Hi all, 

We had a good trip to Poplar Island, Talbot Co. today -- although it started out quite windy, the early breeze died down and the day warmed up -- very pleasant for the 22 participants. Some of us stopped en route or visited Blackwalnut Point before or after the trip and added a few species, for example about dozen Laughing Gulls at the McDonald's pond, plus common passerines such as Eastern Bluebird and Cardinal, not expected on the island. Visitors to the point enjoyed good views of GREAT CORMORANT on the pound nets -- when Barry and I went there after the trip there were two, an immature and a breeding plumage adult. I think some pre-trip birders saw 4. 

On the island birds of interest included a TRICOLORED HERON (first spotted by Kevin Graff), large numbers of GANNETS offshore, very high count of HORNED GREBES, many almost in full breeding dress, 12 species of duck including Blue-winged Teal, returning Purple Martins, very large numbers of Dunlin and a smattering of other shorebirds. Thanks to Joe Hanfmann for compiling the eBird list below. Thanks also to the MD Environmental Services for their hospitality! 

Gail Mackiernan and Barry Cooper 
Colesville, MD 

Poplar Island, Talbot, US-MD 
Mar 28, 2012 9:15 AM - 1:05 PM 
Protocol: Traveling 
5.0 mile(s) 
49 species (+1 other taxa) 

Canada Goose 2 
Tundra Swan 1 
American Wigeon 16 
American Black Duck 92 
Mallard 285 Counted different impoundments and summed them up. 
Blue-winged Teal 4 
Northern Shoveler 155 most in two large groups 
Northern Pintail 6 
Green-winged Teal (American) 405 The majority were in the NW impoundment. Many along the shore. 
Ring-necked Duck 3 
Lesser Scaup 19 
Surf Scoter 46 
Long-tailed Duck 6 
Ruddy Duck 170 
Red-throated Loon 2 
Common Loon 1 
Pied-billed Grebe 1 
Horned Grebe 64 Exact count but probably missed several in the chop of the bay. 
Northern Gannet 25 Close estimate. Most flying south. 
Double-crested Cormorant 700 Close estimate of the breeding colony and birds on the bay. 
Great Blue Heron 10 
Great Egret 2 Exact count 
Tricolored Heron 1 First spotted flying by Kevin Graff. Dark neck, breast, and back, white belly. 
Turkey Vulture 2 
Osprey 12 
Bald Eagle 4 
Northern Harrier 3 
American Coot 24 
Killdeer 32 
Greater Yellowlegs 2 
Lesser Yellowlegs 5 
Sanderling 23 Winter plumage. Very white with black at bend of wing. 
Dunlin 350 Counted 200, then a harrier put up another large flock of about 100. Many more did not flush. Later saw another flock of 20. 350 is a conservative estimate. 
Short-billed Dowitcher 8 Chunky shorebird with a long straight bill. Angle of the back was straight and not pot-bellied. One bird showed a lot of white on the upper tail with little black while preening. 
Bonaparte's Gull 2 
Ring-billed Gull 14 
Herring Gull (American) 340 
Great Black-backed Gull 84 
Fish Crow 2 
crow sp. 6 
Horned Lark 3 
Purple Martin 2 
Tree Swallow 30 
European Starling 12 
Savannah Sparrow 1 
Song Sparrow 3 
Red-winged Blackbird 100 
Eastern Meadowlark 1 
Common Grackle 12 
Brown-headed Cowbird 5 

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 ( http://ebird.org ) 

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