April 15-21, 2025 + Blackwater N.W.R.2025.

[Harry Armistead]

FERRY NECK, APRIL 15 - 21, 2025 & BLACKWATER N.W.R.

Wisteria and dogwoods in bloom.  Seems a little early.  “candles” starting to appear on loblolly pines.  A time of coatings of pine pollen.  Lots of common wintercress with its yellow flower clusters, in some areas, what I have for years mistakenly called mustard grass.  NO gannets seen this spring; how disappointing. 

Guests: Mary & her boys David & Lucas and their friends Mason & Johnny, George & Kristin Klein and her daughter Kayla.  Some of the sightings below not seen by me but seen by other family members, as usual, but without attribution.   

BLUEBIRDS:  CONTENTS of our 3 nestboxes: lawn 3 young, Lucy Point 5 eggs, Field 4 five eggs.  Good!   

APRIL 15, TUESDAY.  Route 481 just south of Ruthsburg a woodchuck, unusual in that its pelage is dark brown, plus a Wilson’s snipe and an American Kestrel.  I’ve seen dark woodchucks previously in Massachusetts.  A dozen wild turkeys in their favorite field south of Route 33 (across from Town ’n’ Country).  Deer (all does), 3 at John Swaine’s, 6 at Camper’s, and 5 in our Big Field.  

Clear, sunny, winds 20-30 NW, 61 degrees F., arrive at 6:15.  Ground is quite damp and the drive across the Big Field to Lucy Point goes O.K., but with some slithering and increased velocity at 3 areas with standing water.  

APRIL 16, WEDNESDAY: bald eagle 4, mockingbird 1, chipping sparrow 1, turkey vulture 2, purple martin 5, tree swallow 1, cormorant 11, bluebird 7, Carolina wren 1, American crow 2, cowbird 3, black vulture 8, ring-billed gull 4, wild turkey 1, barn swallow 2, red-winged blackbird 1, pileated woodpecker 1, fish crow 4, red-tailed hawk 1, osprey only 2 (one doing the full sky dance, screaming away, but w/o a fish), sharp-shinned hawk 1, Canada goose 1 (semi-injured, awkward in flight).

fair, cool, W or NW 20-30, 50-62.  Non-avian taxa: spring azure 1, cabbage white 2, red fox 1, deer (does) 13, gray squirrel 2.

Our mockingbird is not nearly as much of a virtuoso as the one at Blackwater.  But heard today are its imitations anyway: cardinal, blue jay, Carolina wren, ruby-crowned kinglet (its double note), great crested flycatcher, bluebird, titmouse, and purple martin.  

Bellevue: 5:30 P.M.: ruddy duck 8, snowy egret 1, bufflehead 12, laughing gull 2, lesser scaup 18, Forster’s tern 1.

2 exciting fighter jets, loaded for bear, go over, low.  The Big Field, not plowed for two years, has countless thousands of young eastern redcedars, 3-6” high.

APRIL 17, THURSDAY.  A day of perfect clarity, high 40s to high 50s, cool, NW 10-15 becoming SW 10.  11 deer (does) Field 4.  pileated woodpecker 1.  One spotted turtle.  surf scoter 45.  red fox 1.  

BELLEVUE: 12:30 P.M.  Bonaparte’s gull 1, same waterfowl as yesterday.

At sunset all of us go to Lucy Point, it is dead calm but late clouds obscure the sunset.  bald eagle 1 immature, diamondback terrapin 7.

APRIL 18, FRIDAY.  clear becoming mostly overcast, 48-68, SW 5 rising through the day to 15 and 20, water clarity excellent.  One muskrat.  bald eagle 2 immatures.  brown-headed nuthatch 1.  pileated woodpecker 1 (for the 1st time I think PIWO is resident, possible breeding in our woods).  brown thrasher at the feeders.  greater yellow legs 1 (thankfully they are so vocal).  11 deer (does) in Field 4.  2 spotted turtles, 1 painted turtle. 

Bellevue: 4:30 P.M.: bufflehead 3, ruddy duck 3, lesser scaup 4.  

APRIL 19, Saturday, WESTERN TANAGER 1 (see below).  new “yard bird”; reported by Liz. !  George sees a yellow palm warbler in the Big Field, much less likely to be seen in spring than fall.

After a delicious but expensive dinner at Doc’s Sunset Grille in Oxford well after sunset we exit the restaurant and on the left going out only a few feet from the entrance and right next to the path is a female mallard incubating on her nest, discovered by Sully, Kristin & George’s golden retriever, who sniffed her out, but she did not flush.  At least 2 purple martin colonies at the restaurant.

BLACKWATER N.W.R.  TURTLES: red-bellied cooter 16, painted turtle 14, Tom Miller saw a mud turtle here today and Ron Ketter a snapping turtle.  And later today I counted 10 spotted turtles and 22 diamondback terrapin at Rigby’s Folly.  Also at R.F. Kayla sees and photographs 2 box turtles on April 20.  This totals 7 turtle species seen recently in the general area. 

BNWR.  George & Harry Armistead,  Wildlife Drive & Rt. 365 bridge, 41 species, mid-morning-early afternoon.  Selected sightings:

Canada goose 11, green-winged teal 7, American white pelican 14, killdeer 1, lesser yellowlegs 6, greater yellowlegs 6, dunlin 130, least tern 3 (at Sewards “Christmas tree reef”; a little early), Forster’s tern 14, cormorant 2, glossy ibis 7, osprey 6, great egret 8, bald eagle 21, eastern kingbird 1 purple martin 12, barn swallow 13, house wren 1, brown thrasher 1, eastern bluebird 4, chipping sparrow 9, common yellowthroat 6.   

