Hi Everyone,

I headed to the Eastern Shore on Friday afternoon (4/15), making several stops on my way toward Salisbury. My final stop was Nutters Neck in Wicomico Co., where my persistence in the gusty wind was rewarded. While watching the river in the late afternoon, an EASTERN KINGBIRD landed at the top of a loblolly pine before quickly continuing on its way. At dusk, I was surprised to hear a calling WOOD THRUSH, by far my earliest and just three days after the Yellow Book early date. It wasn't singing, but doing its diagnostic dusk calls (that's why I call it anyway; heard at the end of Eastern Stokes track for that species). Pretty exciting. It looks like Mikey was hearing one at the same time. Before I left, I heard an AMERICAN WOODCOCK peeant, and then I flushed it or another off the road on my way out. I have spent many evenings watching fields and cut-overs in the county at dusk, and this was my county closeout (#132). 


After an entertaining dinner at the Plaza Tapatia in Salisbury, many of us headed to the Somerset marshes to try our luck, hoping the bird gods would reward obstinacy. We found small numbers of expected species, but nothing exciting was competing with the fairly gusty wind. 


It was a short night of sleep for those of us who had decided to be at Truitt's Landing at dawn today (4/16). This sleep-deprived group consisted of me, John Hubbell, Mike Ostrowski, and Jim Green. When we arrived at the marsh, we were thrilled to see 10(!) BLACK-NECKED STILTs among the GLOSSY IBIS, SNOWY EGRETs, and GREEN-WINGED TEAL. Very exciting, and a greatly sought-after county bird. Although they flushed to the north before we left, Scott Housten saw two fly over Vaughn North later in the morning, then another back at Truitt's later in the day. Three EASTERN WILLET and eight SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERs were welcome sights.


The stilts were actually not a county bird for Mike, but he didn't have to wait long for a great Worcester Co. bird. While working the Nassawango area, we saw and heard a BROAD-WINGED HAWK at the stream crossing on Mt. Olive Church Road, a new Eastern Shore species for Jim and Mike, and only the second that John and I had seen in Worcester. We moved north to Wicomico Co. and did some sky-watching, but didn't luck into any birds on the move. Our surprise here, at the west end of Bear Swamp Road near Wango Road, was a flyby flock of seven PINE SISKINs blasting by, calling as they bounced with purpose to the southeast. New for the year for us in the Nassawango were YELLOW-THROATED VIREO (Worcester), PRAIRIE WARBLER (Wicomico), BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER (Wo/Wi), AMERICAN REDSTART (Wo), PROTHONOTARY WARBLER (Wo/Wi), and OVENBIRD (Wo/Wi). A singing BROWN CREEPER was a nice touch.


Most interesting in western Wicomico were a RED-THROATED LOON at Tyaskin and a female CANVASBACK off Clara Road. The Whitehaven ferry was closed due to the rough weather.

As I headed north toward the Bay Bridge, the weather quickly deteriorated, ending my hopes of finding storm-blown waifs in Caroline Co. today. Tanyard was totally flooded, and even where I found fields with shorebirds and gulls, the rain was so heavy as to be prohibitive. I did have two LEAST TERNs at Choptank.


Good birding!

Bill 
Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com

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