LOWER EASTERN SHORE OF VA & MD, JULY 19-21, 2014.
A 617-mile road swing.
Please bear in mind that my postings are also written for family and friends
who may have little knowledge of natural history, so some of what is said here
may be obvious to you but not to some of them. I am not TRYING to insult
anyone's intelligence.
WILLIS WHARF, VA, July 18, seen by Sue, Lynn & Hal: 48 Whimbrels, 6
Willets, and 3 Black Skimmers.
The day after the arrival of Alexis Elizabeth Ayres, 8 lbs. 5 ozs., 20.75 in.,
4:53 P.M., daughter of our daughter, Anne, and Derek Ayres:
JULY 19, SATURDAY,
Kiptopeke (Cape Charles), Virginia area. I spent today tagging along with
Sue Ricciardi, Hal Wierenga, and Lynn Davidson (compiler) on the Delmarva Tip
Butterfly Count (9:15 A.M. - 6:45 P.M.). This count has been going on
for, I forget, at least 12 years anyway, and is conducted within the circle of
the Cape Charles Christmas Bird Count, established by Will Russell in 1965.
One Eurasian Collared-Dove at intersection of Route 600 and Capeville
Road. The small colony in this area is one of the few places in Virginia
where this species may be found with counts going at least as high as 18.
Field W of Route 600 and just N of Magotha Road: an Eastern Cottontail and 170
Rock PIgeons. The pigeons live on the concrete ships at Kiptopeke and fan
out over the agricultural fields during the day.
Magotha Road: 3 Gray Squirrels, 9 Glossy Ibis, and a d.o.r. small fawn.
Ramp Lane/Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge (ESVNWR): A
sub-adult White Ibis, a Forster's Tern, a Bald Eagle, a Tricolored Heron, 3
Glossy Ibis, 5 Ospreys, and a Peregrine Falcon. The Ramp Lane pond has a
Snowy Egret, but this pond has been unproductive during my infrequent visits
for the past year or more. As one faces the Smith Island (Cape Charles it
is called) light the Bald Eagle in between the viewer and the island produced 2
young this year, and the other nest down towards Wise Point 1 youngster (fide
John MIller).
ESVNWR proper: Indigo Bunting, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 35 Bobolinks, Great
Crested Flycatcher, Blue Grosbeak, 11 White Ibis, Orchard Oriole, Least
Sandpiper (heard by HW), all singletons unless noted otherwise. That's a
good number of Bobolinks for so early in the fall even though they are
notorious for turning up in small numbers even as early as the beginning of
July, on their way to the Argentine.
Cape Charles Natural Area Preserve (CCNAP) is a 29-acre area just S of the town
of Cape Charles with a trail that goes out to the beach (the beach is a
restricted area). The little pond here, mostly dried up, has several
boardwalks and is surrounded by willows, which attract Viceroys. I see
one on the boardwalk. Others find 4 more. We hear a Summer Tanager,
see a flicker, and there is a Chipping Sparrow singing vigorously from the top
of a cypress and at close range, so harmless and inoffensive as to be almost
beyond belief. Lynn, whose herp cred includes the fact the she is the
atlas coordinator for Dorchester County, MD, for the MD herp atlas effort (now
in its 5th and final year) has heard with certainty Squirrel Treefrogs here
(Hyla squirella), at the extreme northern limit of their known range.
This is the sort of fact that Brooke Meanley would have loved.
The 3rd edition of the Peterson reptiles and amphibians field guide shows their
northern limit as the Cape Henry-Virginia Beach area (map
296). Google CCNAP and you'll see that other important
aspects here are the presence of the threatened Northeastern Beach Tiger
Beetle, an unusual plant - Coast Bedstraw - and a scarce habitat - maritime
dune woodland. CCNAP is administered by the Virginia Dept. of
Conservation and Recreation. It's a little gem. One Painted
Turtle. Now that we're on the subject of herps, I have heard Eastern
Narrowmouth Toads on the S side of the old ferry slip (end of Route 704) at
Kiptopeke in the wet swale areas in the upper dunes, also near the N limit of
their range, although they are in parts of MD, too.
