Hurlock, Blackwater, Ferry Neck, August 11-16, 2017.
Harry Armistead
BLACKWATER, HURLOCK, FERRY NECK, AUGUST 11-16, 2017. A time of swallows, rain, big white toadstools, some shorebirds. A RETRACTION.
AUGUST 11, FRIDAY. MIDDLETOWN, DE: 250 brown-headed cowbirds and 25 unIDd peep, the latter flying right over the town. A bald eagle over Town and Country west of Easton, and 2 adults over Graul’s in St. Michaels.
Arrive at RIGBY’S FOLLY at 3:25 P.M. Fair becoming mostly overcast, 85-77, SE10+, 2.1” in the rain gauge since August 7. In spite of the late arrival, 34 bird species seen, including wood duck 3, osprey 11 (5 carrying fish), ruby-throated hummingbird 3 (unbelievable, but these are the 1st ones I’ve seen here this year), mourning dove 11, barn swallow 21, cedar waxwing 4, blue grosbeak 4 (1 carrying food, the others presumed youngsters), brown thrasher 2, and, best of all, LEAST SANDPIPER 52 (a record property high count) and semipalmated plover 1.
RETRACTION. “On further review” … The peep I saw last week at a distance I thought and reported to be semipalmated sandpipers. Today I got my 1st good, close looks at them, foraging in the fields and flying close. I was wrong. So convert the 26 semipalmated sandpipers reported for August 5 to least sandpipers.
NON-AVIAN TAXA: BUTTERFLIES - Pearl crescent 26, tiger swallowtail 1, eastern tailed blue 6, American lady 2, red-spotted purple 2. monarch 4, azure unIDd 1. MAMMALS: 3 does, 3 fawns, 1 4-point buck; eastern cottontail 6; gray squirrel 3. The first walnut shreddings by squirrels seen today, 1 by the back porch steps, one under the front porch by the steps there, one out by the chairs next to the dock, a couple elsewhere. Diamondback terrapin 1 in the cove and the carapace of a half-grown individual in the grassy area between the driveway bend and Field 7. Perhaps the last firefly of the year at 7:58 P.M. This is the best year for bunnies in many, many years. Whole lotta scamperin’ goin’ on.
AUGUST 12, SATURDAY. Tremendous thunder and lightning last night resulting in 1.5” in the rain gauge. Cooper’s hawk 1 flying down the driveway. Six deer. A fat Fowler’s toad on the front porch at 8:38 P.M. What with the abundant moisture and some warmth 2 Cope’s gray tree frogs start calling after sunset. Overcast becoming fair, calm then SE5-10, 75-85.
BLACKWATER N.W.R. Liz and I spent 9 A.M. - 3:30 P.M. at the refuge for their annual Volunteer Update. The refuge is certainly doing a great deal of good work, and this with a reduced staffing presence. The various presentations today are very well done, articulate and informative. These people know how to speak and speak well in addition to doing good work.
PRESENTERS: Michele Whitbeck, Volunteer Coordinator. Marcia Pradines, Refuge Manager. Sue Fischer, book store and gift shop manager (volunteer; there are 650 items for sale in the store). Dana Paterra, Park Manager, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park (so far in 2017 55,000 visitors from 36 countries and 49 states [all except North Dakota]). Dustin Murray, refuge maintenance dept. Ray Paterra, Visitor Services Manager. Matt Whitbeck, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist. Rick Abend, President, Friends of Blackwater, gives a very detailed history of the Friends, now in its 30th year. His comprehensive graphics are the best kind of archival history. Great documentation.
A few other highlights. There are c. 800 Friends (62 life members) and 192 volunteers who put in c. 10,000 hours of uncompensated work last year, the equivalent of 5 F.T.E. staff positions. The refuge plants 320 acres in crops that are just for wildlife (clover, winter wheat, Japanese millet, et al.). There have been 5,122 hunting permits, mostly for deer and in recent years 350 sika and 77 white-tailed deer have been taken, and yet the deer still do extensive damage to the crops. Recently there have been 147 wild turkey hunters. A bat survey, using mist nets, has established that the Northern Long-eared Bat occurs here, previously unknown locally. There are several recent records of local Copperheads. The Friends has been responsible for winning large grants and their book/gift store annually clears $32,000 - 47,000 in profits that is all plowed back into benefits for the refuge and refuge visitors.
