ISSN 0147-9725 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE MARCH 1999 VOLUME 55 NUMBER 1 MARYLAND ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. Cylburn Mansion, 4915 Greenspring Ave., Baltimore, MD 21209 STATE OFFICERS FOR JUNE 1998 TO JUNE 1999 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL President: Norm Saunders, 1261 Cavendish Dr., Colesville, MD 20905 (301-989-9035) Vice Pres.: Karen Morley, 2719 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21218 (410-435-4001) Treasurer: Jeff Metter, 1301 North Rolling Rd., Catonsville, MD 21228 (410-788-4877) Sec’y: Kathleen Neugebauer, 18217 Fox Chase Cir., Olney, MD 20832 (301-570-8969) Executive Sec’y: Will Tress, 203 Gittings Ave., Baltimore, MD 21212 (410-433-1058) Past Pres.: Robert Rineer, 8326 Philadelphia Rd., Baltimore, MD 21237 (410-391-8499) STATE DIRECTORS Allegany: * Gladys Faherty Howard: * Mike Kerwin Teresa Simons Elayne Metter Mary-Jo Betts Darius Ecker Anne Arundel:* A1 Haury Paul Speyser Larry Zeller Jug Bay: * Dale Johnson Gary Flenner Baltimore: * Terrence Ross Gail Frantz Kent: * Gail Regester Leanne Pemburn Patricia Wilson Elizabeth Taylor Peter A, Webb Montgomery: * Linda Friedland Sam Freiberg Rick Sussman Caroline: * Danny Poet Janet Millenson Lydia Schindler Carroll: * Amy Hoffman Patuxent: * David Mozurkewich Roxanne Yeager Chandler Robbins Cecil: * Marcia Watson-Whitmyre Talbot: * Bernard Burns Ken Drier Frank Lawlor Scott Powers Bill Novak Frederick: * Wilbur Hershberger Washington: * Gay Gilbert Bob Johnson Ann Mitchell Harford: * Larry Fry Wicomico: * Samuel Dyke Thomas Congersky John Nack Joseph Vangrin * Chapter President Active Membership: $ 1 0.00 plus chapter dues Life: $400.00 (4 annual installments) Household: $15.00 plus chapter dues Junior: (under 1 8) $5.00 plus chapter dues Sustaining: $25.00 plus chapter dues Cover: Kelp Gull. Photo by Norm Saunders from Sea Breeze Restaurant parking lot, February 20, 1999. MARYLAND BIRDLIFE ■•..11111111111111 II VOLUME 55 MARCH 1999 NUMBER 1 KELP GULL VISITS ST. MARY’S COUNTY, MD PARTI Jane Kostenko Maryland has had more than its fair share of truly great birds, and St. Mary’s County has become known as a place where out-of-range birds can often show up. But when a Kelp Gull (. Larus dominicanus ) was identified, unprecedented nationwide birding excitement reigned. The initial finding of the Kelp Gull and its subsequent relocation one year later are only part of the story of this gull. Its normal range, geographical variations in plumage and subtle differences between similar gulls, the shortcomings of field guides, and difficulties in making bird identifications through Internet-posted descriptions and photos are all integral to how this gull came to surely be one of Maryland’s most-seen rare birds, after almost being passed over. This is the first in a two-part series; part two will describe the widespread birder visitation that this discovery initiated. January and February, 1998 Patty Craig and Kyle Rambo have been the top two Maryland Ornithological Society listers for St. Mary’s County for many years, and have found numerous rare birds in the county. But in January of 1998, Patty took a side road that curved down to the Patuxent River, and came to two crab houses built right on the river in the hamlet of Sandgates, Maryland in St. Mary’s County. Both restaurants have piers on the river. It was on one of these piers that Patty noticed a flock of resting gulls. And it was one of these gulls that caught her eye. Patty reported, “On January 25, 1998, 1 found an unusual gull at the Sea Breeze pier. It was as dark as the Great Black-backed Gulls [Larus marinus ], but smaller, rounded headed, and had one small mirror and yellow legs. I thought it might be a different subspecies of Lesser Black-backed Gull [ Lfuscus ]. So I called Kyle Rambo to see if he could check it out since he lives close [to the Sandgates area].” In a report to the Maryland Records Committee, Kyle documented his sighting: “On or approximately on the 7th of February, 1998, 1 went to the Sea Breeze Restaurant to view a Lesser Black-backed Gull reported to me by Patty Craig a week or more earlier. I found what I also believed to be Lesser Black-backed Gull at the time. . . I recall the gull being Herring Gull-sized and having a dark mantle, approximately the same color as the Great Black-backed Gulls in its company. Its legs were a dull yellow, perhaps greenish-yellow, but duller than I expected for Lesser Black-backed Gull.” 4 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 1 January and February, 1999 Remarkably, one year later, Kyle re-found the bird on a Christmas Bird Count on the morning of January 3, 1999. Kyle wrote to the Records Committee, “While conducting the Naval Air Station Patuxent River CBC, I observed this gull sitting on a close-up pier piling at the Sea Breeze Restaurant. The bird was a medium-sized gull, approximately the size of a Herring Gull [L. argentatus] and much smaller than the nearby Great Black-backed Gulls. It was dark-mantled (apparently more so than even the GBBGs), but with a slightly noticeable contrast to the even darker primaries. Its legs were greenish-yellow, and the back of its white head was lightly covered with fine brown flecks. The bill had an orange spot on the gonys, with a very pronounced gonydeal angle. The bird had yellowish eyes with a distinct orange eye ring. At the time, I believed it to be one of the darker subspecies of Lesser Black-backed Gull (L.ffuscus or Lf intermedius). In fact, I thought it might be the same bird observed as a LBBG by Patty Craig (and later myself) a year earlier.” Kyle told Patty about relocating the gull, and Patty noted, “I went to look at [the gull] on the 7th of January [1999]. I was still not confident on an identification, but it was at this time that I considered Kelp Gull. I had no resources to separate the species so I tried to get others to see it by calling and e-mailing. Since any subspecies of Lesser Black-backed Gull other than L. fuscus graellsii would not be expected in North America, field guides are of limited use. Patty wrote, “In the mean time I saw [the gull] a few more times and obtained photographs (1-31-99) that showed that the tail ended at P7. I felt that this verified an identification of intermedins LBBG.” An article on LBBG in the American Birding Association’s Binding magazine (October 1995), indicated that this would separate intermedius from graellsii. Patty’s description was enough to get Marshall Iliff interested in seeing the bird. Marshall made several unsuccessful attempts, during which time he circulated Patty’s photo to several birders through the Internet. Marshall later wrote, “The general opinion was that the image in the photo was not inconsistent with that of an intermedius Lesser Black-backed Gull. But [1] voiced some doubts, so it was only then that Patty mentioned Kelp Gull [to me on] February 8, 1999.” Kelp Gull, a non-migratory, four-year gull from the Southern Hemisphere, breeds in Aus- tralia, New Zealand, South Africa, and southern South America. A pair of “mated” birds was discovered off the coast of Louisiana in the Chandeleur Islands in 1989, and one bred there with a Herring Gull in 1990 (AOU 1998). Other sightings of Kelp Gull have been reported in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and the Yucatan Peninsula, and in the United States: in Galveston, Texas (in two separate years) and once in Indiana. Given the rarity of this gull north of the Equator, even suggesting Kelp Gull was going out on the proverbial limb. Marshall made another trip to St. Mary’s County and saw the gull on February 11,1 999. He posted the following message on February 12, 1999, to the Internet birding discussion group MDOsprey: “I made my third trip down to St. Mary’s County today to look for an unusual gull that Patty Craig had alerted me to. She, Marty Cribb, Kyle Rambo, Tyler Bell, Jane Kostenko, and several other MD birders had seen the gull and were of the opinion that it was an intermedius Lesser Black-back. Patty sent me a photo via e-mail a couple days ago that March 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 5 showed the bird’s long wings and dark mantle. I saw the bird well today and concur with their ID. To my knowledge, it is the first such bird for MD and is certainly the first one photo- graphed. “. . .The bird in question is a full adult. At first glance (naked eye) I passed it off as Great Black-backed because of the darkness of the mantle (even though I was expecting a dark- mantled bird). It was quickly obvious though that this was a smaller bird, smaller billed, etc. Structurally 1 found it like a fairly large graellsii Lesser Black-backed, and I believe it is likely a male. The head was white with almost no streaking except a tiny bit above the eye and crossing the crown and a few thin streaks on the nape. The orbital ring is bright red, the bill is brightly colored with a prominent red gonydeal spot, and the legs are grayish-yellow. The back is very close to the color of a Great Black-backed Gull (none were present for direct compari- son) or perhaps a tad lighter. The back did contrast with the primaries, but not obviously. The white primary tips were very small. The outermost primary has a very small white mirror restricted to the inner web of the feather, The 4th primary in [P7] falls even with the tail tip. In flight the inner wings and back barely contrasted with the black primary tips. “The gull did not chum in though quite a number of Ring-billeds [L. delawarensis J came in to pretzels (all 1 had to offer). It is, however, extremely approachable. 