A garrulous mockingbird here today gave these imitations: cardinal, orchard oriole, kingbird, blue jay, bluebird, Virginia rail, flicker, catbird, thrasher, red-bellied woodpecker, great crested flycatcher, and purple martin.  

An adult male northern harrier (“gray ghost”) at Swaine’s.  6 deer across from Town ’n’ Country.

APRIL 20, SUNDAY.  Easter Sunday.  57-71, mostly overcast, SW 15-20, then NW 15-20, warm.  greater yellowlegs 4.  Our fields get fertilized today.  George & Kristin leave, see 2 spotted turtles and a black racer on the way out.  

Bellevue: 6:30 P.M.: gray squirrel 2, 2 deer, ring-billed gull 2, common loon 4, lesser scaup 2, ruddy duck 4, osprey 1.  See a red fox on the Winsome Farm driveway.  

APRIL 21, MONDAY.  63 degrees F., mostly overcast, wind … I forget,  leave for PA at 10:15 A.M.  Single bald eagles seen at 5 places on the way home.

NAME CHANGES.  Several I especially do not like are: for Atlantic (or sometimes Audubon) Naturalist (of the Middle Atlantic States), DC Naturalist, or whatever it has been called, to Nature Forward.  Point Reyes Bird Observatory to Point Blue (Conservation Science).  Wyncote (PA) Bird Club to Liberty Bird Alliance. 

Also, Denali to Mt. McKinley (so then will the automobile model currently called the Denali now be called the McKinley?).  Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge to Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. Then there’s the Gulf of … whatever. 

SNOWY OWLS at Boston’s Logan Airport.  Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, April 27, 2025, page A9 (the full page !) by Andrea Sachs: since 1981 Norman Smith has captured, banded, and released elsewhere more than 900, including 14 in one day and a grand total of 141 that same winter (2013-2014).     

Best to all. Harry Armistead, Bellevue and Philadelphia.

WESTERN TANAGER, immature and/or female, RIGBY’S FOLLY, FERRY NECK, TALBOT COUNTY, MARYLAND, SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 2025, by my wife Liz (Mary E.) Armistead.

BACKGROUND:  Son, George, and I were on a visit to Blackwater N.W.R. c. 8:45 - c. 2 P.M.  On our return wife Liz mentioned she had seen a predominantly yellowish bird with wing bars and didn’t know what it was.  In my exhaustion, in the midst of a very busy weekend with family and guests, I said and thought: “Probably ‘just’ a goldfinch” and let it go at that.  The next day, after things had quieted down some, Liz started to fill me in more, leading me to consider she had seen something of interest.  What follows is a description of the bird I recorded using her own words.

TIME: c. 11:30

OPTICS:  Eagle brand, 8 X 35.

DISTANCE: less than 100 feet, had to focus down with the binoculars.  less than 15 feet up in a black locust.  Seen from the house’s back porch.

WINGS: blackish with white wingbars.

SIZE: 7”-8”

LENGTH OF OBSERVATION: c. 1 minute, then flew away, direct flight.  [At such low altitude Orchard Orioles often have a herky jerky flight manner. - HTA]  Although a short period of observation, because Liz suspected she might be onto something unusual she was able to double check most of the field marks reported here.

GENERAL PLUMAGE: overall yellowish but less brighter yellow on the back. 

BILL: longer, but “fatter” (thicker than those of some other birds present), but not thick like a finch’s bill.  [a good field mark to help eliminate any orioles, that have more spiky bills than tanagers.-HTA] 

VOCALIZATIONS:  none.

WEATHER: fair, bird not backlit, winds moderate.  [Observer facing to the northeast long after sunrise. - HTA]

LEGS & FEET: not seen.

TAIL:  unremarkable.  normal, rather broad and not-very-long tail.

CONSULTED: Nat. Geog. guide soon afterwards.

AFTERWARDS:  In that afternoon, all day the next (Sunday), and part of Monday morning: no evidence of the bird.  Since the bird apparently flew away and was not subsequently seen I didn’t send out any notice for others who might have wanted to “chase” such a rarity, it being a presumed “one day wonder”.

RECENT STATUS OF WETA IN THE REGION:  This is a new yard bird for our property and new for the”yard” proper as well.  (In recent years there has been an increase of WETA reports in the region, esp. in winter.  3 of the 7 or so records in the Maryland “Yellow Book”, 3rd ed., 1996, are from late April.  Only 5 spring records in the Virginia “Gold Book”, 4th ed. 2007, and I have seen 2 of its reports in winter - HTA).

A FLY IN THE OINTMENT is the close similarity of WETA to Orchard Oriole, immatures or females in either case.  The bill seen by Liz was thicker than an OROR’s bill, which is rather spiky.  Also the WETA tail was not as proportionately long and skinny as an OROR’s tail.  Finally the flight manner of an OROR differs: 

“At a distance, the jerky flight of Orchard Oriole will give away its presence … the small size and general colouration may also suggest a female Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) … However, the tanager has a shorter and stouter bill … “.  p. 213, New World Blackbirds: the Icterids by Alvaro Jaramillo and Peter Burke (Princeton U. Pr., 1999). 

It’s always a little dicey when someone, more experienced, helps report something unusual seen by one’s spouse.  In this case I tried not to put words into Liz’s description.  There’s also a tendency to, initially, be in denial when you or someone else sees something rare.  This was the case with both of us here.

Respectfully submitted. - Henry (“Harry”) T. Armistead, Bellevue, MD and Philadelphia, PA.

date: April 22, 2025.

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[Harry Armistead]

124th DORCHESTER COUNTY, MARYLAND, MAY BIRD COUNT: May 10, 2025.

shorthanded!  134 species.

the KEY.  For Canada goose the grand total is 88 with 6 sectors reporting totals ranging from a low of 8 to a high of 26.  In cases where just 2 sectors report a species, the sum of its low and high counts may sometimes be less than the grand total, because the grand total may include a few individuals seen in the yard list, not considered a “sector”.  

