18 DAYS ON THE LOWER EASTERN SHORE, September 25-October 12, mostly in Virginia (at Kiptopeke), part 3 (October 8-15, 2011.
OCTOBER 8, SATURDAY. The last of my 3 boat trips, with Sharron Jamarik, Kevin & Patsy Thompson, Linda Melochick, and Glenn Holloway. A feature of some fascination of these forays: massive, offshore buoys ripped loose by great nor’easters and now firmly aground atop the marshes. I’d love to have one in my yard.
Nick Flanders will lead this afternoon’s boat trip. At one of the places out there, according to Buddy, depending on the winds, moon phase, and perhaps other mysterious factors, the tides can ebb and flood in 2 directions. One day the tide will let down in one direction, another day the opposite. How perplexing that must be if you are unaware of these things?
Today’s highlights, on a similar route to that of Friday morning, but passing New Marsh Channel (a.k.a. Two Mouth Creek) with the tide ebbing, covering c. 20 miles, 9-12:30: An imm. Little blue Heron, 1 ad. Bald Eagle (soaring and later at rest on the mudflats), 3 harriers, 25 oystercatchers, 3 Semipalmated & 425 Black-bellied Plovers, 1 Least & 35 Western sandpipers, only 6 Willets, 6 turnstones, 35 Dunlin, a Whimbrel (seen feeding at close range, calling, too, a wild and wonderful sound), a Spotted Sandpiper, just 4 dowitchers, 4 Greater Yellowlegs, a mere 7 Tree Swallows, zero godwits, 9 Caspian & 2 Gull-billed terns, 5 American Black Ducks, and a kingfisher plus 2 Diamondback Terrapin but no butterflies.
In spite of all these goodies on these 2 days Buddy and I feel there are not as many birds on the marshes as usual. Most of the rest of the day (2:30-6), after hobnobbing briefly at the festival headquarters in the Cape Charles firehouse, I spend on the platform where 359 hawks are seen passing today, with 160 sharpies, 72 Coops, 42 kestrels, 14 Merlins, and 9 peregrines. Bob Anderson is the hawkcounter; Kyle is at a wedding.
359 hawks will turn out to be the lowest number during this sojourn. We see a Merlin capture a Tree Swallow. Dr. Stephen Emslie is on hand with 20 or so of his students from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Our frequent place for supper, Sting-Ray’s, is the sort of locale where it is not surprising to see a T-shirt that proclaims such as “Bayford Invitational Croaker Tournament.”
OCTOBER 9, SUNDAY: the day of the annual Big Sit, where, confined to a circle 18 feet across, we try for as many species as possible. This year we break the record by one, end up with 89. The Big Sit is not my favorite activity because of my poor hearing and average eyesight acuity, but I chip in with Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Magnolia Warbler, Pileated Woodpecker, and, the tie-breaker, Wood Duck. The last 2 would probably have been seen by others anyway. Lynn Davidson is the prime big sitter but also participating are Hal, Bob Anderson, Thuy Tran, Scott LaRue, Cameron Cox, Liz Armistead, and, of course, Brian Taber, plus possibly others I neglect to mention.
Selected species of interest: all 13 of the to-be-expected, commonst, raptor species, 12 warblers, all 7 woodpeckers, 4 sparrows, Pine Siskin, woodcock, horned and screech-owls, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, both kinglets, Veery, and Swainson’s Thrush. As of October 14 Kiptopeke is tied for 7th nationally for the Big Sit. Some observers began before daylight. Raptors today totaled 417 with a Red-shouldered Hawk, 11 harriers, 201 sharpies, 61 Coops, 76 kestrels, 13 Merlins, and 23 peregrines.
Bob Anderson continues as hawkcounter. 2 Common Loons. Peter Dutnell brings up a smashing, bright green Rough Green Snake, a rather large one for this small, extremely slender species. See at least 7 dolphins (… that dolphin torn, that gong-tormented sea … “ Yeats). I’m on the good old platform 9:30-6. Some hear a Spring Peeper calling briefly.
OCTOBER 10, MONDAY. Liz hears the little screech-owl from our sleeping quarters, takes off c. 8:30 A.M. I find a dead imm. BCNH in the KSP camping area, its breast all bloody and a mess, probably killed by a predator, possibly a Great Horned Owl, a bird that will kill just about anything it wants to.
Mostly overcast today with a nice sundog where it should be, around the sun, displaying the colors of the classic spectrum, but much more surprising nearby in the sky is a large, white, circular sort of sundog, but it’s not around the sun, it’s off to one side. Remarkable. Am on the platform 9-4:30.
