DORCHESTER COUNTY, MD, 14th FALL BIRD COUNT, SEPTEMBER 19, 2009.
APOLOGIES for the delay, caused by my visit to Kiptopeke, Virginia, September 24-October 12. Highlights there: 311 Merlins one day, 133 Peregrine Falcons another, 7 peregrines captured one day (20+ overall), up to 425 White Ibis, and 2 days with over 1000 raptors plus a lot of good company and food (and drink).
EXCELLENT Dorchester coverage on September 19 by local standards and the species total is very good considering there was a minimalist flight of passerines, poor waterfowl numbers, and few shorebirds because of high waters.
FAMILY SPECIES REPRESENTATION: 13 raptors (excellent), 10 waterfowl (so-so), 16 warblers, 7 woodpeckers (grand slam), 11 shorebirds, 7 heron types, 3 nuthatches, 5 swallows (good), 5 sparrows (difficult to find at this time of year, except for chippies), 4 gulls, 4 terns, 4 flycatchers, 2 vireos (poor), 3 owls (par), 3 thrushes, 3 wrens.
MISSED SPECIES. At this time of year many common birds are hard to find. The most outstanding missed species: horned lark, ovenbird, and Baltimore oriole. Other less surprising ones: gadwall, American wigeon, cattle egret, glossy ibis, peregrine falcon, American oystercatcher, cuckoos, yellow warbler, and swamp sparrow.
COMMON BIRDS NEARLY MISSED (they’re always are some of these in September): semipalmated plover 1, eastern kingbird 1 (but … getting late for them), great crested flycatcher 3, marsh wren 2, scarlet tanager 1, field sparrow 2, eastern towhee 5 (1 party only), eastern meadowlark 3.
6 MOST ABUNDANT SPECIES: European starling 1702. mallard 1124. laughing gull 806. double-crested cormorant 716. brown-headed cowbird 677. herring gull 512.
144 species. c. 12,433 individual birds.
PARTICIPANTS, 15: Neck District – Colin & Stephanie McAllister. North Dorchester north & west of Route 16 – Shirley Bailey & Zeeger de Wilde. East-central Dorchester – Steve Ford. Wroten Island – James Riordan. Taylor’s Island – Wayne Bell, Amanda Spears, Gabby Caliguiri, George Radcliffe, Elizabeth Jones. Linkwood area – Levin & Diane Willey. Extreme south Dorchester – Diane Cole. Blackwater N.W.R., Hooper’s Island & Elliott Island Road – Harry Armistead (compiler).
EFFORT: Miles by car 493, by foot 19, owling 47. Hours by car 39, by foot 34, owling 8. 8 parties as detailed above. 4:30 A.M. – 7:30 P.M.
WEATHER: Clear with mostly zero cloud cover (sometimes c. 5%), 67-79 degrees F. dropping to 56 at dusk, winds NE 10-15 becoming W 15 at dusk. Tides extremely high at many points during the day, tidal water covering some roads. Impounded waters high also.
MORE DETAIL concerning my own day may be found on my posting during the 4th week of September on MDOSPREY.
ABBREVIATIONS: BNWR, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. EIR, Elliott Island Road. HI, Hooper’s Island. SH, Swan Harbor (north of Hooper’s Island). Other abbreviations are for observers’ names, for which see the Participants list above.
the BIRDS: snow (blue) goose 1 adult. Canada goose 536. mute swan 7. wood duck 80. American black duck 16. mallard 1124. blue-winged teal 1 (low). northern shoveler 17. northern pintail 14. green-winged teal 3 (low). unID’d duck 11.
wild turkey 18. northern bobwhite 3 (alarmingly low; missed in 2008). AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN 1 (1st record; present since winter; presumed to be injured). brown pelican 28 (HI). double-crested cormorant 716. great blue heron 81. great egret 145. snowy egret 118. little blue heron 1 immature. tricolored heron 18 (EIR). green heron 6 (5 parties). black-crowned night heron 6 (EIR).
