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7 days on the lower Eastern Shore, November 8-14, 2011.

From:

Harry Armistead

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Harry Armistead

Date:

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:02:47 +0000

7 DAYS ON THE LOWER EASTERN SHORE, NOVEMBER 8-14 (in the order visited):  MARYLAND -Ferry Neck, Blackwater N.W.R., Deal Island; VIRGINIA - Willis Wharf, Kiptopeke State Park, Eastern Shore of VA N.W.R., Machipongo & Chincoteague N.W.R.
 
These field notes done in something of a hurry since we¡¯re leaving for Californ-eye-ay, the Left Coast (bless it), early tomorrow.  Apologies for any outr¨¦ errors, or just plain old regular errors of any other kind.  L¡¯envoi. 
 
All locations Nov. 11-14 are in Virginia.  Locations Nov. 8-9 in Maryland, and on Nov. 10 all but Willis Wharf in MD.
 
Where my counts may differ from the official ones at K.S.P. (Kiptopeke State Park, VA) go with the official ones by hawkcounter Kyle Wright.  During this visit the raptor totals there are dismal.  It has been a poor visit also with regards to Chipping Sparrows, American Goldfinches, and bluebirds.
 
NOVEMBER 8, TUESDAY.  Rigby¡¯s Folly, Ferry Neck, 3-5:30 P.M. only.  Clear, calm, 63-56¡ãF.  Quite a bit of ground water still in the fields and elsewhere.  
 
1980 Canada Geese: 680 in the cove, 860 on Irish Creek, 440 in front of Tranquility.  Lots of fowl out on the Choptank River mouth: 700 Buffleheads, 635 Surf Scoters, 2 Northern Pintails, 2 Mallards, 11 American Black Ducks, 2 Horned Grebes (flying), 17 Forster¡¯s Terns, and 22 Common Loons.  28 boats are out fishing for Rockfish.  
 
A nearly full moon looms over the head of the cove at 3:30 P.M.  Later Jupiter is brilliant, to the lower left of the Moon with 4 of its moons easy to see at 32X, 3 to its upper right, 1 to its lower left.  The cove water is extremely clear.  2 Mute Swans, 1 deer & 1 Red Fox.    
 
NOVEMBER 9, WEDNESDAY.  Rigby¡¯s Folly.  Fog in the morning, visibility < 150 feet, 46-59¡ãF., calm mostly but sometimes < 5 m.p.h. from the E, becoming clear with excellent visibility.
 
The composition of the Choptank River fowl has changed dramatically: 1260 Surf Scoters, 115 Bufflehead, 13 Forster¡¯s Terns, 2 Horned Grebes, 3 Bald Eagles, 11 Common Loons (3 of them with Hogchokers), as yesterday - very few gulls, 2 Horned Grebes.  Four Gray Squirrels.  Later I put out a lot of deer corn for them and the birds.
 
During the foggy segment the trees in the yard are alive with dozens of robins and waxwings busy flighting around, apparently feeding but I can¡¯t see on what.  Also: 225 Cedar Waxwings (day¡¯s total), zero Tundra Swans, a Red-tailed Hawk.  In the yard at close range is a small mixed species foraging guild: a chickadee, 2 Myrtle Warblers, and 6 Golden-crowned Kinglets, the latter very actively hover gleaning.  1280 Canada Geese in the cove.  29 boats are out fishing.  A bat at dusk.  As yesterday the sunset a beauty from my chair out at Lucy Point.  
 
I get off the property for a while in the morning to go see the stakeout immature ¡á Calliope Hummingbird near Easton, present since October 23.  It disdains the hummingbird feeder but patronizes Salvia.  Pugnacious little fellow, and pudgy.  
 
NOVEMBER 10, THURSDAY.
 
Leave Rigby¡¯s Folly at 8:15 A.M. with Red Fox and Gray Squirrel sightings.  As yesterday, more dense fog, NW 5, overcast, 51¡ãF.
 
Egypt Road.  Still foggy.  A kestrel, 6 bluebirds, a Great Blue Heron, and one Savannah Sparrow.
 
Blackwater N.W.R.  9:30 A.M. - noon.  Winds NW 10, high 50s, tidal water lowish, impoundment water high.  Fog begins to lift just as I get there, then it is mostly clear, some sun, for a while, then overcast.  Six Painted Turtles, 6 Red-bellied Cooters, 3 Gray Squirrels.  
 
My first Tundra Swans, finally, 2 adults, 2 immatures ¨C a family group ¨C in a field.  13 Forster¡¯s Terns, 95 Ring-billed Gulls, 8 cormorants, 8 Great Blue Herons, 4 American Wigeon, 40 pintails, 23 Ruddy Ducks (out on the Blackwater River), 9 Bald Eagles, 4 harriers, 3 Red-tailed Hawks, 8 Killdeer, 6 Dunlin, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, an immature White-crowned Sparrow at the entrance, 55 Tree Swallows, an Osprey, a kingfisher, 1 Fish Crow, 13 juncos, a meadowlark, and 900 Red-winged Blackbirds.  
 
