74th Dorchester County May Bird Count. Saturday, May 8, 2004. Overcast to
clear pre-dawn, with welcome stars and sky appearing at 1 A.M. and the moon
at 1:30, becoming overcast again c. 3 -5 A.M., then mostly fair to clear
the rest of the day. Temperature falling from 65 to c. 54 degrees F. by
sunrise, rising to 73 or so by mid-afternoon then falling to a cool 50 by
8:30 P.M. As with May 1 we were plagued by high winds of 15-25 m.p.h. most
of the day except at night when winds were moderate. Winds were mostly NW
at night, predominantly cold and NE during the day, except for a period
when they were SW in the mid-afternoon.
TEAM SOUTH: Midnight to 8:45 P.M. 195 miles by car, 2 on foot. Our night
list, which stops when the first hint of daylight appears, was 29 species.
Hans Holbrook, Jim Brighton & myself. Thanks to Jim and Hans for adding
many birds (and, especially, non-birds) to the day's totals that I would
have missed otherwise.
139 species (does not include 2 unidentified falcons plus a Trumpeter Swan
in the roadside ditch at the Shorter's Marsh section of Blackwater N.W.R.)
1 Glossy Ibis. 0 Least Bitterns (missed on May 1 and also on the two May
counts in 2003; I'm starting to worry about this species here). 4
Blue-winged Teal (declining here). 0 Green-winged Teal. 2 Red-breasted
Mergansers (Hooper's I.). 35 Bald Eagles. 11 Northern Harriers. 7
Northern Bobwhite (a low total such as this would have been unbelievable 20
years ago). 0 Black Rails (conditions were very good for them to call if
there were any there). 3 King Rails (2 near Vienna, 1 at Shorter's Marsh).
30 Virginia Rails. 6 Common Moorhens. 86 Semipalmated Plovers
(widespread). 5 Black-necked Stilts (Elliott I. marsh). 7 Solitary & 3
Spotted sandpipers (both missed on May 1). 451 Least Sandpipers. 385
Dunlin. 0 dowitchers. 5 American Woodcock (4 next to Savanna Lake). 14
Royal Terns (2 at Hooper's & 12 at Elliott islands).
only 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 2 screech, 2 Barn, 2 Great Horned & 3 Barred
Owls. 18 Chuck-will's-widows & 2 Whip-poor-wills. 9 Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds. 1 ad. Red-headed Woodpecker (Moneystump Swamp). 4 Hairy
Woodpeckers. only 1 wood pewee. 31 Great-crested Flycatchers. 1 Blue Jay
(?!). 1 Bank Swallow. 16 Brown-headed Nuthatches. 3 Veeries (Old Field
Rd.). 0 waxwings. 1 Chestnut-sided, 1 Magnolia, 1 Blackpoll & 2
Black-throated Blue warblers. 9 Summer Tanagers. 7 Swamp Sparrows (mostly
singers). only 1 Indigo Bunting. 3 Baltimore Orioles (migrating birds).
0 Bobolinks.
A hen Mallard at the base of the Malkus Bridge had 17 downy ducklings in
tow. Only a few of the marsh fireflies on May 1 but today countless
thousands of them glimmered in the Elliott Island grasses. Heavy rain and
wind before midnight with much thunder and lightning. As the storm
receding slowly to the south after midnight we could see clouds luminous
with lightning up until 2:45 A.M., clouds that were perhaps 30 or 40 miles
away. A beautiful scene when combined with the great choruses of frogs and
the calling marshbirds.
Frogs & Toads. 9 species, which is good. Cricket Frogs in several spots
including Moneystump Swamp. Many Gray Tree Frogs, often missed entirely,
calling in many places along Elliott I. Rd. Some choruses of Green Tree
Frogs there also. 5 Carpenter Frogs. Plus: many Southern Leopard Frogs,
a few Bull Frogs, many Green Frogs, and a couple of Chorus Frogs. No
Spring Peepers but mucho Fowler's Toads. Batrachians very vocal at night.
Insects: 2 Luna Moths on upper Elliott I. Rd. Many Painted Skimmers (a
dragonfly), esp. in Moneystump Swamp. Not a great butterfly day but 1
Tiger Swallowtail, a Pearl Crescent, Orange Sulphurs, a Buckeye, various
unidentified ladies, several that were either Spring Azures or Eastern
Tailed Blues, Cabbage Whites, and some unidentified black swallowtails.
Mammals. 2 Gray & 2 Fox Squirrels (1 of the latter in Moneystump Swamp).
8 or so ea. of Sika Elk and White-tailed Deer. 1 Woodchuck seen along
Henry's Cross Road at the Deerbusters camp. A rabbit or two, a Striped
Skunk, and several roadkill Opossums and Raccoons. Heard 1 presumed Red
Fox. Heard 4 or so Nutria (Elliott I. Rd.).