WATERFOWL:  Canada goose 88 (6, 8-26).  wood duck 41 (4, 1-34).  blue-winged teal 3.  mallard 75 (6, 1-28).  American black duck 17 (3, 3-12).  duck unIDd 1.

northern bobwhite 4 (2, 1-3).  wild turkey 17 (4, 2-6).  mourning dove 81 (6, 8-19).  chuck-will’s-widow 10 (2, 4-6).  chimney swift 3.  ruby-throated hummingbird 4 (2, 1-3).  clapper rail 27 (2, 12-15).  king rail 1.  Virginia rail 14 (4, 1-7).  sora 1.  common gallinule 4 (2, 1-3).  

 SHOREBIRDS:  black-bellied plover 144 (2, 6-138; 245 counted at the same spot on Egypt Road by Jim Green, May 15).  American golden-plover 1 (GLA.  photographed. 2 seen here May 15 by Jim Green).  killdeer 17 (6, 1-7).  semipalmated plover 122 (4, 8-72).  dunlin 1,376 (3, 200-869).  least sandpiper 246 (4, 5-144).  white-rumped sandpiper 1.  semipalmated sandpiper 58 (3, 4-34).  short-billed dowitcher 42 (2, 4-38. a hendersoni race photographed by GLA at EIR, confirmed by Marshall Iliff).  black-necked stilt 3 (EIR).  spotted sandpiper 9 (4, 1-4).  lesser yellowlegs 59 (5, 2-46).  willet 2 (2, 1-1; alarmingly low).  greater yellowlegs 32 (5, 2-12).  peep unIDd 51.  shorebird unIDd 120. 

LARIDS:  laughing gull 176 (6, 1-72; low).  ring-billed gull 16 (3, 1-10).  herring gull 16 (2, 6-10).  least tern 22 (2, 5-17).  Caspian tern 1.  Forster’s tern 4 (2, 1-3.  low).  royal tern 8 (2, 1-7).

the PRIMITIVES:  red-throated loon 1 (EIR. GLA).  double-crested cormorant 84 (4, 2-70).  American white pelican 1 (BNWR; TA).  brown pelican 1 (EIR).  great blue heron 36 (6, 2-15).  great egret (4, 4-29).  snowy egret 10 (low.  2, 4-6).  green heron 6 (4, 1-3).  glossy ibis 107 (2, 5-102).  

RAPTORS:  black vulture 131 (5, 2-83).  turkey vulture 238 (6, 10-86).  osprey 53 (6, 1-17).  northern harrier 3 (3, 1-1).  sharp-shinned hawk 1.  Cooper’s hawk 1.  bald eagle 136 (6, 5-58).  red-shouldered hawk 2 (2, 1-1).  red-tailed hawk 2 (low).  peregrine falcon 1. 

OWLS:  eastern screech owl 1.  barred owl 4.  great horned owl 0.

kingfish + WOODPECKERS:  belted kingfisher 1.  red-headed woodpecker 13 (3, 4-5).  red-bellied woodpecker 14 (5, 1-5).  downy woodpecker 6 (5, 1-2).  hairy woodpecker 5 (3, 1-3).  northern flicker 12 (6, 1-5).  pileated woodpecker 10 (2, 1-6). 

FLYCATCHERS:  great crested flycatcher 69 (6, 2-17).  eastern kingbird 25 (5, 2-10).  eastern wood-pewee 12 (4, 1-7).  Acadian flycatcher 9.  eastern phoebe 1.  

white-eyed vireo 33 (6, 1-17).  red-eyed vireo 27 (5, 2-8).  blue jay 23 (5, 1-17).  American crow 129 (5, 4-54).  fish crow 4 (3, 1-2).  crow unIDd 2 (2, 1-1).

LI’L SPRITES:  Carolina chickadee 27 (6, 1-9).  tufted titmouse 31 (6, 1-7).  horned lark 11 (3, 1-6).  tree swallow 131 (5, 11-65).  purple martin 198 (6, 1-80).  barn swallow 159 (20-76).  swallow unIDd 30.  cedar waxing 1.  white-breasted nuthatch 1.  brown-headed nuthatch 25 (6, 2-13.  low).  blue-gray gnatcatcher 20 (3, 2-12).  Carolina wren 48 (6, 1-11).  house wren 34 (4, 2-17).  marsh wren 45 (3, 1-43).  

THRUSH TYPES + starling:  gray catbird 7 (4, 1-2).  brown thrasher 19 (4, 2-10).  northern mockingbird 27 (6, 1-10).  European starling 125 (5, 3-52).  eastern bluebird 32 (5, 2-8).  hermit thrush 1 (late).  wood thrush 9 (3, 1-5).  American robin 64 (5, 1-18).  

house sparrow 22 (4, 2-11).  house finch 12 (5, 1-4).  American goldfinch 18 (5, 2-5).  

SPARROW TYPES + chat:  chipping sparrow 62 (6, 1-28; all of them harmless and inoffensive).  field sparrow 5 (2, 2-3).  white-throated sparrow 1.  seaside sparrow 40 (2, 19-21).  Savannah sparrow 2 (2, 1-1).  song sparrow 1.  eastern towhee 3.  yellow-breasted chat 1.

BLACKBIRDS:  bobolink 1.  eastern meadowlark 6 (5, 1-2).  Baltimore oriole 1.  orchard oriole 18 (4, 2-10).  red-winged blackbird 470 (6, 8-146).  brown-headed cowbird 61 (5, 1-29).  common grackle 262 (6, 3-77).  boat-tailed grackle 8 (2, 1-7).  