Today’s raptors total 835, including 7 Bald Eagles, 13 harriers, 529 sharpies, 82 Coops, 134 kestrels, 20 Merlins, and 10 peregrines plus 321 Monarchs.
Bob Anderson and I decide to catch the end-of-the-day action at Ramp Lane, always a pleasure. Bob has to leave c. 6 in order to see Bob Ake give his presentation on his Big Year in 2010. Heidi Hern and her mother Clara Parham join me after he leaves.
Highlights: 235 White Ibis (c. ⅓ adults), 4 adult Bald Eagles hanging around their 2 nests, 16 American Wigeon, 33 Snowy & 19 Great egrets, 10 Clapper Rails (as usual calling fom the S side of the Federal Cut), 2 Merlins, 45 Boat-tailed Grackles, 2 harriers, 55 Brown Pelicans, an Osprey feeding on its catch, 1 Caspian Tern, 1 BCNH at last light leaving the pond area in classic fashion, 4 Greater Yellowlegs, a sharpie, and a Great Blue Heron. Earlier in the season Calvin and Charlene Brennan saw 674 White Ibis, a new state high count by a lot, leave the pond area at dusk to go to roost on Fisherman Island.
5 deer at dusk. The count here is enlivened, one might say, by the sudden, staccato crackle of small arms fire at the nearby firing range on ESVNWR, where law enforcement officials stay sharp with their, I don’t know, Glocks? The firing doesn’t bother the birds one bit.
SONGBIRD BANDINGS: Here are a few of the totals as of October 7 that Calvin Brennan et al. have banded, selected variously because some of them are rare, others exemplary of the abundance of some commonest species, or, on the other hand, the scarcity of some common species (cf. chickadee), etc.: among 89 species banded - yellow-billed cuckoo 15, Traill’s flycatcher 92, Philadelphia vireo 2, Carolina chickadee 2, marsh wren 2 (some of the few ever banded here), veery 76, gray-cheeked thrush 30, Bicknell’s thrush 6, gray catbird 778, northern parula 320 (1 of 29 warbler species tagged here), black-throated blue warbler 205, American redstart 864, Connecticut warbler 7 (incl. 4 in one day), common yellowthroat 339, Lawrence’s warbler 1 (one of the few ever banded here), indigo bunting 104. Each bird is weighed, measured in various ways, and (where possible) aged and sexed.
OCTOBER 11, TUESDAY. Leave KSP. 9:06 A.M. After the laborious task of loading the car I notice a Gray Squirrel foraging just south of the ramp leading up to my now-abandoned quarters. Before taking off I just lean elbows on the railing and watch it, in fine pelage, with one of the finest bushy tails imaginable, 20 feet away and somewhat below me.
Check out 8 roads leading east from Route 600 centered on the hamlet of Oyster. On the wires along the way are Palm Warblers, Chipping Sparrows, bluebirds, and a few kestrels.
Oyster landfill/dump. Be extremely courteous on entering. Stop and ask permission. This is an important area. It behooves us to keep on their good side. Got it?! Open Mon.-Fri. 8-3:30. Sat. 8-noon. Closed Sunday. 10:25 A.M., 91 Black Vultures, all on the ground or on roofs, looking for awful offal, plus 11 Pied-billed Grebes, 18 BCNHs, 37 Fish Crows, 105 Laughing, 1 ad. Lesser Black-backed & 315 Herring gulls, 230 Canada Geese, 3 Great Egrets, 11 Snowy Egrets/imm. Little Blue Herons (seem to be mostly LBHs), 2 American BlackDucks, 17 ♂ Boat-tailed Grackles, and 30 European Starlings. The pond seems bigger and its water level is high.
Machipongo, where Box Tree Road (= Machipongo Road where it goes east from Rt. 13) ends at the saltmarsh. BTR is one of the most beautiful Eastern Shore scenes one can imagine. Sometimes has a shorebird roost at higher tides. Stay behind the fence. 11 A.M. 85 Willets, 1 Whimbrel, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 130 Laughing & a Herring gull, 1 Great Blue Heron, 11 Fish Crows, 4 Short-billed Dowitchers, 1 WesternSandpiper. Almost all of these flush when an imm. ♂ Peregrine Falcon flies over, low and close. THAT is respect. Tide high, down perhaps ¼. To the north Red Bank is visible. In the misty distance lie Cobb and Hog islands.