At Townsend (pronounced locally Town's End): another Eurasian Collared-Dove.
Bull's Drive (we go no further than the gate): Grasshopper Sparrow (great view
on a fence post at close range; heard singing there, too), Least Tern, Brown
Pelican 17 (in a circling kettle) Field Sparrow singing, an active Osprey nest
on top of the tall communications tower, a doe and her fawn.
Pickett's Harbor: Has long stretch full of big American Hackerries and
Black Cherries. I find the only Hackberry Emperor today. In other
years scores of them have been found here. Brown Pelican 14,
Double-crested Cormorant 17, 1 Common Tern, 1 Royal Tern. The lovely
maritime forest at the W end has big Loblolly Pines and a lot of Devil's
Walking Stick, hollies, and plenty of vines.
Cheapside. Aptly named. Many vacant lots, abandoned houses.
Once for a couple of days an Audubon's Warbler was here, found on a Christmas
count, seen by 5-6 of us, found, I think, by Evan Obercian. Lots of
blooming Mimosa. We have 5 or 6 sightings of hummingbirds. A
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher that may be a very early migrant. One Gray
Squirrel, assuming the Weltanschauung posture.
Just W of Route 13 X Arlington Road a seafood building with 115 Herring Gulls
on the roof, all adults in breeding plumage.
Route 13, milepost 71, 6 deer.
Back to Ramp Lane, ESVNWR, 7 - 7:30 P.M.: 18 White Ibis, 12 Clapper Rails, 2
Green Herons, 60 distant Black Skimmers, 4 Great Egrets, 1 Snowy Egret, 20
Brown Pelicans, 7 Eastern Cottontails, and 3 deer (2 does and a small fawn).
BUTTERFLYING certainly requires a special skill set. Finding the one tiny
hairstreak after scutinizing 100s of clover blossoms. Likewise a
diminutive Saltmarsh Skipper or 2 on a long swath of Sea Oxeye.
Especially productive today is the line of Abelia bushes, in full bloom, on the
backside of ESVNWR. Lynn has acquired a Special Use Permit from ESVNWR
giving us access to such restricted areas. Special binoculars that focus
at close ranges are very helpful for butterflyers. Today we find 25
species. Usually it is 10 or so more, but the overcast skies, cool
weather (in the 70s), and NE winds of 15 m.p.h. put the damper on butterflies
today. There are 10 or so others on the butterfly count. We find
these swallowtails: Giant (rare here), Palamedes, Black, Spicebush, and Tiger.
Silver-spotted Skippers may be the most abundant butterfly sighting
today. Lynn's report will tell. We miss such usually dependable
species as Snout, Duskywing, and some of the skippers and sulphurs.
Indigo Buntings, singing males, are just about everywhere today.
JULY 20, SUNDAY. My 3 companions go on to do a butterfly count in the
Nassawango area in MD. I work my way up to Rigby's Folly. Mostly
overcast, winds NE 10, temps in high 70s, low or mid 80s, with a chance of
Denny's country fried steak.
MACHIPONGO - BOXTREE ROAD, VA. Low tide. 8:45-9. Eastern
Cottontail 2, Brown Pelican 2, Great Egret 1, Laughing Gull 33 (hunting in the
marshes and along the tidal guts), Forster's Tern 7, Indigo Bunting 1, Barn
Swallow 30 (actively foraging over the marsh). The S lawn area here is
skirted by a nice stretch of Sea Oxeye which hosts one Saltmarsh Skipper.
WILLIS WHARF, VA, 9:15- 10. Very low tide. Whimbrel 41, Canada
Goose 16, Great Egret 3, Snowy Egret 1, Black Vulture 3, Willet 14, Marbled
Godwit
0, Black Skimmer 3, Forster's Tern 6. Two Diamondback Terrapin basking on
the edge of a tidal gut.