WARBLERS:  ovenbird 35 (6, 1-16).  worm-eating warbler 11 (2, 2-9).  northern waterthrush 2 (2, 1-1).  black-and-white warbler 3 (3, 1-1).  prothonotary warbler 9 (2, 1-8).  common yellowthroat 137 (6, 9-50).  American redstart 3 (2, 1-2).  northern parula 3 (2, 1-3).  yellow warbler 2 (2, 1-1).  blackpoll warbler 2.  pine warbler 35 (6, 1-13).  myrtle warbler 4.  yellow-throated warbler 1.  prairie warbler 6 (3, 1-3).  

the PRETTIES:  summer tanager 13 (5, 1-6).  scarlet tanager 7 (2, 3-4).  northern cardinal 54 (6, 2-22).  rose-breasted grosbeak 1.  blue grosbeak 32 (6, 1-18).  indigo bunting 41 (6, 1-15). 

EFFORT: 8 observers in 6 sectors plus 1 yard list.  12 hours on foot; 35 hours by car.  11 miles on foot.  273 miles by car.  4:30 A.M. - 8 P.M. 

the GREAT DISPARITIES shown by the widely divergent totals of some species as seen by various sectors are due to a bunch of factors: varying effort, skills, some sectors lacking in salt marsh, some lacking deciduous woodlands, some lacking for the most part pine forests, and so on.   

ABBREVIATIONS: BNWR, Blackwater refuge.  EIR, Elliot Island Road.  HI, Hooper’s Island.  other abbrevs. represent observers’ initials.

NON-AVIAN ANIMATE TAXA:  (how’s that for a pompous phrase?  phew!  give me a break).  An alternative is to just list these under the category of “critters”.  Several sectors reported these.  Numbers = actual numbers reported.  If there is an X indicated that means someone reported the species but with no number.  

MAMMALS:  sika deer (elk) 18 + X.  white-tailed deer 23 + X.  eastern cottontail 27 + X.  Virginia opossum 2.  raccoon 2.  muskrat 1.  red fox 2.  gray squirrel12 + XX.  fox squirrel 1.

HERPS (all of these “X” ’s):  green frog.  wood frog.  bull frog.  snapping turtle.  painted turtle.  red-bellied cooter.  red-eared slider.  We arrived too late for the evening flight of Gila monsters.

INSECTS (all X):  pearl crescent, monarch, Carolina saddlebag, common green darner, common whitetail, eastern pondhawk, Needham’s skimmer.  

MISC.:  2 blue crabs.     

TOP 10 SPECIES WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBERS: dunlin 1,376, red-winged blackbird 470, common grackle 262, least sandpiper 246, turkey vulture 238, purple martin 198, laughing gull 176, barn swallow 159, black-bellied plover 144, common yellowthroat 137.  At 136, bald eagle comes in at 11th!  Year in year out it is interesting that usually 1/2 or 1/3 of these are “black birds”.

SPECIES RECORDED IN ALL 6 SECTORS (25 species).  This gives some idea of the relative abundance and distribution throughout the county.:  mourning dove, killdeer, laughing gull, great blue heron, turkey vulture, osprey, bald eagle, northern flicker, great crested flycatcher, white-eyed vireo, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, purple martin, brown-headed nuthatch, Carolina wren, northern mockingbird, chipping sparrow, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, ovenbird, common yellowthroat, pine warbler, northern cardinal, blue grosbeak, indigo bunting. 

FAMILY REPRESENTATION:  all poor:  waterfowl 5, shorebirds 13, heron types 5, warblers 14.  merely O.K.:  rallids 5, larids 7, woodpeckers 6, sparrows 7.  blackbirds 7: not bad.  diurnal raptors: 10 good.   

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:  Peter Smithson, Route 336 from Gootee’s on south to Crocheron.

Terry Allen, Blackwater N.W.R. Wildlife Drive and Maple Dam Road.

Ron Ketter Blackwater N.W.R. restricted areas: Kuehnle Tract, Tubman Road Tail, Hog Range

George Armistead & Harry Armistead, Egypt Road, Swan Harbor & Hooper’s Island, Elliott Island Road.

Alicia Bachman, upper Elliott Island Road, Lewis Wharf Road, Kraft Neck Road, and LeCompte Wildlife Management Area.

Steve Ford, east-central county south of Route 50 and west of Elliott Island Road.

Debbie Robbins, yard list. 

WEATHER: 49-72, NW 20 changing to W 6 then calm at the end, clear becoming mostly overcast.  Low tidal waters all day.

UN-EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:  Due to the poor turn out - several key observers missed today, but for good reasons - George and I worked in a sort of “circuit rider” capacity.  We were in key areas otherwise missing coverage: Egypt Road (one field loaded with plovers), Swan Harbor and Hooper’s Island (very poor results, but at least we had a good visit with Neil and Kathleen Birchmeier), and Elliott Island Road (excellent shorebird numbers, most actively feeding right next to the road).  

There was no coverage north of Route 50, but a few specialties from that important area were found by others anyway, such as kingfisher and phoebe.  There was practically no flight today of warblers and other neotropical migrants, but the shorebirding was good.  So were the bald eagles with 136 seen by the 6 sectors today compared to 133 by 9 sectors on May 3.

In the early days of the count, in the 1960s, 1970s, and some of the 1980s, almost all the counts consisted of just one party running a route of 180 miles, and almost always an all-nighter (except when weather mandated otherwise).  Back then there really were more birds of most kinds.  

The loss of c. 30% of our birds in North America since 1970 has been documented in several seminal articles, especially the one by Kenneth V. Rosenberg et al. (in Science, Sept. 19, 2019, vol. 366, no. 6461, “Decline of North America avifauna”, pp. 120-124 + numerous attachments).   So, “back then” in the early days of this count, a day’s total by one party of 145 species or fewer was a source of disappointment.  So now we have the May 10 total of 134 species recorded by 6 parties (sectors).  The times they are a changin’, have changed already.

