DORCHESTER COUNTY ISLANDS, Friday, May 27, 2005, plus South Marsh Island,
Somerset County.  Jared Sparks & Harry Armistead.  10 A.M. - 6 P.M.  

Earlier in the morning at Gootee's Marine in Golden Hill a new bilge pump
was installed in my boat "the Mud Hen."  As chance would have it John
Weske's boat, a Privateer, was also being worked on inside Gootee's large,
spotlessly clean inside work area.

A 36.4 statute mile boat trip (according to instrumentation on my boat). 
Jared's GPS unit, probably more accurate, had it at 37.0 miles.

ABBREVIATIONS:  BCNH, Black-crowned Night Heron.  YCNH, you guessed it,
Yellow-crowned Night Heron.  GBBG, Great Black-backed Gull.  SMI, South
Marsh Island (Somerset County).

1.  Pound nets off Crocheron, our launch site, attracted 11 Brown Pelicans
& 20 Double-crested Cormorants.  10:15 A.M.

2.  Bloodsworth Island, NE sector, Fin Creek & Fin Creek Ridge. 
10:30-11:45 A.M.  31 species.  The Great Blue Heron colony here, in
existence for decades, is thriving with approximately 110 nests, most of
them on nesting platforms erected by the U. S. Navy and others September
9-12, 2002.  Other nesting pairs I estimated at 4 BCNH, 3 YCNH, 5 Great
Egret, 2 Green Heron & 4 Snowy Egret.  

Other birds of interest here:  7 black ducks, 11 Marsh Wrens incl. 1
carrying nesting material 3 times as long as it was, 165 cormorants, 1
harrier, 4 pelicans, 3 yellowthroats, 30 Boat-tailed Grackles, 1
Short-billed Dowitcher, 16 Seaside Sparrows, 6 Willets, 3 Tree Swallows,
and 11 Clapper Rails.  A late migrant was an Eastern Wood Pewee hunting
bugs in a little hammock a mile south of the entrance to Fin Creek on the
west side.  

The GOOD NEWS is that, from what I hear, the military will NOT, due to
protests from watermen, be conducting renewed exercises (after a lapse of 7
years or so) and firing here .  

3.  Southeast Bloodsworth Island.  12:30 P.M.  Spent c. 1/2 hour here for
atlassing purposes.  Not much going on but there is a lovely small hammock
here with 6 medium-sized Red Cedars attractive to 1 each of apparently an
on-territory male Song Sparrow and yellowthroat.  21 species including a
Common Loon in strong flight to the west, 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 8
Seaside Sparrows, 1 Willet, 1 harrier, 2 Marsh Wrens, 3 pelicans, and 4
heron species.    

4.  Spring Island (part of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge).  1:15 P.M.
 Spent c. 1/2 hour here.  17 species.  In the past Spring has had thriving
colonies of Common & Forster's terns, pelicans, cormorants, Herring & GBBGs
(but not all simultaneously).  None of any of these nesting here now.  A
pair of peregrines was at the hacking tower.  What I took to be the female
perched on a post next to the nest box, the male visible apparently
incubating or brooding inside the box.  I am happy to say we did not flush
either one.  Other birds:  2 Clapper Rails, 6 Dunlin, 2 Semipalmated
Sandpipers & 1 male Mallard.  40 Diamondback Terrapin hauled out and
sunning on the islands west segment.  Other species, to give our complete
list:  2 Great Blue, 1 Tricolored & 1 Little Blue heron, 2 Snowy  & 4 Great
Egrets, 1 ad. YCNH, 3 cormorants, 2 Mute Swans, 2 Glossy Ibis, 6 Herring &
1 GBBG, 1 oystercatcher  My thanks to refuge manager Glenn Carowan for
permitting us to make a landing here.  

5.  Pry Island, a satellite of South Marsh Island (Wildlife Management
Area) on SMI's west side, Somerset County, MD.  1:45 P.M.  In recent years
has boasted a small pelican, cormorant, and gull colony; not this year.  16
species.  36 Dunlin, 85 pelicans (with one apparently completed but empty
nest), 85 Herring Gulls (2 nests ea. w/ 1 egg, 1 completed but empty nest),
8 GBBGs, 55 cormorants, 3 heron species, 30 Mute Swans, 2 Seaside Sparrows,
2 black ducks, and 6 Canada Geese.  SMI satellite islands have also had a
small Black Skimmer colony in some recent years, usually unsuccessful.  We
did not see any skimmers today.  Pry Island is now mostly a flat-topped
island with no little sandy or tumpy rises or bushes to support nesting
birds.  

6.  East Island (what's left of it), a satellite on the south side of SMI
at Sheepshead Harbor.  2:05 P.M.  8 species in the general adjacent area of
SMI.  2 islands here formerly supported a sometimes unsuccessful colony of
Common & Forster's terns.  1 island has completely disappeared and the 1
that's left is unsuitable for any nesting birds.  1 Osprey, 6 Great Egrets,
1 Red-winged Blackbird, 2 GBBGs (adults), 4 Mute Swans, 2 Herring Gulls
(adults) and 4 cormorants.  