1 walked within 10 feet or so and the bird hardly seemed nervous. It spent most of its time perched on the pilings around the Sandgatcs Restaurant on the Patuxent River. It did spend a small amount of time feeding along the rocky shoreline to the north, and could be viewed from the roadside as it flew up and down the shore." Marshall’s post continued, “I watched the bird from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. and it was still present when I left. It has been present throughout the day and is usually easy to find, though it is not always there (l have missed it at 10, 2, and 3:00 on previous attempts)." Marshall's post heightened interest in the gull within the birding community, and while Patty Craig headed for Florida for a family visit. Maryland birding history was about to take place. Three birders from the DC area were the first to come to St. Mary's County in response to the prospect of seeing a new' subspecies. Rob Hilton and Ottavio Janni contributed the following summary, narrated by Rob: “Ottavio Janni, Lisa Shannon, and 1 went to the Sandgates Restaurant on February 14 to check out the gull which had been reported earlier that week and season as being of the darker-backed inter- medins subspecies of Lesser Black-backed Gull. This form breeds in eastern and southern Scandinavia and winters from there west to Ireland and south in to Spain and Portugal. At that time none of the observers had seen this form. “When we arrived at the restaurant, we saw a dark-backed gull perched on a piling behind the Sea Breeze Restaurant. After we parked at the Sandgates Restaurant, Ottavio got out of the car to look at that dark-mantled gull, then rushed back saying something about a GBB with yellow legs. All three of us went to the pier, to find that the bird had down. However, it quickly returned. We quickly realized this was the bird and Ottavio excitedly said something like. 'It has a huge bill for a Lesser Black-backed Gull.’ His immediate reaction was that it did not seem like a LBB. I soon noted and commented on the greenish legs (at the time Ottavio didn't realize the significance of this), and then said that Kelp Gulls have greenish legs. I was aware of the Kelp Gulls, which had been reported some ten years before as breeding on islands off the coast of Louisiana, and knew that this species had very dark upperpans. 6 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 1 “After studying the bird for a little while, we both thought it was likely not a LBB. We then went to my car to retrieve our cameras, notebooks, and sketch pads. Lisa and I soon hunkered down next to [a horseshoe pit backstop] near the pier, to stay out of the strong winds.. ..the wind chill was below 20 degrees, and the ink in my pen was so congealed I could barely write. Lisa made some nice pencil sketches. Ottavio slowly walked, then crawled out on to the pier where perched the gull, and began taking pictures. After more than an hour, we went home and consulted reference books. “Ottavio and I talked again in the afternoon and the Kelp Gull hypothesis was getting stronger. We had both looked carefully at the primary pattern and it seemed an excellent match for Kelp after looking at photos. While Lisa and I went to our offices, Ottavio called some local birders. Their reactions to his description of the bird were strikingly similar: Paul O’Brien said, ‘Oh my god, it’s a Kelp Gull!’ (this before Ottavio had mentioned the ‘K word’)... “When we returned to St. Mary’s County the next day, Dave Czaplak and Mary Ann Todd were already present. Unbeknownst to the five of us, Paul and Michael O’Brien and Louise Zemaitis had already seen the bird, identified it as a Kelp Gull, and departed while spreading the word. Birders started drifting in that afternoon (Mark Hoffman, Jane Kostenko, Tyler Bell, Greg Miller among others) as we stood, talked, watched, and (in the restaurant) ate.” On February 15, 1999, shortly after 12:30 p.m., Michael O’Brien sent out the first Internet post with the subject header, “Kelp Gull (?) in St. Mary’s County” that read, “...This morning between 7:00 and 8:30 a.m., Paul O’Brien, Louise Zemaitis and I saw the bird at close range and agree that it looks most like a Kelp Gull. . .It has already been photographed extensively but a large series of close-up photos may be needed to resolve the identification so all photog- raphers are urged to make a visit. The unparalleled commotion in the national birding community that followed will be the subject of Part II. Literature Cited American Ornithologists’ Union. 1998. Check-list of North American Birds, 7th ed. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C. 23035 Forest Way, California, MD 20619 March 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 7 SUBURBAN HABITATS OF WATERFOWL IN LOWER DELMARVA John V. Dennis Generally overlooked in taking waterfowl censuses are bodies of water within residential areas. But as I reported in an article in the September 1996 issue of Maryland Birdlife, ponds in residential neighborhoods near the coast from Virginia to Delaware hold sizable waterfowl populations the year round. Ponds near Ocean City, Maryland and at Rehoboth Beach, Dela- ware have been visited by the writer since 1990 and numbers of waterfowl using them counted. As many as two visits per month were made to each pond. Other suburban locations where waterfowl may gather were later added to the census program. These included ponds in and around Salisbury, Maryland beginning in January 1994 and the waterfront at Cambridge, Mary- land, beginning in November 1998 (see maps). 1 was interested in seasonal use by waterfowl at these gathering places, species using them, their numbers, population changes, and presence of water birds other than ducks and geese. Among the non-waterfowl users were cormorants, grebes. Belted Kingfishers, Ospreys, herons, egrets, gulls, and terns. The last two were not included in the counts. Waterfowl find suburban areas with abundant water attractive for several reasons. They are safe from hunting and there are varying amounts of food in the form of aquatic plants and animal life. Moreover, artificial feeding was conducted at most sites. Lawns, present at most sites, were extensively grazed by Canada Geese, and Mallards foraged for food in nearby farmers’ fields. After feeding on waste grain, they would return to the safe quarters of the suburban ponds. Although trampling of lawns, along with the mess left by droppings, constitutes a nui- sance, the waterfowl provide a recreational outlet for residents and visiting bird watchers. At both park areas and planned residential developments, there are signs urging people to keep dogs on leashes and warning motorists of waterfowl crossings. At Ocean Pines there are signs telling people to offer grain and not bread. One suspects that there had been an over-use of bread; therefore the advice to offer more nutritious food in the form of grain. Recent changes among Delmarva waterfowl In addition to suburban-type habitat, there is still enough good habitat to accommodate the waterfowl that come to the region to spend the winter or breed. There are now more species than ever on hand throughout the year. With the exception of the Labrador Duck, not a single species has been