Rigby's Folly, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, near
Bellevue. Nice 3-day weekend with Liz, Anne & Mary Armistead. Most of the
time spent doing brush work, chores, errands. Good weather.
Thursday evening, April 13, 9:45 P.M. A Great horned Owl. After I
unloaded the car, slammed doors, turned on lights, it called right in the
yard 3 times.
Good Friday, April 14, 2006. 49 species.
Common Loon 12 including a pod of 10. Their subdued contact call, a sort
of "chuck" note or little yelp, we were able to hear even with our backs
turned and at a distance of about 900 feet. Surprsing how far it carries.
Only 2 Horned Grebes (compare with 383 on April 19, 1980, 350 on April 17,
1966, and 185 as late in the year as April 24, 1982; they remain down,
down, down.). 3 Great & 3 Snowy egrets. 2 adult Little Blue Herons. 985
Surf Scoters. Only 3 Red-breasted Mergansers.
2 Black Vultures in the yard a lot, often perched nonchalantly in the tops
of yard trees undisturbed as I walked around directly underneath them;
they're still hanging around a blind on the edge of the Big Field and I'm
hoping they're nesting either in the blind or in the morass of honeysuckle
and blackberries behind it. 2 Bald Eagles. 1 Northern Harrier in
migration. 1 Wild Turkey. 2 Common & 8 Forster's terns, some of the
latter in high breeding plumage, actively fishing in the cove; dandies. 1
Tree, 4 Bank & 3 Barn swallows, all seemed to be passing through. 1
Chipping Sparrow.
No mice in the house traps after 2 weeks. Good. 15 deer. 1 Bat. 1
Eastern Cottontail. 1 Gray Squirrel. 3 Meadow Voles under the burning
brush pile, would, unfortunately, retreat farther into it as the flames
exposed their lairs; very fat and furry. Big chorus of Fowler's Toads and
Southern Leopard Frogs at dusk in spite of the drought. Butterflies: 4
Pearlcrescents, 30 suplhurs, 2 Cabbage Whites. 4 of us attended the brush
pile with 2 hoses running, 9 big vessels filled with water, and various
rakes and shovels.
WEATHER. Sky: clear or fair all day. Wind: light & variable or else
calm. Temperature in degrees F.: 60-72. Tide: lower than normal, too
low to launch boat. Precipitation: a very few light sprinkles early on.
Ground condition: very dry but some morning and ambient dampness.
Visibility: good but with haze over the Bay. Some distant, diffuse
lightning c. 10 P.M.
Saturday, April 15. Jared Sparks joins us in the afternoon. 46 species.
Boat ride of 11 miles up the Choptank River to the Choptank Light and
beyond c. 1/2 mile under nearly dead calm conditions. Water temperature
62-64 degrees; went for first swim.
10 Common Loons. 2 Horned Grebes. 1 adult gannet. 4 Double-crested
Cormorants. 1 imm. Tundra Swan, quite late, wary, flushed and flew well.
Only 6 Lesser Scaup, terribly low here this spring (cf. 750 on March 29,
1986). 1,370 Surf & 2 White-winged scoters. 3 Long-tailed Ducks (compare
with 6,700 on April 1, 1988, or 750 as late in the year as April 13, 1980;
WHAT has happened?????). 1 female Common Goldeneye. 90 Buffleheads. 4
Red-tailed Hawks (3 ad. in sight simultaneously [I.S.S.]; an imm. earlier).
1 Great Horned Owl at dusk. 6 Cedar Waxwings. 5 Savannah Sparrows (year
birds).
Even Surf Scoters seem to be not as abundant. Compare the 1,370 rather
carefully-estimated today with these recent counts: 2,560 on April 13,
1990 or 3,530 on March 31, 2001. I have not seen as many this winter as
during the past 15 years.
My high count of Laughing Gulls over these 3 days was 4 on April 15 (cf. 55
on April 9, 1993). Is the Choptank River dying? Even Buffleheads seem
down. Compare today's total of 90 with 400 as late in the year as April
20, 1984. Some BUT NOT ALL of these variations for the species discussed
here may be due to birds leaving earlier than usual this year or later than
usual in some other years.
Diamondback Terrapin jamboree, a snout count: 41 I.S.S. from Lucy Point
then a short time later 31 I.S.S. at the mouth of the cove = a total of 72.
Butterflies: 2 Red-spotted Purples, 40 sulphurs, 3 Cabbage Whites, 4
Pearlcrescents. Good look at a Fowler's Toad at Lucy Point. Heard a
Raccoon (or Raccoons) calling.
WEATHER. Sky: overcast early with light rain but mostly fair or clear.
Wind: calm becoming NW at 5 late in the day. Temperature in degrees F.:
60-80. Tide: low - high - low. Visibility: excellent.
We cleaned up the plastic and glass residue of Hurricane Isabel, much of it
embedded deep in honeysuckle and blackberry tangles, sometimes 50 or more
feet back from the tops of the bank. Policed up the few unburned, small
lumber segments, and scores of nails from the wood pile burned yesterday.
Went to bed exhasuted at 9:15 only to be kept awake by neighbors who were
shooting until 10 P.M. (a long series of 2 shots each). Sometimes one
needs more than good fences. On the other hand, today Mike Davidson, with
the help of 9 Latinos, placed stone in front of c. 100 feet or our marsh at
the head of the cove, something he had asked us permission to do a year or
so ago, since it abuts his own shoreline.
Easter Sunday, April 16. Mostly dealt with the coolant leak in Anne's 1998
Cavalier, still unresolved (St. Michaels Automotive has a hard-to-believe
work ethic; is open 9-3 on Sundays; several times they have gotten me out
of jams on weekends). Put the boat's gear and supplies in order and used
the strap lift for the first time this year.
Wood Duck 2. Bald Eagle 2. Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 in migration. A singing
Pine Warbler in the yard. A male Red-bellied Woodpecker has been in the
yard all this time, frequently calling and dutifully working on excavating
a cavity. 1 Barn Swallow. 1 Wild Turkey. Last night in the wee small
hours while lying in bed heard a Great Horned Owl several times.
Also: A Red Fox (Mary also heard one calling last night). 1 Gray
Squirrel. ! Eastern Cottontail.
WEATHER. Sky: fair. Wind: NW 5 becoming nearly calm. Temperature in
degrees F.: 60-70. Visibility: good.
Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA
19119-1225. 215-248-4120. Please, any off-list replies to:
harryarmistead at hotmail dot com (never, please, to 74077.3176 ....) |