Liz and I see today at BNWR, in the little time we cruise Wildlife Drive before the meeting: 3 American white pelicans, a Caspian Tern catch a 4-5” fish, 6 Great Egrets, one American Black Duck, 9 Forster’s Terns, 7 Double-crested Cormorants, 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (at the Visitor Center feeders), a Belted Kingfisher (a migrant; on Egypt Road), 3 Redbelly Turtles, 1 Eastern Cottontail, and a Cloudless Sulphur. Outside the V.C. I have a good look at a female Dickcissel during one of the breaks in the meeting. As we leave a Bullfrog calls, thrumming away, from one of the 2 small ponds near the V.C.
AUGUST 13, SUNDAY. Shorebirds again, in Field 4: killdeer 11, least sandpiper 11, semipalmated plover 21. So much standing water every where, the fields are a swamp. Early in the morning Liz sees, close by, 2 adult and 2 immature bald eagles, perhaps a family group from their nest in our woods. Royal tern 4. Black vulture 6. Snowy egret 3.
In Field 1 (and earlier in Field 2) are 53 Canada geese and a barnyard-type goose, much larger than the CGs, washed out pale gray, with white on the lower belly and under the tail, yes, 2 wings, darker primaries and secondaries, and … you guessed it … orange legs, feet, and bill. It has a distinctive call and flies well. One can only guess as to its provenance. Its pedigree is, at best, dubious.
In the afternoon neighbor Donald Schline visits to give us a 20” rockfish he has just caught and a bunch of luscious tomatoes from their garden. The fish feeds us for two meals. Otherwise, a 4’ black ratsnake on the driveway. In spite of recent deluges it is gratifying that the water in the ditches, our 3 tiny ponds, and in the fields is clear. Numerous common whitetails along the drive, the favorite locale for these dragonflies. 73 at start, fair, NW10. Two juvenile raccoons on the lawn near the 3 mitigation oaks. See a gray squirrel with a big mouthful of leaves and other dead vegetation destined I assume for its drey somewhere.
AUGUST 14, MONDAY. An eastern screech-owl gets the ball rolling at 2:22 A.M. There are advantages to sleeping fitfully. In Philadelphia we have heard a screech-owl right out in front on June 21, July 25, 26 & 30, and August 3, 6, 8 & 17. Always gratifying to have signs of wildness in the city, a rose-in-Spanish-Harlem effect.
A red letter day by virtue of shorebirds: spotted sandpiper 1, greater yellowlegs 1, lesser yellowlegs 2, least sandpiper 25, and SEMIPALMATED PLOVER 57, the latter a new property high count and the result of an actual flight of 7 flocks between 5 & 6 P.M. headed from west to east. A killdeer would have made for 6 shorebird species, but I think the five species seen are a record neverthe little old less. Heron types: green heron 3, cattle egret 1, snowy egret 3, great egret 1, and great blue heron 1. See a bald eagle kleptoparasitize an osprey and then catch the stolen fish in mid-air. Candidate for a golden glove award. Forty-seven Canada geese in Field 1 plus the aforementioned domestic goose. Mourning dove 23 (August can be such a good month for them). On our osprey nest platform, unused this year, is a rank growth of weeds and grasses.
Three does, a 4-pt. buck & 2 fawns in Field 6. Lot of fawns this year. Cedar waxwing 6. One diamondback terrapin, continues to be a poor year for them here. In the garage 2 Fowler’s toads; they like shaded areas. BUTTERFLIES: swallowtails - 1 tiger, 2 spicebush & 1 black; 3 monarchs. A 7” skink on the front porch. fair becoming mostly overcast, 74-82, light rain at noon, E5 becoming calm, very humid.
Raccoon R.I.P. Over the years raccoons have made 4 break-ins via our roof. Lately they detach bird feeders from the shepherd’s crooks and empty them. Forgive me for ratcheting up my war, this after failures to catch any lately in the oversize Havahart trap. But one caught earlier in this manner. Today a half-grown juvenile catches the full pattern of a high brass no. 2 shot shell that lifts it off of the ground and propels it 20 feet. I’d forgotten the strength of the recoil of my father’s 12-gauge side-by-side Parker, leaving a bruise on my right shoulder. Dispatching this poor animal certainly did not give me any pleasure.