lost during historic times. The extinct Labrador Duck was last recorded in 1878 at Elmira, New York (American Ornithologists’ Union 1998). Newcomers include the Mallard, Gadwall, Ring-necked Duck, American Wigeon, Lesser Snow Goose, and Mute Swan. At the turn of the century in 1 900, the first four were regarded as Midwestern species whose ranges extended no farther east than the Mississippi Valley. It is hard to believe that these abundant species have been in the East only a relatively short time. The Mallard is now our most abundant duck. Not far behind the Mallard is the Gadwall. MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 1 Almost as many changes have taken place among the geese as the ducks. The Canada Goose, now seen the year round in marshes, agricultural fields, parks, golf courses, and bodies of water, was almost a rarity thirty years ago. Formerly, the flocks that came down from the Hudson Bay region and eastern Canada spent the winter farther south. Better feeding condi- tions, as well as milder winters, have been factors in a change that has seen most of the population spending the winter in the Delmarva region. The advent of mechanical corn and soybean pick- ers in the 1970s has resulted in more leftover food n the fields for geese, ducks, and swans. In addition, the geese feed on the green blades of winter cover crops. As many as half a million Canada Geese now spend the winter, and sizable numbers stay behind to nest. The changes that have benefited the Canada Goose have also benefited the Lesser Snow Goose. This goose, which comes in two color phases — blue and white — flies all the way from easternmost Siberia, arctic Alaska, and Canada to spend the winter along the Texas and WATERFOWL WINTERING AREAS : IN LOWER DELMARVA j Prepared by Sharon Himes March 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 9 Louisiana Gulf coasts, and the Chesapeake Bay region. Formerly absent from the Bay region, this goose has added another thousand miles to its long migration journey and is now wintering in increasing numbers at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and elsewhere along the eastern side of the Bay. A larger subspecies, known as the Greater Snow Goose, reaches coastal sections of Delmarva and the Outer Banks of North Carolina in good numbers every fall. The Greater Snow Goose comes only in a white phase and flies all the way from breeding grounds in northwest Greenland and arctic Canada. Artificial feeding Extensive use of bakery products and grain in feeding waterfowl is made at the Town Park in Salisbury, the Cambridge waterfront. Ocean Pines, and Greer and Silver Lakes in Rehoboth Beach. Most species will accept food either if it is tossed into the water or on dry land. But diving ducks, including scaup, Ring-necked Ducks. Redheads, and Canvasbacks. will only accept food tossed into the water. As there is little water-feeding in Rehoboth Beach where there are diving ducks, these species do not participate as fully in the artificial feeding. On the other hand, along the Cambridge waterfront food is tossed into the water, and diving ducks, including hundreds of Canvasbacks, come close to shore to dive for it. The Ruddy Duck, in a group of its own. is so specialized for diving (with its legs well toward the rear of its body), that it is helpless on land. It feeds primarily on aquatic vegetation. 1 have no records of its accepting artificial food in the East. Competition from gulls and feral pigeons Almost as soon as anyone arrives at the places where waterfowl are fed. gulls appear in large numbers and also feral pigeons. They are particularly eager for bakery products and the occasional popcorn that is offered. Foods of this kind are taken so quickly that little, it any. is left for the waterfowl. This is another good reason not to offer bakery products. Gulls, including the Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls, will sparingly eat small pieces of grain. Grain tossed into the water is safe from competition by both gulls and feral pigeons. Hybrids and domestic stock One is greeted at feeding places not only by w ell-known species of waterfowl but also by what might be called a motley group of hybrids and feral domestic geese and ducks. Especially evident among the hybrids are Mallard crosses. It is reported that the Mallard has hybridized with at least forty other species. In most cases these hybrids are sterile. But crosses between Mallards and the American Black Duck are fertile. This is a cause for concern because the Mallard gene pool is swamping out that of the Black. People have released domestic breeds on some of the lakes and ponds with unfortunate results. In the scramble for food are domestic geese, which seem to include strains of both the domestic Chinese Goose and Greylag goose. Pekin Ducks, the white domestic form of the Mallard, may be present, as may Muscovy Ducks. The latter are a tropical American species that has been successfully domesticated. The Muscovy breeds with other waterfowl but the progeny are sterile. 10 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 1 Order in which the waterfowl come for food At Ocean Pines, where there is extensive feeding by residents, even a car drawing up to park by the edge of a 50-acre pond brings a quick response from the waterfowl. First to come are the domestic geese. As soon as someone leaves his or her car, they crowd in, often tugging at one’s clothing with their bills. They are quickly followed by Pekin Ducks, Mallards, and American Coots. The Pekins are particularly aggressive about getting their share. Last to ar- rive are the Canada Geese. An occasional Canada, with neck outstretched and wings flapping, will attempt to chase off all the other waterfowl but with little success. The domestic geese at Ocean Pines proved to be such a nuisance that the grounds authori- ties rounded up about fifty of them, placing them at other locations. Seven escaped the roundup and are still present. Prepared by Sharon Himes March 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 11 Aloof from all this activity are Canvasbacks and other diving ducks, which as already mentioned, do not respond to food offered on dry land. They stay well out in the pond. Comparative use by waterfowl Ponds or waterfronts covered in this study are as follows: • Ocean Pines, Maryland, at South Gate (large pond) • Ocean Pines, Maryland, at North Gate (small pond) • Silver Lake, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware • Greer Lake, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware • Spring Lake, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware • Salisbury, Maryland (several ponds) • Records Pond, Laurel, Delaware • Cambridge waterfront, Cambridge, Maryland Of the twenty species of waterfowl that make use of these bodies of water in or close to suburban habitats on lower Delmarva, some are present at only one or two and others are present at all of them. Listed below in order of number of sites used are the waterfowl species. Species Canada Goose Mallard American Black Duck Canvasback American Wigeon Northern Shoveler Bufflehead American Coot Pied-billed Grebe Ruddy Duck No. of Sites 8 8 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 Species No. Hooded Merganser Snow Goose Red-breasted Merganser Gadwall Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Common Goldeneye Tundra Swan Wood Duck Redhead of Sites 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 The Pied-billed Grebe is not strictly a waterfowl species. Double-crested Cormorants were recorded at four of the locations. Not included in the list are introduced or domestic species, including Mute Swan, domestic geese, Muscovy Duck and Pekin Duck. Absent from the suburban bodies of water were most of the sea ducks, including Harle- quin Duck, eiders, Oldsquaw, and the scoters. More expected but absent were the Northern Pintail, Blue- winged Teal, and Green-wingedTeal. Yet, as many as 2,000 Northern Pintails are present at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge during some winters. However, Henry Armistead (pers. comm.) states that a precipitous decline in the Northern Pintail has taken place in the East in recent years, and that they usually do not frequent ponds in urban areas. Changes in population Since I began my census work in 1990, there have been several pronounced changes in populations of species using the suburban ponds and waterfronts. A dramatic