Willis Wharf (a.k.a.Willets Wharf to some). 11:30 A.M. 310 Willets, 2 Marbled Godwits, 1 Short-billed Dowitcher. These shorebirds are standing in water, preening, waiting for the mudflats to become exposed, adjacent to the green 17 navigation marker. 375 Canada Geese west of the bridge. 60 Ruddy Turnstones picking through the immense pile of clam shells.
Perdue plant, Route 13, west side, N of Accomac. 545 Canada Geese just to the north of there.
Elliott Island Road, Dorchester County, MD, 2:15-6:45 P.M., but I do not do a marsh dusk watch, thus probably missing BCNH and other herons. 38 species. Some of the maples and much of the Poison Ivy have beautiful, deep red leaves. Very surprising to see a Marsh Hibiscus in full bloom 1.3 miles S of the Vienna water tower. High tide rising then falling, little tidal water on the road. At McCready’s Creek there’s a new stone jetty on the S side of the “inlet” replacing the rickety wooden one. 4 White-tailed & 2 Sika deer, 1 Gray Squirrel. Just in the past few years where the mainland begins there’s 1000s of newly dead Loblolly Pines and numerous hammocks with dead trees also, mostly due to saltwater intrusion, less so (but a significant number nevertheless) to marsh burning. 2 Monarchs, 2 Buckeyes. Light rain until 3:45. Winds E<5 becoming >5 then NE 15-5, low 70s.
Complete list: common loon 1, pied-billed grebe 5 (a good count for Dorchester), double-crested cormorant 75, great blue heron 11, great 49 & snowy 10 egrets, Canada goose 14, American black duck 30, mallard 1, green-winged teal 8, osprey 2, bald eagle 4, northern harrier 4, kestrel 3, Virginia rail 3, common gallinule 3, greater yellowlegs 2, short-billed dowitcher 8, laughing 30, ring-billed 1, herring 80 & great black-backed 4 gulls, Caspian 3, royal 2 & Forster’s 3 terns, mourning dove 7, kingfisher 2, downy woodpecker 1, phoebe 2, tree swallow 200, mockingbird 2, myrtle 12 & western palm 1 warblers, chipping 3, Savannah 9 & song 2 sparrows, red-winged blackbird 150, boat-tailed grackle 0, brown-headed cowbird 2.
OCTOBER 12, WEDNESDAY. Rigby’s Folly. It’s always rather melancholy transitioning, alone, from Kiptopeke to here then to Philadelphia. Sure, the asters and goldenrod at Rigby are still going strong. And there’s lots to see here. But the neotrops are gone and the great hawk flights have (or haven’t) happened. The Eastern Shore of VA now is a lot like the Eastern Shore of MD was when I was a boy, plus it has all the terrific scenery, shorebirds, flights of raptors and songbirds, and great prospects across marshlands.
But … face it. It’s over, for another year, this extended sojourn that is the highlight of my year. In the interim our younger generation has made 3 visits with friends to Rigby’s Folly. One sign of this is that the # of shampoo bottles in the master bathroom has gone from 3 to 10.
Here at Rigby, although today is gray, damp, with E winds of 15, in the low 60s, and a little grim, it’s dried up a lot since September. 1 deer, 3 Monarchs, a Gray Squirrel (ones here have more rufous-brown fur than the Philadelphia ones), 1 Buckeye. Leave by 11 A.M.
Complete list, 9-10 A.M.: common loon 3, cormorant 4, great blue heron 1, great egret 1, turkey vulture 17, Canada goose 70 (the genuine article; real Canadians), osprey 2, bald eagle 1 adult (wheeling and circling right above me at low altitude, as if trying to figure me out, which many are still trying to do), sharp-shinned hawk 3, kestrel 1, ring-billed 3 (mewing), laughing 4 & herring 1 gull, Forster’s tern 1, blue jay 1, American crow 2, tree swallow 30 (often they appear here when winds are from the E), catbird 1 (mewing), mockingbird 1, myrtle warbler 30 (up high in the air).
Royal Oak: 175 real Canada geese, 2 Gray Squirrels.
Route 481 near its junction with Route 301, an imm. Bald Eagle perched on a phone pole out in a field.
OCTOBER 15, SATURDAY. Liz and I go out to Militia Hill Hawkwatch, only c. 7 miles from our home. The founder of the hawkwatch, Marylea Klauder, shows us photographs of a Woodchuck, taken earlier, that has captured and is eating a House Sparrow! My admiration for these appealing, fat, and furry rodents - in reality a squirrel species - thereby increases even more.
Best to all. – Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
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