Prime Hook
is one of those places where you increment bird species to your list all day long and your eyes pop when you finally get around to counting the tally. Our party of six to four birders (depending on time of day) compiled a list of 87 bird species on Saturday the 15th. We found 17 species of waterfowl dominated by dabbling ducks including 690 Green-winged Teal, 175 shovelers, 110 pintail, and 31Gadwall. We also had a fair sprinkling of sea ducks on Delaware Bay including 106 Surf Scoters, and 65 Red-breasted Mergansers. The gannet show on Delaware Bay was spectacular with count of 190 visible from all of the beaches we visited including many flying close to shore at Broadkill Beach. The first really close gannets we saw plunge dived in front of us not more than 300 feet offshore with one of the birds coming up gulping down a fish. We also spotted a one-year-old LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at Broadkill Beach. We located six shorebird species including 2 Killdeer (a pair at Slaughter Beach), 23 Greater Yellowlegs, 6 Lesser Yellowlegs (at Fowler Beach), 34 Dunlin, 50 Sanderling, and 6 Wilson's Snipe (all in flight). Land birds were good and provided a mix of spring and winter birds. We had 30 Tree Swallows, 4 phoebes, 9 Pine Warblers in full song in the woods on the entrance road, singing Field Sparrows, 2 crowing (but unseen) bobwhite, a HOUSE WREN (caught betwixt wintering and spring migration it seems), 2 Winter Wrens, both kinglets, Brown Thrashers, a catbird, a Purple Finch eating willow oak buds, and 11 White-crowned Sparrows. Among the white-crowns was an adult Gambel's White-crown (northwestern Canadian subspecies), and an immature that also appeared to be a Gambel's. At Broadkill and Slaughter beaches we also had another local specialty -- 9 Boat-tailed Grackles. It was a pleasant day, just sunny enough, and not overbearingly windy (although there was a steady NW breeze). Our next outing will be the evening Owl Prowl at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, we hope to see you there.
April 19 - Eastern Neck -Beginner’s Bird Walk - An Earth Day walk
The Group
We met 12 birders at the Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Lodge this morning and had a very pleasant spring outing. We birded the short Marsh Overlook Trail behind the Lodge and the Duck Inn Trail. After the trip Nancy and I checked Bogle's Wharf on the NWR, and took a look at the drying HQ pond at Chesapeake Farms on our way home.
We heard or saw 50 species on the walk. At the Lodge we heard a PILEATED WOODPECKER (rare on E. Neck I.). We heard and briefly saw singing Pine Warblers and a Common Yellowthroat, a Common Loon flew overhead (and another was on Chester River Sound off the marsh), 5 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS flew north over the Sound, there was a Greater Yellowlegs on the salt pan, and there were several Swamp Sparrows in the marsh.
Eastern Towhee
At Duck Inn Trail we found more singing Pine Warblers, and many yellowthroats with males chasing each other across the path. The young RED-HEADED WOODPECKER that wintered along the trail has molted and is looking very handsome. A pair of gnatcatchers was "speeing" in a sweet gum stand. We saw Bald Eagles in flight, six Common Loons on the Chester River (and another in flight), and 10 Bufflehead, 2 Lesser Scaup, a distant Long-tailed Duck also on the river. Three black ducks flew out of the marsh, and two Purple Martins circled high overhead. Butterflies included many zebra swallowtails, a female falcate orangetip, a Henry's elfin, and spring azure.
What Do You Have?
After the trip Nancy and I located a pair of LEAST TERNS on the west dock at Bogle's Wharf (we later saw another flying over the mouth of Church Creek at E. Neck Narrows) tying our earliest local record (from 2003). There were eight more loons offshore in the river, and Durdin Cove held 2 Greater Scaup and 40 Ruddy Ducks.
At Chesapeake Farms there were 62 Green-winged Teal, a drake BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 28 Northern Shovelers, 26 Lesser Yellowlegs, 9 Greater Yellowlegs, a rough-winged swallow, and 12 White-crowned Sparrows (with many bursting into song). Such a pleasant spring morning.
May 17 - Heron Point Bird Walk
Heron Point Walk Participants
Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin led a crew of six (at maximum, folks had to leave at times for other Saturday obligations) at Heron Point following the edge of the woods around the main building and walking out the marsh boardwalk. Highlights were low-key for the most part. Five Virginia Rails answered Walter's squeaking along the boardwalk giving examples of their "ticket", "grunt", and "kicker" calls, but none showed themselves. Least Terns were flying around with fish along the Chester River, and a male Osprey brought a fish to his mate and took over incubation while she went off to eat. Chimney Swifts flew circles overhead, we had great looks at the Tree Swallows using the martin house on the boardwalk, a Marsh Wren sang in the tidal wetland, a Pine Warbler sang in the loblollies in the parking lot, a Yellow Warbler sang along the edge of the marsh, and a skulking Lincoln's Sparrow could only be identified by its distinctive Fox Sparrow-like "chup" calls. It was a very pleasant morning to be out with the birds after yesterday’s rain. Our e-bird report is appended below.
Location: Heron Point
Observation date: 5/17/08
Notes: Kent Bird Club beginner's bird walk at local retirement community where we present our evening programs. Virginia Rails unseen but gave a full array of vocalizations including "kicker". Lincoln's Sparrow identified by call notes as it skulked away ('chup' like a small Fox Sparrow). Cool breezy sunny morning after rain the previous day. Birds were being rather quiet.
Number of species: 43
Canada Goose 1
Mallard 12
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 6
Green Heron 1
Black Vulture 3
Turkey Vulture 8
Osprey 6
Virginia Rail 5
Laughing Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 1
Least Tern 6
Rock Pigeon 8
Mourning Dove 8
Chimney Swift 10
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
Blue Jay 2
Fish Crow 6 |
Tree Swallow 3
Barn Swallow 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 6
House Wren 2
Marsh Wren 1
American Robin 12
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 2
Cedar Waxwing 3
Yellow Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Song Sparrow 2
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 8
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle (Purple) 12
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 20 |
On our way home from leading the bird walk at Heron Point in Chestertown we stopped off at Great Oak Pond and found the local corn fields full of earthworm-hunting Black-bellied Plovers plus some other shorebirds of note. Our black-belly count came to 520. With the plovers were a nearly as impressive 90 Dunlin, 4 Short-billed Dowitchers, a handsome alternate plumage RUDDY TURNSTONE, and an alternate plumage AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER (the latter visible from Fish Hatchery Road in the field belonging to Reese Corey on the east side of the road). We also had both orioles in the trees near Great Oak Pond, and a distant fly-by adult LITTLE BLUE HERON. Our e-bird report is appended below,
Location: Great Oak Pond
Observation date: 5/17/08
Notes: Presumably post-fallout from previous day's cold front. Black-bellied Plovers on fields near Great Oak Pond, Fish Hatchery and Handy Point Roads accompanied by alternate plumage golden-plover (black lower belly & undertail coverts, long wings, slightly smaller size and dark crown) and turnstone, lots of Dunlin, and a few dowitchers. Adult Little Blue Heron flew by and briefly wiffled over a distant pond (on Fairgale Farm Lane) before moving on.
Number of species: 28
Canada Goose 2
Mallard 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Little Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 1
Black-bellied Plover 520
American Golden-Plover 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Dunlin 90
Short-billed Dowitcher 4
Ring-billed Gull 24
American Crow 2 |
Fish Crow 4
Horned Lark 2
Purple Martin 1
Carolina Wren 1
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 12
Chipping Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 4
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Common Grackle (Purple) 10
Orchard Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 1
House Sparrow 2
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