MISTAKES:  Please let me know of ANY you notice.  I’m certain there are … some.  Thanks.

Best to all:  Harry Armistead, Bellevue & Philadelphia.

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[Harry Armistead]

MAY 3, 2025, 123rd DORCHESTER COUNTY, MARYLAND, May bird count.  149 species.  

KEY:  see under Canada goose: 102 is the grand total, seen in 8 sectors whose totals range from a low of 3 to a high of 90.

WATERFOWL:  Canada goose 102 (8, 3-90).  wood duck 25 (4, 1-14).  blue-winged teal 5 (2, 2-3).  mallard 77 (7, 2-19).  American black duck 34 (3, 5-19).  green-winged teal 4 (2, 2-2).  ruddy duck 138 (2, 23-115).  unIDd duck 1.  

northern bobwhite 1.  wild turkey 9 (6, 1-2).  rock pigeon 2.  mourning dove 103 (8, 2-34).  yellow-billed cuckoo 2 (2, 1-1).  chuck-will’s-widow 26 (4, 4-8).  whip-poor-will 9.  chimney swift 19 (4, 1-12).  ruby-throated hummingbird 6 (4, 1-2).  

RALLIDS:  clapper rail 23 (2, 1-22).  king rail 1.  Virginia rail 9 (low. 4, 1-4).  common gallinule 3.  

SHOREBIRDS:  American oystercatcher 1.  black-bellied plover 50 (3, 1-46).  killdeer 83 (5, 1-42).  semipalmated plover 98 (7, 1-68).  black-necked stilt 6.  ruddy turnstone 2.  sanderling 4.  dunlin 1,335 (4, 8-947).  least sandpiper 143 (7, 8-48).  white-rumped sandpiper 1.  pectoral sandpiper 2.  semipalmated sandpiper 66 (4, 1-59).  short-billed dowitcher 5 (2, 1-4).  spotted sandpiper 3 (2, 1-2).  solitary sandpiper 12 (5, 1-12).  lesser yellowlegs 133 (7, 2-65).  willet 16 (2, 6-10).  greater yellowlegs 86 (7, 1-30).  unIDd yellowlegs 3.  unIDd peep 3.  American woodcock 0.

LARIDS:  laughing gull 2,557 (9, 3-835).  ring-billed gull 78 (6, 1-28).  herring gull 38 (3, 1-32).  great black-backed gull 0.  least tern 39 (5, 2-25).  Forster’s tern 53 (8, 1-22).  royal tern 5.  

the “PRIMITIVES”:  common loon 1.  double-crested cormorant 314 (5, 1-280).  brown pelican 25.  least bittern 2 (2, 1-1).  great blue heron 40 (9, 1-16).  great egret 48 (3, 2-32).  snowy egret 30 (4, 3-18).  green heron 6 (4, 1-2).  black-crowned night heron 5.  white ibis 3 (ph.  MW, BNWR; on May 6 a flock of 85 in flight seen by Jim Green and Jim Brighton at Drawbridge; the entire flock photographed by JB).  glossy ibis 27 (6, 1-21).  

RAPTORS:  black vulture 27 (6, 1-21).  turkey vulture 198 (9, 7-59).  osprey 65 (7, 2-14).  northern harrier 3 (3, 1-1).  Cooper’s hawk 1.  bald eagle 133 (9, 1-39).  red-shouldered hawk 1.  red-tailed hawk 2 (2, 1-1).  peregrine falcon 1 (ph; MW, BNWR).  

OWLS:  barn owl 1.  eastern screech-owl 9 (4, 2-3).  great horned owl 1 (low).  barred owl 9 (4, 1-4).  

WOODPECKERS + belted  kingfisher 0.  red-headed woodpecker 30 (7, 1-9).  red-bellied woodpecker 42 (7, 1-18).  downy woodpecker 12 (6, 1-3).  hairy woodpecker 8 (7, 1-2).  northern flicker 7 (4, 1-2).  pileated woodpecker 20 (8, 1-6).

FLYCATCHERS:  great crested flycatcher 88 (9, 4-38).  eastern kingbird 35 (9, 1-10).  eastern wood-pewee 11 (5, 1-3).  Acadian flycatcher 10 (3, 1-6).  eastern phoebe 1.

white-eyed vireo 50 (7, 1-18).  blue-headed vireo 1.  red-eyed vireo 45 (8, 1-14).  blue jay 64 (8, 2-13).  American crow 86 (8, 3-21).  fish crow 24 (4, 1-11).  unID crow 9 (2, 4-5).  

LI’L SPRITES (mostly):  Carolina chickadee 82 (8, 2-21).  tufted titmouse 100 (9, 3-19).  horned lark 44 (4, 1-38).  tree swallow 164 (9, 4-38).  purple martin 436 (8, 1-160).  barn swallow 183 (8, 2-86).  cliff swallow 2.  ruby-crowned kinglet 2 (2, 1-1).  cedar waxwing 4 (3, 1-2).  white-breasted nuthatch 1.  brown-headed nuthatch 27 (low. 6, 2-6).  blue-gray gnatcatcher 110 (6, 2-52).  Carolina wren 96 (9, 4-20).  house wren 11 (5, 1-4).  marsh wren 36 (4, 1-26).  

THRUSH TYPES & starling:  gray catbird 17 (6, 2-6).  brown thrasher 25 (5, 1-18).  northern mockingbird 65 (9, 2-14).  European starling 504 (9, 5-185).  eastern bluebird 60 (7, 2-16).  hermit thrush 2 (late).  wood thrush 42 (7, 1-27).  American robin 305 (8, 4-116).  house sparrow 65 (7, 1-32).  house finch 16 (4, 1-8).  American goldfinch 75 (8, 1-23).  