increase in num- bers has been noted for the Ruddy Duck, Northern Shoveler, and American Coot. 12 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 1 Populations of Canada Geese, Mallards, American Black Ducks, and Canvasbacks have remained consistently high throughout the period. For example, winter and spring counts in 1 994-95 at Greer and Silver Lakes in Rehoboth Beach showed about 800 Canada Geese, 1 000 Mallards, 640 American Black Ducks, and 400 Canvasbacks present on these lakes. These figures indicate a decline in numbers between the 1994-95 period and the more recent one for the Mallard and American Black Duck, but a dramatic increase for the Canvasback. It should be borne in mind, however, that, with waterfowl trading back and forth between the different ponds and sometimes leaving the area to feed in agricultural fields, it is impos- sible to obtain accurate figures from the ground. This could better be accomplished through aerial surveys. The Lesser Snow Goose, which has been making headline news because of its dramatic increase in numbers, is absent from the ponds and other water areas covered in my survey. In winter, it gathers in huge numbers on agricultural fields in Delmarva. Through sheer weight of its numbers, it is grubbing up and destroying the tundra on its arctic breeding grounds. Concluding remarks Thanks to the benefits of artificial feeding and freedom from hunting pressure, a number of waterfowl species on Delmarva are making extensive use of bodies of water within or close to populated districts. The species taking advantage of this opportunity were recorded and figures were gathered on their numbers. Widespread use of these waters was made by the Canada Goose, Mallard, American Black Duck, and Canvasback. Ability to adapt to man-made conditions should help ensure the survival of species hav- ing this capacity. Among the species that were not well represented were the Tundra Swan, Wood Duck, and Redhead. Not recorded at all was the Northern Pintail. Adapting well to artificial feeding and man-made conditions were the Muscovy Duck, Pekin Duck, and feral domestic geese. These barnyard types are a nuisance and should not be allowed on waters occupied by native waterfowl. Waterfowl are present in Delmarva in good numbers throughout the year. Many species are finding additional habitat and sources of food by spilling over into habitats close to man. Their presence in these habitats is a source of pleasure to people and provides them with a close tie to nature. I wish to thank Henry T. Armistead for assistance in regard to several points. Literature Cited American Ornithologists’ Union. 1998. Check-list of North American Birds, 7th ed. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C. Dennis, J. V. 1966. Waterfowl use of coastal ponds. Maryland Birdlife 52(3):75-79. 11719 Beechwood St., Princess Anne, MD 21853 March 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 13 WINTER: DECEMBER 1, 1997-FEBRUARY 28, 1998 Daniel R. Southworth This El Nino- affected winter was one of the warmest on record, December was mild, and January and February were exceptionally warm. There was a good bit of rain with a couple of nor’easters hitting the region, but there were only traces of snow during the period. Observers: Henry Armistead, Rick Blom, Bob Boxwell, Dennis & Jane Coskren, Patty Craig, Ralph Cullison, Sam Dyke, Darius & Paula Ecker, Ethel Engle (reporting for Caroline County), Marshall Iliff, George Jett, Ryan Lesh, David Mozurkewich, Dotty Mumford, Mariana Nuttle, Bonnie Ott, Elizabeth Pitney (reporting for the Wicomico Bird Club), Fran Pope, Kyle Rambo, Jan Reese, Sue Ricciardi, Robert Ringler, Chandler Robbins, Norm & Fran Saunders, Eugene Scarpulla (reporting for Hart-Miller Island), Bill Scudder, Stephen Simon, Susan Sires, Connie Skipper, Jo Solem (reporting for Howard County), Jim Stasz, Mark Wallace, Dave Webb, David Weesner, Leo Weigant, Marcia Watson-Whitmyre, Hal Wierenga, Howard Youth, Helen Zeichner. Abbreviations: CBC — Christmas Bird Count, DC — District of Columbia, NWR — National Wildlife Refuge, PRNAS — Patuxent River Naval Air Station (St. Mary’s), PWRC — Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Prince George’s), PWRC/N — Patuxent Wildlife Re- search Center North (Anne Arundel), SP — State Park, UMCF — University of Maryland Central Farm (Howard), WMA — Wildlife Management Area, WS — Wildlife Sanctuary. Locations: Place names (with counties in parentheses) not in the index of the State high- way map: Assateague Island (Worcester), Blackwater NWR (Dorchester), Broad Creek Scout Camp (Harford), Browns Bridge (Howard), Brown’s Station Landfill (Prince George’s), Deep Creek Lake (Garrett), E. A. Vaughn WMA (Worcester), Greenbrier SP (Washington), Hooper Island (Dorchester), Horsehead Wetlands Center (Queen Anne’s), Hughes Hollow (Montgom- ery), Irish Grove WS (Somerset), Jug Bay WS (Anne Arundel), Little Seneca Lake (Montgomery), New Germany SP (Garrett), Swallow Falls SP (Garrett), Terrapin Point Park (Queen Anne’s), Washington Monument SP (Washington). Loons, Grebes, Gannets, Cormorants. Sixty Red-throated Loons was a nice count in the Cobb Island area on Jan. 10, where 25 Common Loons were tallied the same day (Jett, Stasz). There were still 23 Red-throated Loons at Hart-Miller on Feb. 28, and other Common Loons included 18 at Smith Island on Jan. 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz+), 3 at Hooper Island on Jan. 29 (Armistead), 12 at Point Lookout on Feb. 16 (Craig), and 15 in the Claiborne and Tilghman 14 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 1 vicinity on Feb. 22 (Lesh, Stasz). The many Pied-billed Grebes included 25 at Deal Island WMA on Jan. 14 (Iliff), 2 at Greenbrier SP on Dec. 17 (Weesner), and 41 at Loch Raven on Jan. 17 (Simon). Harry Armistead found 60 Horned Grebes at Hooper Island on Jan. 29, and Patty Craig tallied 300 at Pt. Lookout on Feb. 21. Pt. Lookout also hosted an Eared Grebe from Feb. 9-16 (Craig). At North Beach on Feb. 7, Jim Stasz and Charles Wetherill saw an adult Northern Gannet, which flew into Anne Arundel County. Great Cormorants included 3 in the Cobb Island area on Jan. 10 (Jett, Stasz) and 7 at the Sharp Island Light, Talbot County on Feb. 22 (Lesh, Stasz). Among the Double-crested Cormorant reports were 2 during the Garrett County CBC on Dec. 20, 28 at Faulkner on Jan. 13 (Craig), and 28 in Scotland on Feb. 25 (Boxwell). Herons, Ibis, Vultures . With the mild weather, there were at least 10 American Bittern reports on the eastern shore throughout the period, and Great Blue Herons were very numer- ous including 1 at Deep Creek Lake on Feb. 7 (Skipper). A Great Egret was noted in Georgetown on Dec, 14 (Todd Day), and 7 were checked off at Deal Island WMA on Jan. 13 (Iliff). Smith Island hosted 3 Snowy Egrets, 2 Little Blue Herons, and 2 Tricolored Herons on Jan. 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). Other Tricoloreds included 1 at Deal Island WMA on Jan. 16 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and 3 at Elliott Island on Jan. 29 and 1 at West Ocean City on Feb. 11 (Armistead). A nice count of 133 Black-crowned Night-Herons, leaving a roost at sunset, was made at Deal Island WMA on Jan. 16 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). Sam Dyke found 13 Glossy Ibis there on Feb. 2. During the Calvert County Midwinter Count on Jan. 11, 493 Black Vultures were tallied, including 479 at one roost (Tony Barbour+). In Allegany County, Susan Sires noted a Tbrkey Vulture on Jan. 22, and on Feb. 15, one was noted in the Pleasant Valley area of Garrett County and 4 were at Swallow Falls SP (Stasz). Geese. A Greater White-fronted Goose was reported at Blackwater NWR on Dec. 26 (Les Roslund), and also on Jan. 13 (Dyke). Others included 1 at Bayhead Road, Anne Arundel County on Jan. 12, where a hybrid White-fronted x Canada Goose was also noted (Iliff); 2 at Critcher Road, Worcester County on Jan. 17 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz); and 1 at Aydelotte Road, Worcester County on Jan. 19 (Coskrens). The 62,600 Snow Geese on Dec. 29 was the second highest tally ever for the Ocean City CBC (Robbins+), and one Snow Goose was discovered at Greenbrier SP on Jan. 4 (Weesner). A Ross’s Goose was discovered at Blackwater Refuge on Jan. 13 (Dyke), where there were 3 on Feb. 16 (Mozurkewich), and 1 was at Critcher Road, Worcester County on Jan. 17 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). Rick