Maple Dam Road: 1 Bald Eagle, 1 Red-tailed Hawk.
 
East Appleby St. X Stone Boundary Road in Cambridge: 2 Gray Squirrels.
 
Deal Island Wildlife Management Area.  Dumpster Road has lost its potholes but gained a washboard surface, 5-10 m.p.h. is indicated.  Riley Roberts Road is better, 15 m.p.h. is O.K., plus the shoulders have finally been bush hogged.  Overcast, beginning to clear at the end.  1:30-2:45.  NW 10-20+, windy.  High tide, above normal.
 
Complete list: 2 Tricolored & 4 Great Blue herons, 4 cormorants, 1 Snowy & 4 Great egrets, 1 Canada Goose, 7 Mute Swans, Larry, 11 American Black Ducks, 1 Green-winged Teal, 35 pintails, 3 Pied-billed Grebes, 6 Turkey Vultures, 11 Northern Harriers, 1 adult ¡âPeregrine Falcon, 8 Greater Yellowlegs, 13 Dunlin, 1 Great Black-backed, 2 Ring-billed & 12 Herring gulls, 1 Forster¡¯s Tern,5 kingfishers, crow unID¡¯d 78, Savannah Sparrow 3, Red-winged Blackbird 14, cardinal 1, Myrtle Warbler 3, and 6 White-throated Sparrows.
 
Still in MD: Milepost 10.25 Route 13: 1 Bald Eagle.  Milepost 1.2 another Bald Eagle.
 
Willis Wharf, VA.  4:45-5:15 P.M.  Tide level seemingly ideal but only 17 Willets and 11 Dunlin.  Also: 195 Canada Geese, 10 Buffleheads, a Great Blue Heron, 315 starlings, 30 pigeons, 4 Hooded Mergansers, and 6 Mallards.    
 
DRAMATIS PERSONAE.  COASTAL VIRGINIA WILDLIFE OBSERVATORY STAFF:  Calvin Brennan, songbird bander.  Jackie Cantina, raptor trapping intern.  Bob Chapman, raptor trapper.  Anna Lisa Diaz, Monarch butterfly tagger.  Tim Roberts, songbird banding intern.  Kyle Wright, hawkcounter. 
 
These souls have done good work, as usual, this fall.  As of Nov. 11 Anna Lisa has tagged 925 Monarchs, Calvin, Tim, Gerri, Nan et al. banded 9693 birds of 97 species, and Bob & Jackie have banded c. 1250 raptors, incl. 78 in one day.  Kyle, who presides over the venue where I spend most of my time, when I¡¯m in the area, has tallied over 22,000 raptors and deserves mention for his detailed daily writeups, which have humor, self-deprecation, and display a knowledge of molt I¡¯ll never acquire to as well as noting non-raptors more than anyone else has in the past. 
 
NOVEMBER 11, FRIDAY.  K.S.P.  At 3:52 A.M. the full moon is almost blinding it¡¯s so bright.  I hear flocks of Tundra Swans going over at 4:05 A.M., 4:06 A.M., 8:30 P.M., and 8:45 P.M.  They¡¯re late in arriving this fall, esp. on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  
 
K.S.P.  30 Brown Pelicans and 12 cormorants sheltering in lee areas on the concrete ships and 30 Great Black-backed Gulls also there but sitting right out in the strong winds.  Clear, NW, 20-30, very cold, 40s and low 50s, the Bay a mass of seething whitecaps.  
 
I use today to spend 5.5 hours investigating back roads, most of them leading W from Arlington Road, writing notes on habitat, distance, and surface condition as well as making contact with a few property owners, all of whom are welcoming.
 
Taylor Pond: 9 Ring-necked & 3 Ruddy ducks, 34 American Coots, 3 Pied-billed Grebes, 3 Rusty Blackbirds and 1 Eastern Phoebe.  NOTE:  The gravel road in to Taylor Pond is off-limits and part of Kiptopeke State Park.  The Park access to the pond is by parking in the usual areas then walking in on trails accessed after going through the Contact Station.  Do not drive down the gravel road. 
 
Pond Drain.  5 Pied-billed Grebes, 50 cormorants, 2 Red-bellied Sliders.  There always seem to be cormorants on this big pond, half a mile long, most of them immatures, and they must not be leaving many sunfish or other small fish in the aftermath of their depredations.
 
Jacobia Lane.  A flock of 550 blackbirds, most all of them cowbirds.
 
Ramp Lane, ESVNWR: 4:30-5:45 P.M., with Hal Wierenga & Lynn Davidson.  Clear, NW 20, temperature in the 40s: 1 imm. White Ibis, 87 Tundra Swans, 1 Snowy & 7 Great egrets, 10 Clapper Rails, 5 Greater Yellowlegs, 40 Wood Ducks, 1 Northern Pintail, 6 Green-winged Teal, and 38 AmericanBlack Ducks.
 