SPARROWS:  grasshopper sparrow 13 (4, 1-6).  chipping sparrow 153 (9, 2-49).  field sparrow 15 (4, 1-6).  white-throated sparrow 14 (4, 1-7).  seaside sparrow 63 (4, 1-39).  Savannah sparrow 6 (2, 1-5).  song sparrow 18 (5, 1-8).  swamp sparrow 2 (2, 1-1).  eastern towhee 18 (3, 1-13).  

yellow-breasted chat 17 (7, 1-8).  

BLACKBIRDS:  bobolink 3.  eastern meadowlark 25 (4, 1-9).  Baltimore oriole 2 (2, 1-1).  orchard oriole 43 (9, 1-9).  red-winged blackbird 899 (9, 31-389).  brown-headed cowbird 154 (8, 5-37).  common grackle 455 (9, 4-120).  boat-tailed grackle 2.  

WARBLERS:  ovenbird 118 (7, 2-59).  worm-eating warbler 54 (7, 1-33).  Louisiana waterthrush 8.  northern waterthrush 1.  black-and-white warbler  21 (4, 1-14).  prothonotary warbler 10 (4, 1-4).  Nashville warbler 1.  common yellowthroat 198 (8, 5-70).  American redstart 2 (2, 1-1).  northern parula 2 (low. 2, 1-1).  yellow warbler 10 (4, 1-7).  pine warbler 89 (8, 3-38).  myrtle warbler 13 (5, 1-5).  yellow-throated warbler 13 (4, 1-7).  prairie warbler 14 (5, 1-5).  

the PRETTIES:  summer tanager 53 (8, 2-27).  scarlet tanager 13 (6, 1-4).  northern cardinal 155 (9, 4-32).  rose-breasted grosbeak 1.  blue grosbeak 76 (8, 2-26).  indigo bunting 73 (8, 4-22).

EFFORT:  5:45 A.M. - 8:30 P.M.  12 observers in 9 sectors.  hours on foot 21, hours by car 32, hours owling 5.  miles on foot 20, miles by car 279, miles owling 45. 

WEATHER:  58-82 degrees, mostly clear or only partly overcast, winds SW20 dropping to W6 then calm. 

FAMILY REPRESENTATION: waterfowl 7 species.  rallids 4.  shorebirds 18 (good).  larids 6 (poor).  heron types 8.  diurnal raptors 9.  sparrow types 9.  warblers 14 (poor).

UN-EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 9 sectors is real good coverage.  See my summary for May 10, a lot of which is applicable for May 3.  No warbler flight or neotrops to speak of and lingering waterfowl almost non-existent.  The difference between today’s good coverage and not-so-good May 10 is easily seen by comparing some numbers.  Those in parentheses are for May 10: 

killdeer 85 (17).  red-bellied woodpecker 42 (14).  great crested flycatcher 88 (69).  red-eyed vireo 45 (27).  chickadee 82 (27).  titmouse 100 (31).  Carolina wren 96 (48).  chipping sparrow 153 (62).  orchard oriole 43 (18).  

SPECIES FOUND IN 8 OR 9 SECTORS (34 species).  8s have no number after them.  9s 9.  only 15 species seen in all 9 sectors.

Canada goose, mourning dove, laughing gull 9, Forster’s tern, great blue heron 9, turkey vulture 9, bald eagle 9, pileated woodpecker, great crested flycatcher 9, eastern kingbird 9, red-eyed vireo, blue jay, American crow, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse 9, tree swallow 9, purple martin, barn swallow, Carolina wren 9, northern mockingbird 9, European starling 9, American robin, American goldfinch, chipping sparrow 9, orchard oriole 9, red-winged blackbird 9, brown-headed cowbird, common grackle 9, common yellowthroat, pine warbler, summer tanager, northern cardinal 9, blue grosbeak, indigo bunting.

10 SPECIES WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBERS: laughing gull 2,557.  dunlin 1,335.  red-winged blackbird 899.  European starling 504.  purple martin 436.  common grackle 455.  double-crested cormorant 314.  American robin 305.  turkey vulture 198.  common yellowthroat 198.  At 133 bald eagle is tied for 17th place with lesser yellowlegs.

the GREAT DISPARITIES shown by the widely divergent totals of some species as seen by various sectors are due to a bunch of factors: varying effort, skills, some sectors lacking in salt marsh, some lacking deciduous woodlands, some lacking for the most part pine forests, and so on.

NON-AVIAN ANIMATE TAXA (critters), reported by several sectors: MAMMALS: sika deer (elk) 84, white-tailed deer 18, gray squirrel 12, eastern cottontail 15, muskrat 5, raccoon 3, Virginia opossum 4, red fox 2.  HERPS: snapping turtle 1, diamondback terrapin 8, painted turtle 6, black rat snake 1, Cope’s gray tree frog 1.  BUGS: monarch 5, meadow fritillary 1, cabbage white 2, tiger swallowtail 2, red-spotted purple 1, unIDd sulphur 2, unIDd butterfly 3. 

SIKAs.  84 is a lot.  In between Bestpitch and Elliott I. Rd. several times c. 3:30 - 4 A.M. back when I did all-nighters a few times I’ve seen > 100 in just one field.  Count the # of eye shines and divide by 2. ! 

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Hooper’s Island:  Jeff Effinger.

Blackwater N.W.R., Wildlife Drive & Maple Dam Road:  Terry Allen. 

Blackwater N.W.R. restricted areas:  Matt Whitbeck: McGraws Island and Wolfpit along Maple Dam Road, Key Wallace trail, Hog Range, and Greenbriar Swamp.

Northwest County, Route 16: Bettye Maki & Bobbie Wells.