Blom tallied 7600 Canada Geese mi- grating over his house in Bel Air on Feb. 27, and 9440 were listed in Essex on Feb. 27 (Kevin Graff). Over 1 1 ,600 Canadas were seen flying north over Hart-Miller on Feb. 28. Several of a small race of Canada Geese were reported this winter: 2 at Kershner’s Pond, Frederick County on Dec. 5 (Iliff), 1 at Piney Run on Dec. 7 (Ringler) and 4 there on Dec. 17 (Iliff), 2 at Town Point Road, Cecil County on Jan. 2 (Lesh, Stasz), 1 at Roxbury Road, Howard County and 2 at Centennial on Jan. 4 (Stasz), 1 at Loch Raven on Jail. 6 (Iliff, Stasz), 1 at Rising Sun on Jan. 9 (Iliff), 1 at Allens Fresh on Jan. 10 (Stasz), 1 at Brown’s Station Landfill on Jan. 12 (Iliff), 1 at Clements on Jan. 1 3 and 4 at Cobb Island the same day (Craig), 1 at Upper Marlboro on Jan. 1 5 (Stasz), and 1 at Starr on Jan. 3 1 (Stasz). Celia Adams reported a lone Brant at Sandy Point SP on Feb. 1. Dabbling Ducks. A Eurasian Wigeon was found at Assateague on Dec. 29 (Lesh, Stasz), another was noted at Brown’s Station on Jan. 12 (Iliff) and Feb. 3 (David Bridge), and 1 was reported at West Ocean City on Jan. 29 (Gail Mackieman, Barry Cooper), and on Feb. 14 (N. & F. Saunders). Steve Simon found 190 American Wigeon at Loch Raven on Feb. 26. Mal- lards included 875 at Blackwater on Jan. 29 (Armistead) and 612 at Hart-Miller on Feb. 21 . March 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 15 Some American Black x Mallard Duck hybrids were identified with 1 at Terrapin Point Park and 2 at Piney Run on Dec. 17 (Iliff), and singles at Chesapeake Beach on Dec. 22 and at Pinto Marsh on Feb. 16 (Stasz). A Blue- winged Teal was reported at Horsehead Wetlands Center on Jan. 10 (Abbie Banks), 2 were at Deal Island WMA on Feb. 2 (Dyke), and 30 were listed at Elliott Island on Feb. 16 (Mozurkewich). The 222 Northern Shovelers on Dec. 29 was a new high tally for the Ocean City CBC (Robbins+). The high counts for Northern Pintail were 470 at Blackwater on Jan. 29 (Armistead), 150 at Courthouse Point on Feb. 8 (Watson- Whitmyre), and 224 at Hart-Miller on Feb. 28. Harry Armistead checked off 95 Green-winged Teal at Blackwater on Jan. 29, and 28 were at Tanyard on Feb. 22 (Lesh, Stasz). Diving Ducks . Highs for Canvasbacks were 5000 at Cambridge, including an albino, on Jan. 1 6 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and 5000 at Elliott Island on Jan. 17 (Dyke). At Loch Raven, Simon listed 56 Redheads on Jan. 5, and 350 Ring-necked Ducks on Dec. 8. About 420 Ring- necked Ducks were at Schumacher Pond, Salisbury on Jan. 20 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and at least 530 were at Little Seneca Lake on Feb. 8 (Stasz). An adult male Greater Scaup was inland at Rocky Gap SP, Allegany County on Feb. 14 (Stasz), and 50,000 Lesser Scaup were massed at Back River on Feb. 22 (Blom, Scarpulla). Many observers noted Common Eiders at Ocean City this winter, with a peak of 25, including 2 adult males, on Jan. 18. The Ocean City inlet also hosted King Eiders this winter including 10 on Jan. 31 (Dyke+), and the peak for Harle- quin Ducks there was 13 on Dec. 28 (N. & F. Saunders). Other highs for Oldsquaw were 325 at Herrington Harbor/Rose Haven, Anne Arundel County on Dec. 22 and 1010 at North Eeach on the same day (Stasz), 300 at Smith Island on Jan. 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and 600 around Claiborne and Tilghman on Feb. 22 (Lesh, Stasz). Surf Scoters were numerous including 1 500 at Pt. Lookout on Dec. 1 5 (Craig), 1 1 0 at Hooper Island on Jan. 29 (Armistead), and 300 around Claiborne and Tilghman Island on Feb. 22 (Stasz). Patty Craig counted 38 White- winged Scoters at Pt. Lookout on Dec. 4. Black Scoters included 800 at Pt. Lookout on Dec. 15 (Craig), and one inland at Broadford Lake, Garrett County on Dec. 7 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). Glenn Koppel listed 200 Oldsquaws at Cambridge on Dec. 11, and 500 were tallied at Pt. Lookout on Dec. 15 (Craig). Terrapin Pt. Park hosted about 700 Buffleheads on Dec. 17 (Iliff). Highs for Common Goldeneyes were 400 at Terrapin Pt. Park on Dec. 17 (Iliff), and 525 at Herrington Harbor/Rose Haven on Dec. 22 (Stasz). A nice count of 908 Common Mergansers was made at Conowingo Dam on Dec. 29 (Scarpulla, Cullison+), Jo Solem and Mark Wallace were treated to 447 at Triadelphia Reservoir, Howard County on Jan. 5, 300 were at Stemmers Run WMA, Cecil County on Feb. 8 (Watson-Whitmyre), and 40 were tal- lied at Jug Bay on Feb. 10 (Swarth, Mumford+). High counts for Red-breasted Mergansers were 110 at Smith Island on Jan. 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), 120 at Elliott Island on Feb. 1 (Stasz), and 1 3 1 at Hart-Miller on Feb. 21 . About 1 200 Ruddy Ducks were tallied at Elliott Island on Feb. 1 (Stasz), and 5000 were congregated at Back River on Feb. 22 (Blom, Scarpulla). Diurnal Raptors. With the mild conditions, single Ospreys were at Hughes Hollow on Dec. 5 (Iliff), Jan. 25 (Justin Golden), and Jan. 31 (Paul Woodward); at Lyons Creek on Dec. 21 (Pat Melville); at Seneca on Feb. 14 (Dan Eberly); and, on Feb. 28, at Blackwater (Pitney+) and at Denton (Nuttle). Very interesting were the 4 Bald Eagles tallied in Garrett County on Dec. 20 (Pope+). Iliff totaled 20 Northern Harriers at Deal Island WMA on Jan. 1 3 , and there were numerous reports of both Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper’s Hawks throughout the period. David Bridge reported a Red-shouldered Hawk eating earthworms at a bog in Suitland on Jan. 1 , and at Fulton, Rosamond Munro observed Red-shouldered courtship behavior dur- ing the first week of January. A leucistic Red-tailed Hawk was at Aberdeen Proving Ground on Dec. 1 0 (Webb). A light-morph Rough-legged Hawk was at Alpha Ridge Landfill in Howard County on Feb. 7 (Cullison, Ott, Scarpulla), and a Rough-legged was noted there on Feb. 14 16 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 1 (Eckers, Solem+). A Golden Eagle was at Dameron on Feb. 13 (Craig), and an adult and an immature were at Fork Neck Road, Dorchester County on Feb. 27 (Dyke). Merlins included an adult at Silver Spring on Dec. 2-19 (Rick Sussman); 1 at the Library of Congress in DC, Jan. 12-14 (Gene Diano); and 1 atTanyard on Jan. 18 and 26 (Wilbur Engle). Gallinaceous Birds, Rails, Coots, Sandhill Cranes. A single Ring-necked Pheasant was at Queenstown on Dec. 9 (Poet). Wild Turkeys included 10 at Jug Bay on Jan. 4 (P. Brosnan), and 23 at PWRC/N on Jan. 23 (Stan Arnold). The high for Clapper Rails was 21 at Smith Island on Jan. 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and a King Rail was checked off at Courthouse Point WMA, Cecil County on Feb. 8 ( Watson- Whitmyre). Virginia Rails included 12 at Chesa- peake Beach on Dec. 22 (Iliff), 9 at Elliott Island on Feb. 1 (Stasz), and 5 at Hart-Miller on Feb. 28. Sam Dyke reported a Sora at Wetipquin, Wicomico County on Dec. 21 . Bethel WMA in Cecil County hosted 400 American Coots on Jan. 2 (Lesh, Stasz), and the high was 2200 at Loch Raven on Jan. 5 (Simon). About 1925 coots were on Deep Creek Lake on Dec. 1 (Skip- per). An adult and 2 immature Sandhill Cranes were observed at Jug Bay WS on Jan. 5-6 (Chris Swarth+). Shorebirds. About 100 Black-bellied Plovers were in the vicinity of Ironshire Road, Worcester County on Jan. 13, and 37 were at Vessey’s Orchard, Somerset County on Jan. 1 7 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). Killdeer were numerous at many locations throughout the period, includ- ing 60 at Ridge on Jan. 26 (Craig), and 6 migrants near Bittinger on Feb. 20 (Skipper). The high for American Oystercatcher was 70 at Ocean City on Jan. 31 (Greg Miller). Thirteen Greater Yellowlegs were at Smith Island on Jan. 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and the single birds at Hart-Miller on Feb. 21 and Feb. 28, and the 6 at Elliott Island on Feb. 21 (Lesh, Stasz) may have been early spring migrants. Lesser Yellowlegs were also in evidence with 30 at Girdletree on Jan. 10 (Dyke), 7 at Irish Grove on Jan. 17 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and 8 at Elliott Island on Jan. 29 (Armistead). The two Willets at Ocean City on Feb. 20 (N. Saunders) probably wintered locally. A Ruddy Turnstone was found at Smith Island on Jan. 19 (Iliff), and 3 Red Knots were at Ocean City on Dec. 28 (N. & F. Saunders) where 1 or 2 remained through the period. Sanderlings included 32 at Benoni Point, Talbot County on Dec. 2 1 (Armistead, Paul Spitzer), 4 at Smith Island on Jan, 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), 22 at Pt. Lookout on Feb. 8 (Craig), and 10 at Flag Ponds, Calvert County on Feb. 1 1 (Arlene Ripley). Marshall Iliff found a Western Sand- piper at Assateague on Jan. 13, and Gene Scarpulla reported a single Western at Hart-Miller, Feb. 15-28, and 7 to 8 Least Sandpipers there as well during the same time period. Large numbers of Purple Sandpipers were found at Ocean City throughout the winter, and the high for Dunlins was 1500 at Assateague on Jan. 13 (Iliff). About 240 Dunlins were also at Smith Island on Jan. 