7.  Holland Island, south segment, the biggest.  2:30-3:45 P.M.  37
species.  Found a lovely old bottle, in excellent condition, Davis OK
Baking Soda.  The old graveyard with its Parkses, Todds & Dizes is still a
good distance from the encroaching Bay waters but the Poison Ivy and
Baccharis Halimifolia that largely concealed it has mostly died out.  

Migrants:  1 Brown Thrasher, 1 Red-eyed Vireo, 21 Short-billed Dowitchers,
2 Spotted & 3 Semipalmated sandpipers. 

There are 2 substantial deciduous hammocks remaining, both of them loaded
with herons/ibis - a raucous, thriving, bustling place.  In the north
hammock I was astonished to find a Bald Eagle nest with 3 strapping,
imperious and stolid eaglets surveying their domain, and surrounded by many
heron nests.  My estimates of the number of heron/ibis nests borders on
creative ornithology, the vegetation is so dense; we did not want to
penetrate it out of respect for the birds, not to mention the poison ivy. 
In the past more careful observers, including Dave Brinker and his
associates, have found some of my estimates (to my delight) to be low.  But
here they are for this segment of Holland I.:  YCNH 15, BCNH 60 (Jared
counted 85 flying BCNH in the south hammock alone), Great Egret 10, Snowy
Egret 25, Cattle Egret 25, Tricolored Heron 30, Little Blue Heron 30, Green
Heron 1, Great Blue Heron 10, Glossy Ibis 20 and (!) WHITE IBIS 1 (!?).

Jared spotted the adult WHITE IBIS and we saw it descend into the middle of
the south hammock heronry along with several glossies.  About 10 minutes
later we saw it (presumably the same individual, but it could have been a
different one) fly out of the heronry and land about 200 yards away in the
saltmarsh at the north end of Holland Island's south segment, adjacent to
the heronry there.  About 15 minutes later I flushed it from there and it
gradually flew north, perhaps to Holland's middle segment.  Nice, large
white ibis, seen at close range all 3 times, red, sickle bill, dangling,
long legs, feathers completely white except for black tips to the
primaries.  My first for Maryland, only the 2nd or 3rd county record, I
think.

Some other birds here:  3 Mallards, 5 Willets, 2 kingbirds, 2 Song
Sparrows, 1 catbird, 2 yellowthroats, 6 Seaside Sparrows, 12 Fish Crows,10
Boat-tailed Grackles, a starling, and 4 Barn Swallows., these all
traditional nesters on Holland.  On the NW side of this south segment, from
the boat, we could see both Herring (95 birds present) and GBBGs (25 birds
present) incubating on their nests. 

8.  Holland Island, middle segment.  11 species.  Made a very brief landing
here at 4:05 P.M.  11 species.  This is the site of the only remaining
house from Holland's settlement, a town that persisted into the 1920s, I
believe, when there was a church and a school house.  The house at high
tide has Bay water lapping on 3 sides of it now.  South of the house is
dense bushy vegetation and Phragmites loaded with herons.  I estimated at
least these number of pairs:  Tricolored Heron 3, Little Blue 45, Snowy
Egret 60, YCNH 3.  Huge numbers of pelicans were seen from the south
segment, at least 340, many in the bushes, and I'd hoped to find them
nesting but they weren't.  Some 380 Herring and 30 GBBGs, however, were
also present and some of these were nesting.  A quick look & I found 33
what seemed to be Herring Gull nests (a few may have been GBBG nests):  25
with 3 eggs, 2 with 2 eggs, 2 with 1 egg, and 4 well-constructed nests with
no eggs (yet?).  A person I took to be the island's owner was sauntering
around with a large plastic bucket apparently throwing out handfuls of
grain (for what purpose?). 

The north segment of Holland Island is now just a small, narrow marshy tump
with no sign of the former large American Hackberry trees (see photograph
of their "Sinister looking, Laocoon-like" roots, "Maryland Birdlife",
September 1978, p. 124) and the old graveyard that used to grace it.  For a
couple of years there was an active Bald Eagle nest here and YCNHs were
abundant nesters.

9.  Adam Island (U. S. Navy).  A long, skinny island.  4:30 P.M.  26
species.  Although we did not land we recorded a good island species list
in a short time anyway.  8 or so active Great Blue Heron nests in the few
remaining substantial Red Cedars.  3 Osprey nests, one huge.  Also seen
here:  a pair of Gadwall, a black duck with 6 small, downy young, 2 Canada
Geese, 4 Mallards, 5 heron species, 45 cormorants, 45 Dunlin, 10
Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 Song Sparrow, 1 Clapper Rail, 3 Barn Swallows,
40 pelicans, 1 adult Bald Eagle, 1 Short-billed Dowitchers & 6 turnstones. 