North County north of Route 50: Jim Green & Ryan Belton.

Bestpitch & Drawbridge and roads to & from there to Cambridge: Liz & Harry Armistead.

Neck District: George Radcliffe.

Elliott Island Road: Suzette Stitely.

East central count, S of Route 50, W of Elliott I. Rd.: Steve Ford.

Best to all: Harry Armistead, Bellevue and Philadelphia.

---

From: Harry Armistead <harryar...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2025 12:42 PM
To: Anne Armistead <annear...@gmail.com>; Charlotte Betancourt <charlotte...@hotmail.com>; Dorothy mallam <mallam...@gmail.com>; Norah Mallam <norah...@yahoo.com>; George Armistead <geo...@hillstarnature.com>; Liz Armistead <memarm...@gmail.com>; Nicole Compte <nicdiv...@hotmail.com>; Harry Armistead <harryar...@hotmail.com>; Whitney Mallam <wwma...@live.com>; Bill Burt <wbu...@yahoo.com>; Bob Lukens <lukens...@verizon.net>; Linda Strawsburg <tom.str...@verizon.net>; Carl Sheppard <cfshe...@aol.com>; Carroll Sheppard <carro...@aol.com>; Ann Yonkers <a...@annyonkers.com>; John Weske <jsw...@juno.com>; Charles Swift <chae...@gmail.com>; Colin Mc <colin...@yahoo.com>; COLIN MCALLISTER <coli...@comcast.net>; Deborah Kogan <finc...@cs.com>; Emilie Harting <echa...@gmail.com>; Robert Harting <rmhar...@gmail.com>; mdbirds googlegroup <mdbi...@googlegroups.com>; Ginny Raynor-Smith <virgr...@aol.com>; Gordon Chaplin <gordon...@hotmail.com>; Irene Sacilotto <isaci...@aol.com>; John Friedman <johnfri...@gmail.com>; Kathy Shuman <shumanka...@gmail.com>; Lars Egede-Nissen <lar...@earthlink.net>; Marty 2 Daniels <martym...@gmail.com>; Nancy Moran <na...@nancymoranphoto.com>; Rob Pyle <pyl...@gmail.com>; Sarah Warner <warne...@hotmail.com>; Tad de Bordenave <tad...@mac.com>; Ls.B...@cox.net <Ls.B...@cox.net>; will russell <wcr...@gmail.com>; Ben Weems <benf...@gmail.com>; Anna Stunkel <appyw...@gmail.com>; Derek Ayres <wund...@hotmail.com>; Annie Laurie Armistead <anil...@omsoft.com>; Justin Carey <justin...@atapstrategic.com>; Joan Menocal <joanm...@hotmail.com>; Joan Sykes <jjs...@charter.net>; Kristin Klein <kklei...@gmail.com>; mary armistead <maryar...@gmail.com>; Harry Armistead <harryar...@hotmail.com>
Subject: 124th Dorchester County, MD, May bird count, May 10, 2025.

 

[Harry Armistead]

MAY 22- 27, 2025.  FERRY NECK and East New Market.  Exotic katydid.

MAY 22, THURSDAY.  a half-grown woodchuck scrambles out of the way on the edge of Route 481 near Price.  Paradiso’s Mammals of Maryland (1969) shows them entirely absent from the Eastern Shore save from Kent County on north.  So since 1969 these “field fatties” have enjoyed a range expansion 

MAY 23, FRIDAY.  Dorchester County,  3600 Goose Creek Rd., East New Market, private property, 2:30-3:10 P.M., May 23, 2025, Friday, Liz & Harry Armistead: Beautiful property, what a view out over Choptank River! Abundant feeders, water basins, and nest boxes.  66 degrees F., NW 15-20, fair.

bird list:  orchard oriole 1 ad. male, house finch 4 (some song), and these all singletons: red-bellied woodpecker, northern mockingbird, mourning dove, and blue jay + brown-headed cowbird 2, tree swallow 2 (1 in nest box), common grackle 6, northern cardinal 2, red-winged blackbird 3, barn swallow 4 (nesting in shed?), European starling 5, eastern bluebird 2 (1 at nest box), chimney swift 3, American robin 2, osprey 2.

tiger swallowtail 1, cabbage white 3, dragonfly unIDd 1.  gray squirrel 1, eastern cottontail 1.

Easton:  a bald eagle, a Cooper’s Hawk being pursued by grackles.  Anne, Derek & Alexis arrive

MAY 24, 2025, SATURDAY.  mostly just sit out by the Big Field.  Summer tanager giving its call note in Woods 2.  BELLEVUE, 6:18 P.M., 2 eastern cottontails, 2 gray squirrels, 6 cow-nosed rays, 2 ospreys, 1 wild turkey. 1 ad. bald eagle.  Our guests clear the driveway of overhang.  7 deer in the Plaindealing Farm field.

MAY 25, SUNDAY.  clear then overcast at the end, NW 15-20 falling to near calm, 58-70.  Anne, Derek and Alexis leave c. noon.  a pileated woodpecker calling and well seen in the yard.  cattle egret 1.  indigo bunting 1.  red-eyed vireo 1.  bufflehead 1.  7” skink, all brown, no markings.  Four cedar waxwings and another flock of two.  Three chimney swifts.  

Also: mallard 2, CG 2, snowy egret 1, great blue heron 1, at the feeder: BH nuthatch at least 2, sometimes it is several days before they turn up at the feeders. titmouse, chickadee. cardinal, goldfinch, house finch, mourning dove, RW blackbird, cowbirds, grackles, blue jay = 11 species at the feed.  see oysters spitting or squirting.  muskrat 1.  gray squirrel 2. spring azure 3, cabbage white 3.  cormorant 3.  killdeer.  osprey makes a couple of ineffectual dives at the CGs. 