NOVEMBER 12, SATURDAY.  K.S.P.  Am on the platform 7:15-2:45.  980 American Robins, 45 Tundra Swans, 45 Buffleheads, a ¡á Peregrine Falcon is seen 4 times hunting pigeons on the concrete ships making spectacular dives, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, Lynn Davidson spots a Golden Eagle off to the SE that is in view for several minutes working its way to the NE, a Merlin, 475 Cedar Waxwings, Lynn also hears a Red-breasted Nuthatch (scarce to non-existent this fall in most places).  
 
Butterflies: 2 Monarchs, 1 Orange Sulphur, 1 Buckeye.  Lynn checks Taylor Pond and finds 35 American Coots, 4 Pied-billed Grebes, 12 Ring-necked Ducks, 5 Buffleheads, and 3 Ruddy Ducks.
 
NOVEMBER 13, SUNDAY.  Breakfast with John & Martha Dillard.
 
Arlington Road.  Hal & Lynn see a group of c. 200 American Pipits.
 
K.S.P.  Not much.  SW 15-20, 50s to low 60s, fair.  A big adult ¡â Peregrine Falcon goes by low and over the station, 45 unID¡¯d scaup (but no doubt Lessers), 7 Buffleheads, a small flock of Common Goldeneye, a sapsucker, 6 American Wigeon, a Pileated Woodpecker, 6 Surf Scoters, and Kyle locates 4 Purple Finches going over.  3 Monarchs and a Buckeye.
 
Ramp Lane, c. 3:45-4:30.  With Timothy Thompson, Linda Schwartz, Thuy Tran & Bob Anderson.  3 adult Bald Eagles, 5 Clapper Rails, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Great Egrets, 3 Dunlin, a kingfisher, 3 Hooded Mergansers, 14 American Black Ducks, 55 cormorants, and 8 Brant.
 
Hit at deer on the way to Sting-Ray¡¯s c. 6:15 P.M.  Fortunately I¡¯m going only c. 35 m.p.h.  This buck is thrown onto its left side on the road shoulder.  To my immense relief he gets up and runs off to the S.  Little damage to the car, more to my psyche.
 
NOVEMBER 14, MONDAY.  Leave K.S.P. at 6:15 A.M.
 
Machipongo.  Tide down just a little.  Little here.  7 Willets, an adult Bald Eagle, a Northern Harrier, 3 Hooded Mergansers, 7 very distant Tundra Swans out near Cobb Island, a Belted Kingfisher, 19 crows ¨C both species combined, and 3 imm. cormorants on the pilings.  IF YOU GO do NOT go past the fence or out to the dock.  TNC has made this request.  Please observe it.
 
Willis Wharf.  8:45-9 A.M.  I finally strike it rich here: 360 Willets and 99 Marbled Godwits in one flock, shifting around as the rising tide covers their feeding grounds on the mud flats, 56 Dunlin, 6 Semipalmated Plovers, 3 Killdeer, 56 Dunlin, 6 Greater Yellowlegs, 42 Ruddy Turnstones (foraging on the great clam shell pile), a Hooded Merganser, an adult Bald Eagle, a Common Loon, and 2 American Black Ducks.  A little strange there are no Short-billed Dowitchers.  This is a good place for starlings and pigeons.  Guaranteed.
 
Locustville.  Visit with George & Barbara Reiger for over 2 hours.  Lots to talk about!
 
Tyson chicken plant: an adult Bald Eagle right over the place.  What an odor this plant puts out.  P yew! 
 
Chincoteague N.W.R.  The refuge per se is a little bleak.  2 Marbled Godwits in Swan Cove Pool.  2 Northern Harriers.  A dark, mostly black, Fox Squirrel on the way in.  After a lapse of years I rejoined the Chincoteague Natural History Association.  This refuge needs all the support it can get in view of the abuse it has been receiving recently from mostly local people who are incensed that their beach access may be curtailed, or else made more difficult.  Very little on the causeway on the way across.  I don¡®t stay long enough to go around Wildlife Drive, which opens at 3.    
 
The SERENDIPITY of birding.  As I am entering the refuge Linda and Timothy spot me as they¡¯re leaving.  When I dismount from my car at the Visitor Center there are Anna Lisa, Tim, and Jackie.  It is nice to see this congeniality and collegiality among these 3 who have been working together all fall, then come up to Chincoteague together on their afternoon off.
 
Chincoteague (the town).  Mud flats just W of the new bridge:  850 Dunlin, 65 American Oystercatchers, 65 Black-bellied Plovers, and 70 Forster¡¯s Terns.  Tide down nice and low.  8 Boat-tailed Grackles.
 
Best wishes to all. ¨C Harry Armistead, Philadelphia. 		 	   		  

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