THE REST OF THE DAY IN MD:
ELLIOTT ISLAND ROAD, MD. 12:30-3:15. Tide low and getting
lower. 40 species, incl. Canada Goose 12, Mallard 1 (the ONLY duck), 3
Great Blue Herons, 3 Great Egrets, 13 Snowy Egrets, 2 Glossy Ibis, 29 Ospreys,
8 Blad Eagles, 2 Northern Harriers, 2 Virginia Rails, 2 Common Gallinules, 1
Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Willets (they'll be clearing out very soon), 2 Least
Sandpipers, 2 Short-billed Dowitchers, 1 Forster's Tern (the only tern), 8
Eastern Kingbirds, 5 Fish Crows, 35 Purple Martins, 6 Marsh Wrens (doing their
buzzy arerial displays), 4 Eastern Bluebirds, 65 starlings, 5 Seaside Sparrows,
3 Blue Grosbeaks, 4 Indigo Buntings, 150 Common & 2 Boat-tailed grackles,
45 cowbirds. And so it goes, or at least, went. Also: 2 Diamondback
Terrapin, 2 Black Swallowtails (males), and perhaps most unusual of all, a fat
Woodchuck just E of Kraft Neck X Elliott I. roads on the farm driveway
there. I don't think I've ever seen a 'whistle pig' before on Elliott
Island Road.
BESTPITCH FERRY ROAD, Transquaking River area: A hen Wild Turkey with 7
half-grown poults, 2 Painted Turtles, 125 cowbirds.
BLACKWATER N.W.R., 4:15 - 5:30, a cameo appearance. All of 14 species,
incl.: Great Blue Heron 5, Great Egret 14, Bald Eagle 6, Osprey 5, Killdeer 1,
Greater 3 & Lesser 14 yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper 345 (all of the peep I am
able to see are Leasts, but there are no doubt some Semipalmateds and perhaps a
few Westerns in with them), Short-billed Dowitcher 5, Pectoral Sandpiper 4,
Ring-billed Gull 1, Forster's Tern 6, Red-headed Woodpecker 1, Orchard Oriole
1. NON-AVIAN TAXA: Painted Turtle 13, Redbelly Slider 2, Orange Sulphur
3, Cabbage White 1.
EGYPT ROAD, 5:35, P.M., A hen Wild Turkey.
RIGBY'S FOLLY - Armistead digs in Talbot County. Arrive 7:10 P.M.
The 2 young Ospreys on our platform are impressive and the just one young (I
think) on a platform farther up the cove is, too. They look flight-capable,
if they only knew it. Corn is up c. 2.5' in contrast to much of it
elsewhere regionally, which much of it 7'. There's a large, dead oak limb
on the driveway, not what I want to deal with after 200+ miles of
driving. Then in the house a smoke alarm in a hard-to-reach place is
beeping away. Another large limb, on the mostly-dead maple by the garage,
has fallen. 1.75" in the rain gauge since the last visit.
Good.
JULY 21, known to the laity as, simply, Monday. At Rigby's Folly:
overcast, 72, calm. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo calling continuously. A
8-point buck in Field 4. A Gray Squirrel. The 1st Monarch of the
year. At Frog Hollow 19 Painted Turtles, a record count, some of them
very small young, are basking on 2 logs, 16 on one log. Over Royal Oak is
an immature Bald Eagle soaring. In a yard right in the middle of town are
2 Black Vultures. MIDDLETOWN, DE. A Velvet Ant on the paving at the
Wawa only a few feet from the doors.
JULY 22, Tuesday. I hate to miss it, but I need to be home. Today
John Weske, Dave Brinker, and their crew are banding Brown Pelican chicks in
the huge colony (> 1,000 pairs in some years) out in the Shanks I. area of
VA just S of Smith I., MD, and N of Tangier I., VA.
Best to all. - Harry Armistead.