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and on Jan. 29, 235 were at Blackwater and 510 were at Hooper Island (Armistead). Among the many shorebirds found at Smith Island this winter were 14 Common Snipe on Jan. 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). More unusual was a Common Snipe on the Oakland CBC on Dec. 20 (Skipper-)-). Gulls, Skimmers. The high for Laughing Gulls was 600 at Brown’s Station on Dec. 9 (Iliff). Dottie Mumford found one at Jug Bay on Jan. 5, and Norm Saunders checked off a possible early migrant Laugher at Ocean City on Feb. 20. Norm and Fran Saunders identified a Little Gull at Ocean City on Dec. 27, and solitary Black-headed Gulls were found at Denton on Dec. 26 (Iliff, Stasz), at Conowingo on Jan. 9 (Iliff, Lesh), and at Ocean City on Feb. 28 (Dyke). There were 565 Bonaparte’s Gulls at Hart-Miller on Feb. 28, and large congregations of Ring-billed Gulls included 6000 at Brown’s Station on Dec. 9 and 6000 at Ironshire on Jan. 13 (Iliff), and 3400 at Blackwater on Jan. 29 (Armistead). Herring Gulls included 4000 at Brown’s Station on Dec. 9 (Iliff), 1500 at Choptank on Dec. 26 (Iliff, Stasz), 1000 at the March 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 17 Charles County landfill oh Jan. 10 (Jett, Stasz), and 6000 in the vicinity of the Salisbury landfill on Jan. 13 (Iliff). An adult Thayer’s Gull visited Conowingo on Dec. 29 (Scarpulla, Cullison+), as did a first-winter bird on Jan. 3 (Stasz, Boyd). A first-winter Iceland Gull was reported there on Dec. 31 (Ed Sigda), and seen there by several birders through Jan. 31. An adult Iceland identified as a Kumlien’s joined it on Jan. 24 and Jan. 3 1 (Blom+). An immature Iceland Gull was also at Ocean City from Jan. 31 (Dyke) through Feb. 20 (N. Saunders). Lesser Black-backed Gulls included 3 at Jug Bay on Jan. 5 (Mumford), 7 at Brown’s Station on Jan. 1 2 and 3 at Salisbury landfill on Jan. 1 3 (Iliff), 4 at Eastern landfill in Baltimore County on Jan. 1 7 (Scarpulla, Cullison), 5 at Conowingo Dam on Jan. 3 1 (Scarpulla, Blom+), and 1 at Lilypons on Feb. 22 (Matt O’Donnell). A first- winter Glaucous Gull was spied flying over Liberty Reservoir on Dec. 17 (Iliff, Hoffman+). Another first-year Glaucous was noted at St. Andrew’s Landfill, St. Mary’s County on Dec. 23 (Rambo), and one was at Conowingo Dam on Jan. 24 (Blom). Great Black-backed Gulls were numerous including 200 at Choptank on Dec. 26 (Iliff, Stasz), 300 around the Salisbury landfill on Jan. 13 (Iliff), and 500 at the Easton landfill on Jan. 17 (Scarpulla, Cullison). Sam Dyke identified a Black-legged Kittiwake at Ocean City on Feb. 7 and at least 2 there on Feb. 8. Norm and Fran Saunders discovered 5 Black Skimmers at Ocean City on Dec. 28. Doves, Owls, SapsHckers. Jim Stasz counted about 400 Rock Doves at North Branch on Feb. 1 6, and the 47 Eastern Screech-Owls tallied during the Ocean City CBC on Dec. 29 was the highest total since 1985 (Robbins+). Quite a few Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were seen throughout the state including one eating honeysuckle berries at Mountain Lake Park. Garrett County on Dec. 6 (Pope). Flycatchers, Shrikes, Vireos. An unidentified Fnipuianax flycatcher was seen in Wicomico County on Dec. 21 during the Salisbury CBC (D. & C. Broderick), and single Eastern Phoe- bes were found at Nolands Ferry and Mink Hollow in Frederick County on Feb. 8 (Stasz). Patty Craig reported an Eastern Phoebe in her yard in Dameron throughout most of the period with 3 there on Feb, 1 1 . Leo Weigant reported a Loggerhead Shrike at Tuscarora on Jan. 4. The White-eyed Vireo at Mt. Calvert, found on Nov. 1 8, was seen through the Jug Bay CBC on Dec. 2 1 ( Karen Molines). A Blue-headed Vireo was near the Jennings Chapel Road. How ard County on Dec. 28 (D. Ecker); another was found on the Crisfield CBC on Dec. 30. Crows, Swallows. In Garrett County, at Pleasant Valley. Jim Stasz found a congregation of about 650 American Crows on Feb. 15. and Marshall Iliff estimated about 5000 Fish Crows at Deal Island WMA on Jan. 13. Kevin Dodge saw and heard a Fish Crow among a flock of American Crows on Jan. 1 8 at Biltinger. extraordinary in Garrett County. On Dec. 20, a Barn Swallow and 1480 Tree Swallows were counted on the Ocean City CBC. Over 100 Tree Swallows were tallied at Assateague on Jan. I (Webb. Sue Procell). 250 were at Deal Island WMA on Feb. 2 (Dyke). 30 were at Elliott Island on Feb. 16 (Mozurkew ich). and 2 were at Starr on Feb. 21 (Poet). Chickadees, Nuthatches, Wrens. A photo was taken of a chickadee v titmouse hybrid at Mechanicsville on Dec. 15 (Rambo). During the Carroll County Midw inter Count on Jan. 24. 183 Red-breasted Nuthatches were listed (Ringler+). The highest tally on a CBC w as 1 12 at Triadelphia on Dec. 20. Three Brown-headed Nuthatches were found at Horsehead Sanctu- ary on Jan. 10 (Abbie Banks): 48 were counted on the Pt. Lookout CBC, and 29 were seen there on Jan. 21 (Craig). House Wrens included 6 on the Salisbury CBC on Dec. 21.3 at Ocean City on Dec. 29, 2 each on the Port Tobacco and Seneca counts on Dec. 21 . and single birds on Jan. 1 1 at Cove Point and at E. A. Vaughn WMA on Jan. 17 (Iliff. Lesh. Stasz). Five 18 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 1 nice-to-find Sedge Wrens were near Irish Grove on Jan. 14 (Iliff), and 2 were at Elliott Island on Feb. 1 (Stasz). Iliff, Lesh, and Stasz found a Marsh Wren at E. A. Vaughn WMAon Jan. 17 and 8 at Irish Grove on Jan. 17. Gnatcatchers, Thrushes, Mimids. A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was at Hains Point, D.C. on Dec. 20 (Day), and another was in Frederick County on Jan. 4 (Gibbs, Nelson). Hermit Thrushes were numerous including 10 at E. A. Vaughn WMA on Jan. 17 and 45 at Hickory Point, Worcester County on the same day (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz); 80 were tallied on the Salisbury CBC, Dec. 21 . Among the several Gray Catbirds were 19 on the Ocean City CBC, 3 at E. A. Vaughn WMA on Jan. 17 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), 2 at Pt. Lookout on Jan. 26 (Craig), and 3 at Hickory Point, Worcester County on Feb. 2 1 (Lesh, Jett, Stasz). On Dec. 21,9 Brown Thrashers were found on both the Seneca and the St. Michaels CBCs. The latest report on the Piedmont for a Brown Thrasher was the one at Hipsley Mill Road, Montgomery County on Feb. 8 (Stasz). Warblers . A female Biack-throated Blue Warbler was notched during the Seneca CBC in Montgomery County on Dec. 21 (Paul DuMont), and Pine Warblers were also around including 1 at Dameron throughout the period and singing on Feb. 10 (Craig), 1 singing at Bozman on Feb. 22 (Dick Kleen), and 5 at Scotland on Feb. 28 (Ann Bishop, Craig). Dave Mozurkewich found 2 Palm Warblers at Blackwater on Feb. 16, and 2 of the western race were noted at Cage Road, Calvert County on Jan. 11 (Iliff, Stasz). A Black-and-white War- bler was listed during the Seneca CBC on Dec. 21 (DuMont), and an Ovenbird was discovered in Annapolis on Jan. 4 (Iliff). Other warblers enjoying the mild conditions included a female Common Yellowthroat near Ironshire on Jan. 18 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), another on the Catoctin CBC on Dec. 20, and solitary Yellow-breasted Chats at Back River on Jan. 17 (Blom, Ringler+) and Jan. 21 (Iliff, Lesh), and in Columbia on Feb. 15 (Mary Jo Betts). Sparrows, Longspurs, Snow Buntings. A nice count of 25 Chipping Sparrows was made at Hickory Point, Worcester County on Jan. 14 (Iliff), and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows included 6 at Smith Island on Jan. 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and 2 at Elliott Island on Feb. 1 (Stasz). Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows were also found with 6 at E. A. Vaughn WMAon Jan. 17, and 6 at Smith Island on Jan. 19 where 25 Seaside Sparrows were tallied the same day (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). Norm and Fran Saunders also listed Seaside Sparrows with 3 at Irish Grove on Feb. 15. Jim Stasz discovered a Lincoln’s Sparrow at Decoursey Bridge Road, Dorchester County on Feb. 1 . Kyle Rambo found 7 nice Lapland Longspurs at PRNAS on Dec. 5 and 1 was still there on Dec. 31. Two Lapland Longspurs were at John Shirk Road, Carroll County on Feb. 8 (Stasz), and Snow Buntings included 45 at PRNAS on Dec. 1 1 (Rambo, Craig), 12 at Greensboro on Dec. 23 through Dec. 30 (Scudder), 87 at Hart-Miller on Jan. 16, 1 in Allegany County on Jan. 22 (Sires), 2 near Route 309, Queen Anne’s County on Jan. 3 1 and 1 near John Shirk Road, Carroll County on Feb. 8 (Stasz). Blackbirds and Orioles. Rick Blom sorted out a nice male Yellow-headed Blackbird in a mixed flock flying over Bel Air on Feb. 1 1 , and 250 Boat-tailed Grackles were congregated at Smith Island on Jan. 19 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). The high for a single flock of Common Grack- les was 6500 near Lilypons on Feb. 8 (Stasz). Greg Kearns reported a Baltimore Oriole at Merkle WMA on Dec. 21, and another was at Breton Bay, St. Mary’s County in January and seen until at least March 2 (Kay Christman*). Crossbills. Despite the mild weather, it was a good year for the cyclical crossbills. First reports for Red Crossbills included 15 at Rockville on Dec. 8 (Paul O’Brien), 1 at Assateague March 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 19 on Dec. 11 (Iliff), 14 at Liberty Reservoir on Dec. 16 (Scarpulla), 4 at Fair Hill on Dec. 17 (Sean McCandless), 3 at Broad Creek Scout Camp on Dec. 22 (Ziolkowski, Kovach), and 14 at Pine Ridge Golf Course, Baltimore County on Dec. 23 (Blom). High counts for Red Cross- bills included 45 at Deer Park Road, Carroll County on Dec. 25 (Tyler Bell, Jane Kostenko), 20 at Hedgerow, Howard County on Jan. 12 (Zeichner), 30 at Pine Ridge Golf Course on Jan. 17 (Baltimore Midwinter Count), 40 near Beckleysville, Baltimore County on Jan. 17 (Steve Sanford, Pete Webb), 35 at Pine Knob Road, Carroll County on Feb. 12 (Lou Nielsen), and 1 8 at Broad Creek Scout Camp on Feb. 15 (Blom). White-winged Crossbills began with 5 at Swallow Falls SP on Dec. 3 (Kevin Dodge), 18 at New Germany SP on Dec. 5 (Mike and Paul O’Brien), 1 at Liberty Reservoir on Dec. 17 (Blom, Scarpulla), 7 at Broad Creek on Dec. 20 (Les Eastman, Dave Webb), and 4 at Pine Ridge on Dec. 23 (Blom). High counts included at least 15 at Broad Creek on Dec. 21 (Dave Webb), 25 at Deer Park Road, Carroll County on Dec. 23 (Iliff, Jett), 18 at Pine Knob Road, Carroll County on Jan. 3 (Ringler, Bill Kulp, Jr.), and 30 at Swallow Falls SP on Feb. 15 (Stasz). Other Cardueline Finches. Common Redpolls included single birds at Laurel on Dec. 7 (Jay Sheppard), at Woodensburg on Jan. 25 (Gail Frantz), and at Mt. Washington. Baltimore City on the same day (Leslie Starr, Joseph Turner). About 20 Common Redpolls were at Susan Sires’ residence on Dan’s Mountain in Allegany County on Jan. 20 and about 100 were there on Feb. 27, 2 were at a feeder on Sand Flat Road, Garrett County on Jan. 30 (Cheryl Newcomb), and 1 5 were at New Germany SP on Feb. 1 5 (Stasz). Dave Weesner found 7 Pine Siskins at Washington Monument SPon Dec. 8, and high counts were 106 on the Oakland CBC on Dec. 20, 80 near Oakland on Dec. 24 (Skipper), 50 at Pine Knob Road on Jan. 4 (Youth), and 30 at New Germany SP and 40 at Swallow Falls SP on Feb. 1 5 (Stasz). Evening Grosbeaks began with 5 at Washington Monument SP on Dec. 2 (Weesner). and others included 9 at Leonardtown on Dec. 4 (Beverly & Warren Walker), 30 at New Germany SP on Dec. 6 (Iliff, Lesh. Stasz). 30 at Herrington Manor SP, Garrett County on Dec. 13 (Weigant). 103 on the Oakland CBC. and 8 at Hollywood on Jan. 4 (Rambo). 9763 Early Spring Wav, Columbia, Maryland 21046 20 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 1 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Published Quarterly by the Maryland Ornithological Society, Inc. to Record and Encourage the Study of Birds in Maryland. Editor: Chandler S. Robbins, 7900 Brooklyn Bridge Rd., Laurel, MD 20707 Phone: 301-725-1176; fax: 301-497-5624; e-mail: Chan_Robbins@usgs.gov Assoc. Editor: Janet Millenson, 10500 Falls Rd., Potomac, MD 20854 Asst. Editor: Robert F. Ringler, 6272 Piny on Pine Ct., Eldersburg, MD 21784 Mailing: Howard County Chapter Headings: Schneider Design Associates, Baltimore CONTENTS, MARCH 1999 Kelp Gull Visits St. Mary’s County, MD (Part I) Jane Kostenko 3 Suburban Habitats of Waterfowl in Lower Delmarva John V. Dennis 7 The Season: Winter, Dec. 1, 1997-Feb. 28, 1998 Daniel R. Southworth 13 I I s C/)2 3 C C C 3 e c/3 i §1 “<3 Profi . Pos PAIE mbia lit Nc Zi 4-2 do 8 O 73 ISSN 0147-9725 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Bulletin of the Maryland Ornithological Society, Inc. JUNE 1999 VOLUME 55 NUMBER 2 MARYLAND ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. Cylburn Mansion, 4915 Greenspring Ave., Baltimore, MD 21209 STATE OFFICERS FOR JUNE 1999 TO JUNE 2000 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL President: Norm Saunders, 1261 Cavendish Dr., Colesville, MD 20905 (301-989-9035) Vice Pres.: Karen Morley, 2719 N. Calvert St, Baltimore, MD 21218 (410-235-4001) Treasurer: Jeff Metter, 4626 Live Oak Ct., Ellicott City, MD 21043 (410-480-9169) Sec’y: Kathleen Neugebauer, 18217 Fox Chase Cir., Olney, MD 20832 (301-570-8969) Executive Sec’y: Larry Fry, 1202 Ridge Rd„ Pylesville, MD 21132 (410-452-8539) Past Pres.: Robert Rineer, 8326 Philadelphia Rd., Baltimore, MD 21237 (410-391-8499) STATE DIRECTORS Allegany: * Gladys Faherty Howard: * Mike Kerwin Teresa Simons Elayne Metter Mary-Jo Betts Darius Ecker Anne Arundel:* Larry Zoller Patricia Dardinsky Allan Haury Jug Bay: * Dale Johnson Gary Flenner Baltimore: * Terrence Ross Gail Frantz Kent: * Gail Rcgester Leanne Pemburn Elizabeth Taylor Patricia Wilson Peter A. Webb Montgomery: Linda Friedland Sam Freiberg Rick Sussman Caroline: * Danny Poet Janet Millenson Lydia Schindler Carroll: * Amy Hoffman Patuxent: * Tom Loomis Roxanne Yeager Chandler Robbins Cecil: * Leslie Fisher Talbot: * Wayne Bell Ken Drier Frank Lawlor Scott Powers Bill Novak Frederick: * Wilbur Hershberger Tri-County. * Samuel Dyke Bob Johnson Washington: * David Weesner Harford: * Debbie Delevan Thomas Congersky John Nack Ann Mitchell Joseph Vangrin * Chapter Pre Active Membership: $10.00 plus chapter dues Life: $400.00 (4 annual installments) Household: $15.00 plus chapter dues Junior: (under 18) $5.00 plus chapter dues Sustaining: $25.00 plus chapter dues Cover: Black-crowned Night-Heron on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, May 1994. Photo by Luther C. Goldman. MARYLAND BIRDLIFE VOLUME 55 JUNE 1999 NUMBER 2 FIRST SPECIMEN RECORD OF WHITE- WINGED DOVE c ZEN AID A ASIATIC A ) FOR WASHINGTON, DC Claudia J. Angle and Carla J. Dove On Friday, October 30, 1 998, Nannette Herrick of Washington, DC, found a dying White- winged Dove ( Zenaida asiatica ) on the ground at the base of a lamppost at 28th and Dumbarton Streets, NW, Washington, D.C. The bird was struggling and lived for only a few moments after its discovery. Having seen White-winged Doves in Peru, Ms. Herrick immediately knew the identity and importance of the bird. In her opinion the bird had either struck the lamppost or, more possibly, was hit by a car, but there were no outward signs on the bird to indicate the cause of death. Ms. Herrick attached the appropriate collecting data to the specimen, placed it in her freezer, and contacted the National Museum of Natural History. The bird was received at the museum on November 1 2, 1 998 (See Figure 1 for photo of specimen). This male specimen (USNM 600827) represents the first record of a White-winged Dove in the District of Colum- bia. The specimen was prepared as a traditional round study skin with accompanying tissue samples (B9006). Post mortem examination of the thawed specimen revealed the characteristics of a healthy wild bird. The feathers were clean and unworn, and showed no damage or fraying that is often indicative of caged birds. The feet and claws appeared normal when compared to specimens of wild taken birds and no leg bands were present. The specimen preparator, Christopher M. Milensky, noted that the crop was filled with large kernels of yellow or field corn, the skull was heavily damaged, the feathers were not molting, the body had moderate fat deposits, and the bird weighed 174.6 grams (normal range is from 125.0 to 187.0 grams). We compared this specimen with a series of museum study skins and identified it as Z. a. asiatica on the basis of darker color of the back, wings, and upper breast. This subspecies is the most eastern race and is noted in the AOU Check-lists (1957, 1998) as being casual in eastern North America from Minnesota, northern Ontario, New Brunswick, Maine, and Nova Scotia south to northern Texas, central Louisiana, and northern Florida. There are several records from nearby Virginia (Curry 1988, Dalmas 1989, Rottenborn 1993) and Maryland (Robbins 1970, Ringler 1989, Rambo 1990). Aldrich (1981) also documented an established introduced population of this subspecies in Florida. We thank Richard C. Banks, Robert Reynolds, and Roger B. Clapp for reviewing the manuscript. 