Rigby's Folly, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, West
Ferry Neck Road near Royal Oak, nearer still to Bellevue. 

A low key weekend, sleep in with naps and no great exploits.  Lots of food.

FRIDAY, April 4.  10:45 P.M.  an Eastern Cottontail on the driveway. 
Spring Peepers calling in the distance.  58 degrees.  calm.  

SATURDAY, April 5.  calm becoming NNW 10+, 56-67 (56 at 11 P.M., when
Spring Peepers are calling again), mostly overcast, high tide at 3:41 P.M. 
40 species.

12 Horned Grebes.  12 Double-crested Cormorants.  2 Snowy Egrets flying N.
over the Choptank, presumed spring arrivals (saw one March 28 one year).  6
Long-tailed Ducks.  945 Surf Scoters.  2 Ruddy Ducks.  4 Red-breasted
Mergansers.  70 Buffleheads.  2 Bald Eagles.  5 Forster's Terns.  3
Laughing Gulls.  

2 flickers.  1 Barn Swallow coming in off of the Choptank River mouth (but
record early date is March 27).  80 Fish Crows making a ruckus c. 6:30
P.M., going to roost somewhere.  12 Ospreys (3 of them sitting on the front
deck of the new neighbor's boat at Edwards Point).  6 Northern Gannets.  

A 2' Northern Watersnake sunning on Ferry Neck Road next to Frog Hollow. 
My reward for gently shooing it off the road with my topsiders is to be
struck at 3 times.  Pick one of this species up and they try to vomit and
defecate on you; such are their charms.  A Red Fox.  28 deer.  3 Gray
Squirrels.

BUTTERFLIES:  1 Mourning Cloak, 12 Cabbage Whites & 9 sulphurs (Orange?;
what are they likely to be at this time of year?).  

All of the gannets I've seen this year on Chesapeake Bay and its
tributaries have been adults, as is usually the case.  They remain active
even after sunset.  

Dump 50 more Philadelphia bricks over the bank to help delay the erosion in
front of the house.

PLANTS.  The Money plant is starting to bloom and has spread since last
year.  Skunk Cabbages started to emerge in low areas along Route 301 3
weeks ago and are now rank, as it were.  The daffodils and Vorsythia seem
very good this spring.   

SUNDAY, April 6.  rain most of the time, quite a lot last night, high 40s,
NE 10+, overcast with low, thick clouds moving across the sky from the
east.  Take a walk in the rain.  Nap at mid-day.  

Spend some time reading "Central Park in the dark: more mysteries of urban
wildlife" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2008) by Marie Winn (author of
"Red-tails in love: Pale Male's story"), which I'm reviewing for "Library
journal."  One gets tired of having New York shoved down one's throat all
the time (what I call Newrocentrism) but this IS remarkably good reading. 
She's a skilled writer: witty, informed, and entertaining.  

Leave for home early at 2:45 P.M.

10 Wild Turkeys and 18 deer as we head out the drive.  Find a Red-winged
Blackbird's nest from last year towards the head of the cove.  In the past
few weeks I've found 6 bird nests I was unaware of last year.  

HEADIN' HOME:  At the celebrated small wetland 0.2 mi. N. of Routes 481 X
309:  17 Wilson's Snipe, 18 Green-winged & 2 Blue-winged Teal.  Usually the
birds here do not flush when I stop but unfortunately they do today. 
However, this allows the impressive sight of the 17 snipe flying together
in a tight group, more than I am used to seeing in these parts.  A
Woodchuck half out of its burrow at Routes 1 X 299 E. of Middletown,
Delaware, which seems to be their preFURRED spot lately.  A Bald Eagle just
W. of the toll booth on Route 1 S. of the Delaware-Chesapeake Canal.  

'til the next time:

Best to all.-Henry ("Harry") T. 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 ....)