Ferry Neck, Dec, 28-31 & other news.

[Harry Armistead]

FERRY NECK, RIGBY’S FOLLY, DECEMBER 28-31, 2025.

DECEMBER 28, SUNDAY.  Along Route 481: bald eagle 6, tundra swan 360, snow goose 425 (only 8 blue geese).  

DECEMBER 29, MONDAY.  Our cove at mid-day: overcast then mostly fair, SW15, then SE20, then NW245, 73-70.  Canada goose 860, mallard 8, common loon 2 (with hogchokers), bufflehead 80.  Liz sees a brown-headed nuthatch.  2 gray squirrels.

At BELLEVUE:  bufflehead 85, common loon 3 (2 dealing with hogchokers), ring-billed gull 8.  Then an eastern redcedar drey with nearby 4 gray squirrels, I suspect a family group, judging by their close proximity, antics, and mannerisms.  2 turkey vultures.  

DECEMBER 30, TUESDAY.  30s, NW20-25, mostly fair.  3 gray squirrels at the feed.  A brown-headed nuthatch also, so close even with my bad ears I can hear it. 

DECEMBER 31, WEDNESDAY.  Cove has frozen out to Weisman’s shoreline diagonally across to our boat ramp.  33, NW15, fair.  4 pieces of heavy equipment are at work for CRP out in Field 1.  In the cove: 1,070 Canada geese, 7 ring-billed gulls, 70 buffleheads, 3 horned grebes.  Leave at 10:30. 

At Route 481, south and east of Ruthsburg, a solid group of 1,700 tundra swans with 2 adult bald eagle closeby that flushed and engaged in an impressive courtship flight.  This is a huge field area quite far inland and c 10 miles north of Easton.  A common raven in flight near signpost 112, Route 301, not unexpected, good view of the prominently-wedged tail.  They are spreading south and east on the Delmarva Peninsula.  I predict CORA will be the next new yard bird at Rigby’s Folly.

BLACKWATER NWR, recently, by Ron Ketter, January 2: bald eagle 254, common merganser 847, American White Pelican 67.  His Jan. 7 totals are also of great interest: bald eagle 172, American white pelican 219. and common merganser 334. 

JANUARY 3, WACHAPREAGUE, VA, CBC, Mario Balitbit and Aylett Lipford find 35 eastern screech owls, calling them up for c 1.5 hrs before sunrise and c. 1.5 hrs. after sunset.  Years ago I called up 21 in 2 hours on this CBC.  Many thanks to Mario for sharing the Wachapreague preliminary CBC results.  Other birds of interest there: 

American black duck 449, bufflehead 2033, oystercatcher 221, black-bellied plover 771, willet 187, dunlin 2,931, western sandpiper 51, greater yellowlegs 59, turkey vulture 624, bald eagle 62.  

Considering this CBCs small land area it’s always of interest and surprising how certain landbirds turn up in such high numbers: pileated woodpecker 18, American crow 843, bluebird 183, chipping sparrow 101.

ST. MICHAELS, MD, CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT.  from Wayne Bell’s summary:  Some 49 of us (in 21 sectors) found only 99 tundra swans, Dec. 14.  This CBC used to formerly find 1000s, but the big die off of SAV (submerged aquatic vegetation) caused many of the swans to switch to NE North Carolina.  But … see Dec. 31 above. !!

POPLAR ISLAND, Talbot County, MD, this just in from Tim Carney, results of the Dec. 31 count there: 11,640 lesser scaup and 2,300 ruddy ducks.  Most impressive: his photograph of 1000s of waterfowl filling the sky.

CAPE CHARLES, VA, CBC, Dec, 30.  Big thanks to Dan Cristol for sending me a summary (the compilation was last night).  149 species, thought to have surpassed Cape May, incl. a black-and-white warbler, 2 Nashvlle warblers, and a northern parula plus Virginia’s 1st gray flycatcher, seen by many the day of but on private property now off limits.  This CBC and some others hampered by unremitting 30 m.p.h. winds

Best to all. - Harry Armistead, Bellevue & Philadelphia.

    

607 words.  January 10, 2026.