Reptiles. Several Red-bellied and Painted Turtles. 1 Spotted Turtle.
Numerous Diamondback Terrapin in Fishing Bay (Elliott I. Rd.). A roadkill
Black Racer and Northern Water Snake. Several Mud Turtles. A Box Turtle.
1 Snapping Turtle. Best of all: a Rough Green Snake across the road from
the Maple Dam Rd. impoundments.
Our group species totals, most of these (except for owls, woodpeckers,
sparrows and terns) below average: 7 heron types, 8 waterfowl, 7 raptors,
6 woodpeckers, 4 owls, 15 shorebirds, 3 flycatchers, 5 terns, 15 warblers,
and 9 sparrows. By way on contrast TEAM NORTH saw 6 swallows, 5
flycatchers, and 13 warblers.
TEAM NORTH: Bob Ringler & Jared Sparks worked areas north of Route 50 for
15 hours. A little laryngitis was not enough to keep Jared away. In this
for-the-most-part marshless area with little big water they found 105
species in spite of such constraints.
Of most interest: 23 Double-crested Cormorants. 3 Snow Geese & 9 Ruddy
Ducks (at the Hurlock Wastewater Treatment Plant, natch). 22 Wood Ducks.
21 Ospreys. 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks. only 6 bobwhite. 8 shorebird species
incl. 51 Least Sandpipers. 4,220 Laughing Gulls (huge concentration of
them again at the hog farm on Indiantown Road). 34 crested flycatchers.
27 Horned Larks. 4 Cliff Swallows (apparently breeding at the
Brookview-Eldorado bridge, where Hal Wierenga and Lynn Davidson found them
so in the summer of 2002). 24 Wood Thrushes. 22 Prairie Warblers. 28
Ovenbirds. 2 Louisiana Waterthrushes (scarce breeder north of Route 50).
5 Vesper Sparrows (apparently on breeding territories in 4 places). 9
Bobolinks. 38 Orchard Orioles.
TEAM DUSK. Levin & Diane Willey counted herons coming into the willows of
Pool 3, Wildlife Drive, Blackwater N.W.R., from 7 - 8:30 P.M. Where all
these egrets go during the day is something of a mystery. The North and
South teams covered much of the county (195 & 148 miles by car
respectively) and had nowhere near these totals. Furthermore, these birds
do not seem to be nesting in Pool 3. Normally at dusk any self-respecting
heron flies to its breeding colony. Perhaps these are sub-adult birds?
Levin discovered this roost several years ago. The Willeys' totals were:
277 Great, 60 Snowy & 8 Cattle egrets, 1 Green & 2 Black-crowned Night
herons, 4 Glossy Ibis, and 20 Wood Ducks.
Last week I forgot to mention the batrachians heard for the count done here
on May 1. It was never my intention to disenfranchise any froggies. Those
hereby not disenfranchised were: Cricket Frogs (at 2 places, including
Moneystump Swamp), Bullfrogs (first ones of the year for me, in 3 or 4
places), Green Tree Frogs (a few half-hearted calling ones), many Green
Frogs, big choruses of Fowler's Toads, 1 Carpenter Frog near the north end
of Savanna Lake), and many Southern Leopard Frogs. We heard no Spring
Peepers or Chorus Frogs.
"Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue. Friday, May 7. Bob Ringler & myself: 8 Surf Scoters, 3 Spotted
Sandpipers, 8 Common Loons, 1 hummingbird, 1 Orchard Oriole, 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 1 Northern Bobwhite, 6 Purple Martins, 4 waxwings, 1
Bank Swallow, 1 Blue Grosbeak, 4 Common Terns. Also: 36 Diamondback
Terrapin (in sight at once, basking at the surface in the warm sun at the
head of the cove), 1 2.5' Northern Water Snake, 1 Raccoon in a hollow of a
big Black Locust where we could hear young ones calling, 2 Muskrats (one
pushing fresh cut greens ahead of it swimming towards its presumed den or
lodge somewhere, 1 male Box Turtle on the driveway (beautiful orange
markings), 1 Red Fox, 1 Gray Squirrel (eating fallen catkins or whatever
they are from a White Oak). In the evening of May 6 just as I was pulling
off of Route 322 onto 33 at 10 P.M. at the "headwaters" of the Tred Avon
River a beautiful Red Fox ran right in front of the car; just ahead of us a
police car with lights flashing had pulled someone over.
Ippolitov-Ivanov's "Caucasian Sketches", one of my favorites, was playing
on 89.5.
Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Please, any off-list replies to:
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