AUGUST 15, TUESDAY. Spend most of the day in Dorchester County. HURLOCK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, 9 - 10:35 A.M., overcast, light rain, 75-77 degrees F., calm. WILSON’S PHALAROPE 4, swimming, spinning and dabbing out in the middle of the SE cell, but when I check 1/2 hrs. later they are gone. This may be an all-time high count for this county. Very pale gray adults in winter plumage. Probably not worthwhile to chase them. Ruddy duck 16 (8 of them males), tundra swan 2 adults, present, if not from the mid-Ordovician, certainly at least for months; no doubt disabled.
Canada goose a scant 8. mallard 66. spotted sandpiper 2. solitary sandpiper 1 (present in the NW corner of the NE cell, where there is a new buildup of clumpy, tussock-like vegetation, a recent development). peep unIDd 2. ring-necked duck 1 male. ruby-throated hummingbird 1, yellow warbler 1, eastern bluebird 2, mourning dove 22, American goldfinch 2, blue grosbeak 2, American robin 1, European starling 40, red-winged blackbird 85, bald eagle 1 adult, and lots of swallows (bank 45, barn 30, northern rough-winged 5, tree 140, and purple martin 12).
NON-AVIAN TAXA: turtle snouts in the water 73 (no doubt all painted or redbelly turtles), redbelly turtle 2 (basking), and 1 big ole snapper turkle, buckeye 1, cabbage white 1, green frog 1. The growth of vegetation on the sides of the water cells has become rank with lots of morning glories, a few willows, cattails, et al. The water in the NW cell continues to become more foul and scummy, but is full of turtles nevertheless. The SW cell has the fewest birds and turtles.
PLEASE, IF YOU GO, ALWAYS stop in the office to secure permission, and if you receive it, park OUTSIDE OF THE GATE. The office is only open from, I think, it is 6:30-10:30 A.M., and only on weekdays.
MAPLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL grounds, 80 Canada Geese, the most seen anywhere during this 6-day foray. EGYPT ROAD, 11 - 11:45 A.M., overcast, light rain, 78 degrees F., calm, such a birdy road, many of the birds on the wires I do not stop to ID, but w/o getting out of the car see and hear, these birds still singing: northern bobwhite 1, field sparrow 3, indigo bunting 4, blue grosbeak 8, and chipping sparrow 5. Also: 2 wood ducks at the Prothonotary Place. Barn swallow 115, purple martin 40. Roadkills: 1 gray squirrel, 1 Virginia opossum.
BLACKWATER N.W.R., 11:45 - 1:30. American white pelican 3, red-headed woodpecker 1, ruby-throated hummingbird 3 (at the Visitor Center feeders), Caspian tern 3, Forster’s tern 20, brown-headed cowbird 175, great egret all of 4, double-crested cormorant 23 (at Sewards), and eastern wood pewee 1. NON-AVIAN TAXA: sika deer 1 (stop right next to it and it comes closer, undeterred by the various noises I make), painted turtle 1, cloudless sulphur 3, monarch 3, clouded sulphur 1. 79-81, overcast, calm, light rain, all water levels high … I mean right up there. Purchase a Duck Stamp.
ROYAL OAK: 2 fawns. ROUTE 322 S of Oxford Road, a wild turkey. MALKUS BRIDGE/CHOPTANK RIVER: 7 adult great black-backed gulls on the lamp posts. Back at RIGBY’S FOLLY, 2 fawns in Field 4, 1 diamondback terrapin, 3 does in Field 2, 27 Canada geese and the “barnyard” goose in Field 1. Liz hears a pileated Woodpecker call. Three contractors come today in the morning for lawn care, plumbing, and tree work respectively. 0.1” of rain last night. ENOUGH WITH THE RAIN ALREADY. Can we now just dry out a little, please?
AUGUST 16, WEDNESDAY. Ten Canada Geese in Field 1. Leave by 8:35 A.M. Route 481 near Hope right on the wire and close an adult male Cooper’s Hawk, a beautiful raptor, plus a Horned Lark near there. Roadkills: a Raccoon Route 301 milepost 98.5. Red Fox Route 301 milepost 111. Striped Skunk in MIddletown, Delaware.
ADAM ISLAND, DORCHESTER COUNTY, MARYLAND, BROWN PELICANS. Thanks to John Weske for sharing information that he, Dave Brinker, and 9 others banded 223 brown pelican youngsters on Adam Island August 9. Feeling was that this represents almost all of the bandable young there. There were a very few too small to band also. A veterinarian took blood samples from 25 of these 223, testing, I think, for West Nile Virus (or possibly Avian Influenza?).
Best to all. - Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.