The tide is just low enough so that the oysters are partially exposed.  Liz sees several “spit”.  

From Google:  “oysters.  Fun fact: Did you know that oysters spit? They suck in water, filter out plankton & detritus to feed on, and then spit the filtered water back out! This is how they are able to filter our water and keep it clean! One oyster is able to filter 20-50 gallons of water PER DAY!”  I never expected that they had such high SAT scores.

Probably not inspired by the ‘Titanic’ where we got to see that Kate Winslett was a quick study.  Or by the song ‘My way’:  

“Yes, there were times I'm sure you knew

When I bit off more than I could chew

But through it all when there was doubt

I ate it up and spit it out, 

I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way.”

Concerning oysters, one of Jay Fleming’s many marvelous photographs is on the March 2025 cover of Tidewater Times showing Eddie Evans’ workboat the ‘Kaitlan Noelle’ loaded down with 35 or more bushels of oysters he had harvested.

In school my dear friend, the late Van Hubbard, originator of the phrase “transcend your destiny”, disliked Dickens’ Great expectations and this became for him Great Expectorations.  In similar manner some of my classmates, by crossing out some of the letters on the books’ covers altered the titles so that God’s Angry Man (about John Brown) became Go, Man, and in similar manner Religion and the Rise of Capitalism became Eli and the Rise of Ali.

PA former Senator Arlen Specter: it doesn’t take too much imagination to know what certain of his opponents did with his name. 

Somewhat relatedly we used to say: “better to urp the burp and bear the shame, than to squelch the belch and die of pain.”

MAY 26, MONDAY, Memorial Day.  overcast becoming fair, light NNE or light and variable winds switching to southerly c. 6 P.M., high 59 - 70.  Of most interest: red-headed woodpecker, bald eagle, brown-headed nuthatch, chipping sparrow (singing), American goldfinch, killdeer, pine warbler, wild turkey, downy woodpecker.

In Field 1 a small buck and 7 does.  

I do a “whimbrel watch” 6:15 - 8:30 P.M. when the winds finally become favorable for them to lift off from the Virginia Eastern Shore.  No luck but I bet there would be some Tuesday.  Other parts of the East do these whimbrel watches.  

These are especially successful in Toronto, as described in Birding, June 2025, pages 42-52, with 17 photos, maps, etc., of these big, spectacular shorebirds that fly, often nonstop 4 or 5 days and nights, from the Virginia Eastern Shore to Hudson Bay or points even farther north after increasing their body weight, bulking up, 30% or more by loading up in fiddler crab eggs.  Eight or so times I’ve been lucky enough to intercept their late afternoon flights at Rigby’s Folly.  Watches are also conducted in the Philadelphia area.  These all in the 4th week of May.  

MAY 27, TUESDAY.  On the driveway X Field 4: 2 deer and a red fox.  2 gray squirrels at the feed.  Leave for PA at 8:40, 65 degrees F., light winds.

KATYDID.  Here in Philadelphia Liz found a 3”, brilliant green katydid inside an unopened, sealed, watercress package, of clear plastic, March 16, 2025, B & W Quality Growers LLC, Fellesmere, FL 32948 (use by 3.25.25).  Package we’d bought March 15 from the local Giant, had been in the frige 24+ hours, sealed.  It was sluggish but very much alive.

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

---

From: Harry Armistead <harryar...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2025 5:55 PM
To: Anne Armistead <annear...@gmail.com>; Charlotte Betancourt <charlotte...@hotmail.com>; Dorothy mallam <mallam...@gmail.com>; Norah Mallam <norah...@yahoo.com>; George Armistead <geo...@hillstarnature.com>; Liz Armistead <memarm...@gmail.com>; Nicole Compte <nicdiv...@hotmail.com>; Whitney Mallam <wwma...@live.com>; Bill Burt <wbu...@yahoo.com>; Bob Lukens <lukens...@verizon.net>; Linda Strawsburg <tom.str...@verizon.net>; Carl Sheppard <cfshe...@aol.com>; Carroll Sheppard <carro...@aol.com>; Ann Yonkers <a...@annyonkers.com>; John Weske <jsw...@juno.com>; Charles Swift <chae...@gmail.com>; Colin Mc <colin...@yahoo.com>; COLIN MCALLISTER <coli...@comcast.net>; Deborah Kogan <finc...@cs.com>; Emilie Harting <echa...@gmail.com>; Robert Harting <rmhar...@gmail.com>; mdbirds googlegroup <mdbi...@googlegroups.com>; Ginny Raynor-Smith <virgr...@aol.com>; Gordon Chaplin <gordon...@hotmail.com>; Irene Sacilotto <isaci...@aol.com>; John Friedman <johnfri...@gmail.com>; Kathy Shuman <shumanka...@gmail.com>; Lars Egede-Nissen <lar...@earthlink.net>; Marty 2 Daniels <martym...@gmail.com>; Nancy Moran <na...@nancymoranphoto.com>; Rob Pyle <pyl...@gmail.com>; Sarah Warner <warne...@hotmail.com>; Tad de Bordenave <tad...@mac.com>; Ls.B...@cox.net <Ls.B...@cox.net>; will russell <wcr...@gmail.com>; Ben Weems <benf...@gmail.com>; Anna Stunkel <appyw...@gmail.com>; Derek Ayres <wund...@hotmail.com>; Annie Laurie Armistead <anil...@omsoft.com>; Justin Carey <justin...@atapstrategic.com>; Joan Menocal <joanm...@hotmail.com>; Joan Sykes <jjs...@charter.net>; Kristin Klein <kklei...@gmail.com>; mary armistead <maryar...@gmail.com>; Harry Armistead <harryar...@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: 124th Dorchester County, MD, May bird count, May 10, 2025.