10.  Pone Island, a Bloodsworth Island satellite on its SW side.  5 P.M. 
19 species.  Another boat list.  Due to the very high tide the lovely, long
sandbar just SE of here was submerged.  But we did see 15 Dunlin, 4
Black-bellied & 3 Semipalmated plovers, 3 Barn Swallows (which nest under
some of the former naval target objects), 2 Spotted Sandpipers, 4 heron
species, 4 Mallards, 2 Canada geese, 4 pelicans, and 22 cormorants.      

11.  NW Bloodsworth Island.  5:15 P.M.  Yet another boat only list.  17
species.  Several Sherman Tanks lie submerged just offshore from here, one
still visible at low tide.  2 harriers, 2 Canada Geese, 2 Mallards, 8
Dunlin, 4 heron species, 1 adult Bald Eagle, 3 Barn Swallows (also nest in
this sector), 75 cormorants, 18 Mute Swans, 6 pelicans, an active Osprey
nest on top of a large, tall former target, and 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers. 
 

12.  Bishop's Head.  5:45 P.M.  Near the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's
attractive, well-appointed Noonan Center there is a Bald Eagle nest in a
Loblolly Pine hammock.  Just north of there along Tedious Creek we saw an
adult eagle carrying a fish in that direction.  The navigation marker, I
believe it's called a spindle, just off Bishop's Head Point, is no longer
there.  It could be depended on to have an Osprey nest.  This spindle was
always a nice mark to shoot for when heading in after a long day on the
water.  The waters around this point are often tricky, rough and turbulent,
the Scylla and Charybdis of Dorchester County, as it were.

13.  Shorter's Wharf Road.  7:30 P.M.  North from the new launching site at
Shorter's Wharf bridge a stretch of over 1.5 miles of Shorter's Wharf Road
was submerged by the very high tide, sometimes 6 or more inches over the
road.  This meant crawling along with my boat trailer rig at 5 m.p.h.  At
least we were able to see 12 Bald Eagles on this stretch of the road.  The
former Bald Eagle nest here in a small dead Loblolly Pine (killed by marsh
fires) just east of the road held a successful Great Horned Owl nest
earlier this spring but 2 Ospreys were perched adjacent to it today.  I
hate to think what this very high tide has done to any Seaside Sparrow or
Virginia Rail nests in this marsh and its effect on their invertebrate prey
items has probably not been good either.

OYSTERCATCHERS.  1 at Spring I.  2  at Pry I.  2 in the East I. area.  6 at
Holland I., south segment.  6 at Adam I.  1 at Pone I.  1 on NW Bloodsworth
I.  In the past few years I've seen very few nests and young.  None for
today either

TO AND FRO.  "Rescued" a Snapping Turtle sitting on the road near Wingate. 
A Muskrat near Robbins.  A Red Fox on Shorter's Wharf Road.    

WEATHER.  A gorgeous outing with light winds starting from the NW &
shifting around to the SW for most of the day.  Clear or fair skies
becoming mostly overcast late in the day, then fair at sunset.  Temps in
the 70s.  Almost no mosquitos or biting flies.  Midges annoying only at the
Crocheron launching ramp.  Water temps in the low to mid 60s.  Tide high
most of the day on the islands with a high low tide at midday.  Only hit
bottom a couple of times.  

NO-NOs.  NO Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows.  Sometimes see them near the
mouth of Fin Creek or on Holland I.  No broods of Mute Swans, Canada Geese
or Mallards.  Odd to see no Sanderlings.  Can hope for Whimbrel and knot
but didn't see them.  Some of the hammock-nesting landbirds were missed,
including House & Carolina wrens and cardinal.  The 2 wrens used to breed
on Fin Creek Ridge and Holland I., the House Wren disappearing before the
Carolina.  However, considering the briefness of my annual visits it would
be easy to miss some of these birds.

FEW TERNS.  Only ones all day on the islands were 3 Royals, 2 Forster's & 2
Commons.

14.  "Rigby's Folly", Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD,
near Bellevue.  A Chuck-will's-wwidow in full cry from Woods 2 as Jared and
I rolled in at 8:45 P.M.  13 deer also.

OFF TOPIC.  15.  Outer Banks, NC, Memorial Day Weekend pelagic news. 
Talked briefly with son, George A., one of the leaders of 3 Patteson sea
trips this weekend out of Manteo, Roanoke I.  3 additional trips led by
Brian Patteson et al. also went offshore, from Hatteras Inlet.  Between
them they had a minimum of 3 British Storm Petrels (well-seen,
photographed, 3rd-5th North American records respectively?), a Sabine's
Gull, a Bermuda Petrel, some Herald Petrels, a breeding plumage Pacific
Loon, a Masked Booby, Manx Shearwaters, a Wood Duck 40+ miles offshore, 20
Sperm Whales, hundreds of dolphins, several other whale species & Leach's
Storm Petrels.  No phalaropes and almost no jaegers.  I THINK I got most of
this right.  

Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225.  215-248-4120.  Please, any off-list replies to: