Fri., June 11, 2004. The start of a 5-day minor odyssey, with more Black
Vultures, Red-headed Woodpeckers, and Brown Thrashers than I am used to
seeing. Off to a furry good start at c. 7 P.M. with 5 almost spherical
Woodchucks seen at the turn from I-95 going s. to Routes 1/13 s. of
Wilmington. Field fatties gorging on grasses.
Sat., June 12. Fair, 64-78 degrees, winds SW 10-15, a gem.
Blackwater N.W.R., 7:30 A.M. - 3 P.M. Along with Kurt Schwarz, Carol
Yates, Martin Brazeau, Sue Hamilton, Carol Jelich and others I led a field
trip here, part of the M.O.S. convention centered at Chestertown. 22 of us
found an unofficial total of 77 species, including: the adult Trumpeter
Swan of dubious origin at Shorter's Marsh, 20 Bald Eagles, a harrier, 2
Virginia Rails, 3 Semipalmated plover and 1 Semi. Sandpiper (late
migrants), 4 Willets, 5 Yellow-billed Cuckoos (one carrying a big,
bright-green caterpillar), a screech owl that called only once, 7
Brown-headed Nuthatches, 2 Cedar Waxwings, 1 Summer Tanager, 3 Blue
Grosbeaks, 10 Seaside Sparrows, and 8 Orchard Orioles.
One mockingbird gave a good Virginia Rail imitation. We were told the nest
in the dogwood right next to the Contact Station is an active kingbird one.
Most interesting was one Pine Warbler song which started with the
obligatory, standard-issue, slow, rich, languid trill but then broke off
abruptly and ended with 3-5 separate loud, weezy notes. Mondo bizarro.
Butterflies: Spicebush Swallowtail, Viceroy, Pearlcrescent, numerous
Buckeyes, Cabbage Whites and Orange Sulphurs. Mammals: a Red Fox (plus 3
roadkills), 2 Fox Squirrels, 1 Sika Deer & 6 Eastern Cottontail Bunny
Wabbits. Earlier I saw 4 Gray Squirrels in Easton plus one of D.O.R.
Amphibians: Southern Leopard Frog and a chorus of Cricket Frogs at
Robbins, the latter so high-pitched and gentle they almost sound like soft
drizzle hitting the water's surface. Reptiles: 10 Painted and 6
Red-bellied Turtles as well as several Diamondback Terrapin, one of which
was laying eggs in sand right on the edge of the pavement (candidate for
the annual Darwin Award?).
This trip spent the morning on the refuge doing the Wildlife Drive circle
tour, then in the afternoon the "great circle route" south on Shorter's
Wharf Road to Robbins, Andrews, and Lakesville, right onto Rt. 336 to
Golden Hill, then right on Rt. 335, and right again on Key Wallace Drive.
Our cavalcade passed Golden Hill near the Spicer lumber yard with our 4-way
blinkers flashing in observance of the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers that were
found nesting there from the 1930s to the 1950s, before their domain was
lumbered. The parking area where Rt. 335 crosses the Blackwater River has
recently been paved. It is an excellent vantage point to look for
shorebirds in season, eagles, Ospreys, and dabbling ducks. I once saw over
1,000 Green-winged Teal from there in mid-September. This area is favored
by kayakers and perch fisherpersons.
"Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue. 4-8 P.M. 30 species, such as flock of 34 Canada Geese towards
dusk very high and flying due north (why?). Even though they were at least
a mile away, with my poor hearing I was able to catch brief snatches of
their calling. Also: 1 Chuck-will's-widow, 1 ad. Bald Eagle at dusk.
Also: 3 deer (does) and 2 small, spotted fawns, a Northern Water Snake,
many fireflies at dusk, a Gray Squirrel, 2 cottontails, and an out-of-place
Fiddler Crab on the lawn over 200 feet from tidal water or marsh.
Sun., June 13, at Rigby. Took it easy. Liz, Anne & I all felt weary and
wiped out today. 1 Snowy Egret, 82 Mute Swans (in one compact group), 2
Red-tailed Hawks, 1 hummingbird, and a pair of Blue Grosbeaks cavorting in
the Big Field (F1). I drove 2.9 miles in our fields (in F1-2 and F4-7; F3
has been ploughed up for a clover crop for the deer, is undriveable) but
other than 4 American Ladies, a small fawn all alone in F4, and the
grosbeaks I didn't flush any of the field species I'd hoped for. These
fields have been uncultivated since 2002 and are now full of maturing
cattails and 1000s of volunteer Baccharis halimifolia bushes 1'-2' high.
Silver-spotted Skipper, Tiger Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Cabbage White,
and Eastern Tailed Blue. Cloudy and cool all day. Fowler's Toads hopping
about the lawn.
Monday, June 14. At Blackwater N.W.R. saw a Red-bellied Turtle in the
tidal water, unusual in my experience. Pool 1, being drained, held 35
Great and 5 not-so-great egrets, 4 black ducks, and 112 Mallards. Birds
seen today but missed, alas, on the M.O.S. field trip on Sat. were 2
Forster's Terns and a Red-headed Woodpecker. Nice flock of 9 Black
Vultures.
Atlassed in the Taylor's Island area. Taylor's I. NE block 11 A.M.-2 P.M.
& 4-5 P.M. 60 species incl.: 45 Mute Swans, 8 Bald Eagle sightings, 2
dead-sure Black Vulture nest sites - 1 an abandoned house, another a brush
pile. 4 sightings of Cedar Waxwings. Heard, a first for me, a mockingbird
imitate perfectly the little subdued shriek that Bald Eagles do and a Brown
Thrasher imitate a Willet and Killdeer. Lynn, I'm overcoming my phobic
reaction to atlassing. As a great ornithologist once said: "Just do it!"
Also atlassed the Hudson SE block, which is perhaps 85%+ open water.
Highly developped but birdy. 30 species, 2-4 P.M. 2 Bald Eagles and one
house had a bank of hummingbird feeders with 6 hummers in sight at once.
For a while I thought I was in Madera Canyon. This block is also quite
froggy with these heard: Gray & Green Tree Frogs, Green & Bull frogs, and
the eternal and ubiqitous (and, I would maintain, appealing - cute even)
Fowler's Toad.
Tue., June 15. South Marsh Point, Accomac County, VA, from Crisfield with
master banders Dave Brinker and John Weske. Partly sunny, winds SW 20+ -
15 m.p.h., temps low 70s to low 80s, comfortable weather but the trip out
was rough and wet, imperiling somewhat the $25,000 action cam that went
with us - we were accompanied by Tim Pugh, a photographer from Maryland
Public Television, and Susanne Stahley, an independent producer who does a
lot of work for MPT. Their take on the day, including an interview with
Dave, will probably air some time this summer on Outdoor Maryland or
Maryland Out-of-doors or whatever it is called. Our objectives today were
to accomplish the filming for MPT and to band only a few pelicans, thereby
using up the remaining 25 color bands. We banded 116 pelican chicks, most
of these in the big north colony. Another banding expedition was planned
for Wednesday with a big crew of helpers.
Complete South Marsh Point bird list, other than the nesting pelicans,
cormorants, Herring & Great Black-backed Gulls: 8 Seaside Sparrows (2
carrying food), 3 Yellow-crowned Night & 1 Little Blue heron, 7 Snowy & 1
Great egret, 6 Fish Crows, 12 Glossy Ibis, 12 black ducks, 1 Gadwall, 2
Mallards, 10 Canada Geese, 12 oystercatchers, 4 Common, 16 Royal & 11
Forster's terns, 1 Northern Harrier, 3 Ospreys, and 4 Boat-tailed Grackles
plus a Clapper Rail flushed at close range (possibly off of a nest). In
addition there was a pair of Mute Swans with 1 cygnet, one abandoned nest
with 1 egg, and 1 active nest with 1 egg. This is near wilderness and I
love it.
I made a note of pelican and cormorant nests that still had eggs in the
south colony. Pelicans: 14 nests with 3 eggs, 11 with 2 eggs, 2 with 1
egg, and 2 with 1 egg plus 1 young for a total of 29 such nests.
Cormorants: 12 with 1 egg, 19 with 2 eggs, 14 with 3 eggs, 4 with 4 eggs,
2 with 1 egg plus 1 young, 3 with 2 eggs plus 1 young, and 2 with 2 eggs
plus 2 young for a total of 56 such nests. The south colony is
medium-sized. The north colony is massive and also has proportionately
more birds of bandable size. The new east colony, discovered this year by
Dr. Bryan Watts, has only about 50 nests and only a few naked young so far.
We decided that MPT could truly say they were shooting naked chicks today.
Herring Gull attack. For the first time ever I was struck three times by a
Herring Gull. It flew down and struck my hat. We had 6 or so sightings of
Cow-nosed Rays, some very close to the boat. Found a long-dead Loggerhead
Turtle.
The adult pelicans soon settle back at their nests striking stolid, almost
motionless poses with great dignity and patience, all facing into the wind
like a great environmental sculpture, waiting quietly for us to leave. So
far, over the years, Dave Brinker and his helpers, especially John Weske,
have banded over 8,000 Brown Pelicans in Maryland and (the overwhelming
majority) here at South Marsh Point, VA, which is essentially an extension
of Smith Island, MD. Dave's objective is to eventually have banded 12,000.
Their recovery rate for banded pelicans is c. 8%.
From Dave and John I learned that there are 635 Royal Tern nests on Skimmer
Island, Ocean City, MD, and c. 1200 on Fisherman I., VA, plus 3 or 4
Sandwich Tern (also known as the BLT Tern, a species worth toasting) nests.
On Wreck Island, VA, there has been a huge increase to c. 1500 Royal Tern
nests plus a dozen or more Sandwich Tern nests, some skimmers, and Common
Terns also as related by Ruth Boettcher to Dave.
Back on the mainland we had a late lunch at 3 P.M. Afterwards, driving up
Rt. 413 at 5 P.M. I saw an ad. Red-headed Woodpecker 1.9 mi. s. of the
intersection of Rts. 413 X 13 on the northwest side of the road (413 runs
NE to SW) in a raw, recently lumbered over area near Westover, MD.
Arriving back at Rigby that evening there was a big chorus of Green Tree
Frogs calling about half a mile away, audible even as I lay in bed at 9
P.M. Prior to this year these frogs were practically non-existant here.
Wed., June 16. 2 adult & 4 c. one-third-grown cygnets at the Cambridge end
of the Rt. 50 bridge. Blackwater N.W.R.: the water in Pool 1 continues to
drop: 35 Great & 1 Snowy egret, 1 Glossy Ibis, 2 great blues & 1 Green
Heron.
Atlassed in the Taylor's Island CE block 11:30-3:30. 61 species. Best was
a great view of a really agitated - hot and bothered, in fact - Worm-eating
Warbler. 4 Red-headed Woodpeckers - found in 3 localities. A very
garrulous mockingbird here imitated, among other species - Semipalmated
Plover, Brown Thrasher, Great Crested Flycatcher, flicker, Red-headed
Woodpecker, House Sparrow, Red-eyed Vireo, Greater Yellowlegs, bluebird,
and Purple Martin. Saw a Cow-nosed Ray from Punch Island Road. 1 Sika
Deer. Several Tiger Swallowtails nectaring on a mimosa tree. Leaving
Rigby this morning just after the grass on the driveway had been mowed for
the first time this year 55 grackles and 4 starlings were feeding in the
mowed areas. One of the grackles had white outer tail feathers.
I'd hoped to spend one night trying for Black Rails during this period but
it was either too windy or else I was too exhausted to do it. This has
been a windy June, hampering my already-limited atlassing efforts.
Best to all 'til the next time.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St.,
Philadelphia, PA 19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Please, any off-list replies
to: harryarmistead at hotmail dot com
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