black vulture 63. turkey vulture 340. osprey 22 (5 parties). bald eagle 149 (8 parties). northern harrier 10. sharp-shinned hawk 25. Cooper’s hawk 8. red-shouldered hawk 5 (2 parties). broad-winged hawk 8 (2 parties). red-tailed hawk 14. GOLDEN EAGLE 1 (seen by all 5 members of the Taylor’s Island party; observed 3 times in the course of the day; Liz Armistead saw a GOEA the same day at our property near Bellevue at approximately the same time as one of the Taylor’s Island sightings). American kestrel 62. merlin 2 (2 parties).
clapper rail 24. king rail 1 (BNWR). Virginia rail 11. common moorhen 4 (EIR). black-bellied plover 3. semipalmated plover 1. killdeer 24. greater yellowlegs 105. lesser yellowlegs 4. spotted sandpiper 2. sanderling 6 (SH). semipalmated sandpiper 4. least sandpiper 9. unID’d peep 12. pectoral sandpiper 3. short-billed dowitcher 3.
laughing gull 806. ring-billed gull 132. herring gull 512. great black-backed gull 164 (4 parties). unID’d gull 40. Caspian tern 11. royal tern 93 (4 parties). common tern 2 (SH). Forster’s tern 213 (6 parties). rock pigeon 90. mourning dove 141.
eastern screech-owl 12 (several responding in broad daylight). great horned owl 3. barred owl 3 (SF). chimney swift 5 (2 parties). ruby-throated hummingbird 18 (5 parties). belted kingfisher 14 (6 parties). red-headed woodpecker 6 (3 parties). red-bellied woodpecker 39. yellow-bellied sapsucker 1 (SF). downy woodpecker 24. hairy woodpecker 5. northern flicker 56. pileated woodpecker 11 (5 parties).
eastern wood-pewee 9. eastern phoebe 5. great crested flycatcher 3 (2 parties). eastern kingbird 1. white-eyed vireo 7. red-eyed vireo 4 (3 parties). blue jay 165. American crow 198. fish crow 14 (5 parties). purple martin 1 (L&DW). tree swallow 469. northern rough-winged swallow 2. bank swallow 4. barn swallow 11 (EIR).
Carolina chickadee 138. tufted titmouse 60. red-breasted nuthatch 1. white-breasted nuthatch 1. brown-headed nuthatch 48 (5 parties). Carolina wren 73. house wren 8. marsh wren 2 (EIR). ruby-crowned kinglet 3. blue-gray gnatcatcher 14 (5 parties).
eastern bluebird 153. veery 1. Swainson’s thrush 1. wood thrush 1. American robin 111 (6 parties). gray catbird 31. northern mockingbird 45. brown thrasher 9. European starling 1702. cedar waxwing 58 (4 parties).
blue-winged warbler 1. GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER 1 (SF). Tennessee warbler 1. northern parula 5. chestnut-sided warbler 1. magnolia warbler 4. Cape May warbler 1. black-throated green warbler 5 (3 parties). Blackburnian warbler 1. pine warbler 44. prairie warbler 2. palm warbler (yellowish) 2. black-and-white warbler 19. American redstart 39. northern waterthrush 2. common yellowthroat 19 (4 parties). unID’d warbler 4.
summer tanager 2. scarlet tanager 1. eastern towhee 5. chipping sparrow 66. field sparrow 2. Savannah sparrow 10. seaside sparrow 6 (2 parties). song sparrow 5. northern cardinal 116. rose-breasted grosbeak 4. blue grosbeak 23. indigo bunting 14.
bobolink 100 (3 parties). red-winged blackbird 401. eastern meadowlark 3 (low). boat-tailed grackle 44 (EIR). common grackle 374. brown-headed cowbird 677. unID’d blackbird 500. house finch 75 (high). American goldfinch 72. house sparrow 152.
NEEDED: e-mail addresses for all of the Taylor’s Island party with the exception of Wayne Bell.
GRATEFUL THANKS to all the participants. For many years I was the “lone eagle.” It is very gratifying that Dorchester is finally receiving the coverage needed to gain it its due and more complete good results. Populis prope deum habitans. Best regards to all. – Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
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