 bridge, Blackwater River). American white pelican 1 (old faithful, but since s/he can’t fly s/he doesn’t have any choice). brown pelican 2 HI. double-crested cormorant 375. great blue heron 28. great egret 65. snowy egret 151 (good evening flight at EIR). tricolored heron 11 (part of that evening flight). green heron 1. black-crowned night heron 1 (last bird of the day).
black vulture 7. turkey vulture 55. Canada goose 125. American black duck 39. mallard 675 (600 at HEF). blue-winged teal 20 (HEF). northern pintail 25 (HEF). green-winged teal 45 (most at HEF). osprey 10. bald eagle 57. northern harrier 10. sharp-shinned hawk 3. red-tailed hawk 2. American kestrel 3.
clapper rail 7. king rail 1. Virginia rail 1. common gallinule 1 (EIR, Moorhen spot). semipalmated plover 12. killdeer 1. greater yellowlegs 2. lesser yellowlegs 1. unID’d yellowlegs 7. ruddy turnstone 2 (SH). sanderling 9 (SH). semipalmated sandpiper 36. western sandpiper 2. least sandpiper 9. white-rumped sandpiper 2 (HEF). pectoral sandpiper 2 (HEF). laughing gull 600. ring-billed gull 20. herring gull 170. great black-backed gull 270. Caspian tern 20. royal tern 40. Forster’s tern 145.
rock dove 16. mourning dove 32. eastern screech-owl 1. ruby-throated hummingbird 1 (SH). belted kingfisher 3. red-headed woodpecker 3 (2 SH, 1 BNWR). red-bellied woodpecker 3. downy woodpecker 4. northern flicker 29. eastern wood pewee 9. great crested flycatcher 1. red-eyed vireo 6. blue jay 24. American crow 30. fish crow 3.
tree swallow 1 (today’s only swallow). Carolina chickadee 20. tufted titmouse 3. brown-headed nuthatch 16. Carolina wren 8. house wren 3. marsh wren 1. eastern bluebird 22. Swainson’s thrush 1 (SH). American robin 38. gray catbird 11. northern mockingbird 8. brown thrasher 1. European starling 425.
Nashville warbler 1. northern parula 1. magnolia warbler 4. Cape May warbler 1. pine warbler 8. palm warbler 1. black-and-white warbler 4. American redstart 10. ovenbird 1. common yellowthroat 4. unID’d warbler 25. (Most of the warblers are at SH)
chipping sparrow 28. Savannah sparrow 4. seaside sparrow 1. song sparrow 1. northern cardinal 20. blue grosbeak 6. indigo bunting 4. bobolink 190. red-winged blackbird 400. brown-headed cowbird 30. Baltimore oriole 2 (SH). house finch 1. house sparrow 20.
Critters: Sika Deer: 2 EIR, 4 Hip Roof Road. 1 Eastern Cottontail SH. A nice chorus of Southern Leopard Frogs on Egypt Road near the Duke’s Landing/Henry’s Overlook sign, my only barachians today. 1 Diamondback Terrapin at McCready’s Creek. A Gray Squirrel at BNWR & another at Meekins Neck. 3 Monarchs.
The Tickseed Sunflowers at the end of BNWR Wildlife Drive are so dense, extensive, and bright they almost call for sunglasses. The Baccharis halimifolia everywhere has become gravid with developing seeds.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18. BNWR 7 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. (bird walk 8-noon). 6 on the
bird walk (NOT 5 as I mistakenly wrote on the Visitor Center clipboard): Harry & Liz Armistead, Cathy Cooper, Mary & Ralph Rogers & Sue Whaley.
Mostly cloudy, low 60s, NE 10+, cool, water levels moderate in tidal areas and higher in the impoundments. Complete list:
American white pelican 1. double-crested cormorant 26. great blue heron 8. great egret 8. snowy egret 7. black vulture 4. turkey vulture 20. Canada goose 65. mallard 20. green-winged teal 35. osprey 3. bald eagle 24. northern harrier 1. sharp-shinned hawk 1. Cooper’s hawk 1 (in Cambridge on a wire at East Appleby X Stone Boundary roads). red-tailed hawk 1. American kestrel 5 (4 along Egypt Road). merlin 1♂ (tangles with a ♂ kestrel in a dead Loblolly Pine at the BNWR “observation site,” then they perch together in the same tree).
king rail 1. semipalmated plover 6. greater yellowlegs 2. lesser yellowlegs 6. spotted sandpiper 1. semipalmated sandpiper 26. least sandpiper 4. white-rumped sandpiper 4 on the mud at the Observation Site, as was - pectoral sandpiper 1. laughing gull 40. ring-billed gull 8. herring gull 6. great black-backed gull 3 (latter 2 species from Malkus Bridge). Caspian tern 9. Forster’s tern 80 (most seen from the Seward’s causeway). Most of the shorebirds on the mud at the Observation Site.
mourning dove 6. chimney swift 10. belted kingfisher 2. red-headed woodpecker 1. northern flicker 3. blue jay 8. American crow 14. tree swallow 16. barn swallow 1. Carolina chickadee 2. brown-headed nuthatch 4. Carolina wren 3. eastern bluebird 8. American robin 20 (Cambridge). northern mockingbird 3. European starling 90.
black-throated blue warbler 1♀. black-throated green warbler 1ø (these 2 warblers in the Sweet Gums by the temporary entrance to the 2nd part [the west part] of Wildlife Drive, the central portion still closed, but note that this west portion [i.e. Pools 5] is only open for the time being on weekends). chipping sparrow 22. northern cardinal 4. blue grosbeak 1. red-winged blackbird 45. American goldfinch 1.
Critters: a Gray Squirrel, 2 Painted Turtles, 1 Redbelly Slider, 1 Monarch.
Back at Rigby’s Folly, 4:30 P.M., a mixed species foraging guild along the Warbler Trail consisting of: a ♀ black-throated blue warbler, 2 black-and-white warblers, 2 common yellowthroats, an American redstart, a house wren, a Carolina chickadee, a downy woodpecker, and a cardinal. 2 deer. Elsewhere on the old place: an osprey and 2 bald eagles, 13 Forster’s Terns.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19. Fair, NE 5-10, 58-65. Leave Rigby’s Folly at 10:30 A.M. but before that see a Gray Squirrel, a kingfisher, a Sharp-shinned and a Red-tailed hawk, and Liz hears a Pileated Woodpecker.
Just going out the drive is often productive, making us reluctant to leave, anxious to return, and this time, indeed, going out we see 3 does and their respective single fawns, a massive imm. Bald Eagle, a House Wren, and a Box Turtle haplessly hauling across the driveway.
Near Royal Oak a d.o.r. Gray Squirrel, its scampering days over forever. Two Bald Eagles tangling with each other at the Delaware-Chesapeake Canal in Delaware. A scant 43 Turkey Vultures on the way home.
WHIMBRELS SLAUGHTERED IN GUADEL(O)UPE (sp?). Two of the Whimbrels carrying satellite transmitters attached by Virginia wildlife biologists on the eastern shore of Virginia flew through recent hurricanes by heroic flying in the West Indies, only to be shot a day or two later in Guadeloupe, where so-called hunting is a widespread tradition, as it is also in Suriname, another place where Whimbrels winter. Not sure if this shooting is done for food or the sheer bloodlust joy of blowing away the birds.
SUSQUEHANNA RIVER’S massive burden of effluent from the recent torrential rain storms was shown by a satellite photograph displayed on NBC news last, I believe it was Monday evening (September 12), by Brian Williams. This showed discolored water the length of the Chesapeake Bay all the way down to Hooper’s Island, but, so far, not noticeable in Eastern Bay or the mouth of Choptank River. The water around Rigby’s Folly - at least in the immediate vicinity of the shoreline - is still clear. The effluent must contain sewage, chemicals including pesticides, manure of livestock, and heaven only knows what else. Shades of Hurricane Agnes, which devastated oysters, submerged aquatic vegetation, and other resources.
Best, at least under these circumstances, to all. – Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
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