24 MARYLAND BIRDL1FE Vol. 55, No. 2 Literature Cited Aldrich. J.W. 1981. “Geographic variation in White-winged Doves with reference to pos- sible source of new Florida population." Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 94(3):641 -65 1 . American Ornithologists' Union. 1957. Check-list of North American birds. Fifth ed. American Ornithologists' Union, Baltimore, MD. American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh ed. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington. D.C. Curry. R. 1988. “White-winged Dove at Chincotcague." Raven 58:33-34. Dalmas, J.H. 1989. “1989 Report of the VSO records committee." Raven 60:5-7. Rambo. K.. 1990. “White-winged Dove at Patuxent Naval Air Station, St. Mary’s County, Maryland." Maryland Birdlife 46(, l ): 1 -3. Ringler. R. 1989. "The Season: Spring migration, March 1-May 31, 1989." Maryland Birdlife 45 (3): 94- 117. Robbins. C. 1970. "The Season: April. May. June. 1970." Maryland Birdlife 26(3):99-108. Rottenborn. S. 1993. "White-winged Dove on the eastern shore of Virginia." Raven 64(21:114. Received April 9. 1999 Figure 1. Voucher specimen of White-winged Dove ( Zenaida asiatica) collected in Washington, D.C., #USMN 600827. Photo by John Steiner. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, National Museum of Natural History Room 378, MRC 111, 10th and Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20560 Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Division of Birds MRC 116, 10th and Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20560 June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 25 SPRING MIGRATION: MARCH 1, 1998-MAY 31, 1998 Daniel R. Southworth After a mild but rainy winter, spring weather was about average. Flooded fields were good for shorebirds. Following an initial rush of early migrants in March and April, many birds were delayed by sustained northeast winds the first few weeks of May. Observers: Henry Armistead, George Armistead, Tyler Bell, Anne Bishop, John Bjerke, Rick Blom, Bob Boxwell, Danny Bystrak, Patty Craig, Marty Cribb, David Czaplak, Lynn Davidson, Darius Ecker, Ethel Engle (reporting for Caroline County), Leslie Fisher, Linda Friedland, Inez Glime, Kevin Graff, Jim Green, Jim Gruber, Mark & Amy Hoffman, Marshall Iliff, Kye Jenkins, George Jett, Jane Kostenko, Ryan Lesh, Stauffer Miller, Mariana Nuttle, Bonnie Ott, Elizabeth Pitney (reporting for Wicomico Bird Club), Fran Pope, Kyle Rambo, Jan Reese, Sue Ricciardi, Robert Ringler, Arlene Ripley, Ron Runkles, Steve Sanford, Norm & Fran Saunders, Eugene Scarpulla (reporting for Hart-Miller Island), Bill Scudder, Stephen Simon, Connie Skipper, William Snyder, Jo Solem (reporting for Howard County), Jim Stasz, Rick Sussman, Mary Ann Todd, Dave Webb, David Weesner, Hal Wierenga. Banding efforts were led by Jim Gruber and William Snyder at Chino Farms. Abbreviations : DC — District of Columbia, NWR — National Wildlife Refuge, PRNAS — Patuxent River Naval Air Station (St. Mary’s), PWRC — Patuxent Wildlife Research Cen- ter (Prince George’s), PWRC/N — Patuxent Wildlife Research Center North (Anne Arundel), SP — State Park, WMA — Wildlife Management Area, WS — Wildlife Sanctuary. Locations: Place names (with counties in parentheses) not in the index of the State high- way map: Assateague Island (Worcester), Back River (Baltimore), Bethel WMA (Cecil), Black Hill Park (Montgomery), Blackwalnut Point (Talbot), Blackwater NWR (Dorchester), Brown’s Station Landfill (Prince George’s), Chino Farms (Queen Anne’s), Deep Creek Lake (Garrett), E. A. Vaughn WMA (Worcester), Flag Ponds (Calvert), Greenbrier SP (Washington), Greenwell SP (St. Mary’s), Hains Point (DC), Hooper Island (Dorchester), Herrington Manor SP (Garrett), Horsehead Wetlands Center (Queen Anne’s), Hughes Hollow (Montgomery), Irish Grove WS (Somerset), Jug Bay WS (Anne Arundel), Lake Elkhorn (Howard), Little Seneca Lake (Mont- gomery), Merkle WS (Prince George’s), Mt. Nebo WMA (Garrett), Myrtle Grove WMA (Charles), New Germany SP (Garrett), Piney Run Park (Carroll), Rock Creek Park (DC), Swallow Falls SP (Garrett), Terrapin Point Park (Queen Anne’s), Town Hill (Allegany), Tydings Island (Harford), Violettes Lock (Montgomery), Washington Monument SP (Washington). 26 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 Loons , Grebes, Gannets, Pelicans, Cormorants. Red-throated Loons were present in Anne Arundel County this spring with Davidson and Wierenga reporting 10 at Sandy Point SP, 16 at Downs Park, and 42 at Ft. Smallwood on March 6. In Charles County, 34 were on the Potomac River near the Route 301 bridge on March 7 (Jett, Iliff, Stasz). A Pacific Loon, DC’s first, visited Hains Point from May 25 into June (Robert Hilton+). Dave Weesner observed 1 8 Common Loons flying over Washington Monument SP on April 22, and 8 lingering Common Loons were checked off at Hart-Miller on May 31. Late Pied-billed Grebes, all possible nesters, were single sightings at Myrtle Grove on May 25 (Jett), at Hughes Hollow on May 30 (N. Saunders), and at Hart-Miller and Piney Run (N. & F. Saunders) on May 31. A Red- necked Grebe was discovered near Crisfield on March 28 (Stasz+). Northern Gannets included 8 at Blackwalnut Point on March 22 (Harvey & Marion Mudd), 50 at North Beach on April 10 (Stasz), and 10 at Pt. Lookout on April 18 (Davidson, Wierenga). An American White Peli- can, the first for Montgomery County, was a surprise visitor at Violettes Lock on March 1 (Czaplak, Todd), and Patty Craig and Anne Bishop notched a Brown Pelican at Pt. Lookout on May 2. Harry Armistead and his groups found 2 Brown Pelicans at Hooper Island on May 2 during his 61st Dorchester County May Count, and 4 off Elliott Island on May 9 during his 62nd Dorchester count. Tina and Curtis Dew reported a Great Cormorant at Mattawoman Creek, Charles County on March 27, and another was at Bivalve the same day (Stasz). George Jett made rather large counts of Double-crested Cormorants for Charles County on March 7 with 60 at Chapel Point SP, 150 at Cobb Island, and 250 on the Potomac River near the Route 301 bridge. Les Eastman estimated 500 Double-cresteds at the Susquehanna River in Harford County on April 26. Anhingas, Herons, Ibises. Three reports of single Anhingas were made this spring: flying over Chino Farms on April 12 (Gruber, Snyder), flying over King’s Landing Park, Calvert County on April 26 (Tom Harten), and in St. Mary’s County on May 2 (Boxwell, Cribb). Phil Davis discovered an early Least Bittern at Flag Ponds on April 17. Inez Glime counted about 60 Great Blue Herons at Federalsburg on March 5, and Dan Guzy reported about 20 Great Blue Heron nests on the C&O Canal near milepost 18.2 in Montgomery County on March 13. Harry Armistead found 2 Great Egrets at Elliott Island on the early date of March 6. Also early were 2 Snowy Egrets and a Little Blue Heron at Smith Island on March 28 (Stasz+). Other Little Blues included singles at Lilypons on May 4 (Norbu) and inland at Black Hill Park on May 8-9 (Todd). Tricolored Herons began with 1 at Deal Island WMA on March 11 (Pitney) and 4 at Smith Island on March 28 (Stasz+). A Cattle Egret was also found early at Ocean City on March 26 (M. Hoffman). Other Cattle Egrets included single birds at Tanyard on April 13-14 (Engle) and inland at Darnestown on April 18 (Stasz). Among the “early birds” were a Green Heron at PWRC/N on March 31 (Rod Burley), 2 Yellow-crowned Night- Herons at Sligo Creek Park in Silver Spring on March 28 (Nick Boutis), and 4 Glossy Ibis at Smith Island on March 28 (Stasz+). Three Glossy Ibis turned up at Jug Bay, where they are rare but regular, on April 8 (S. Wright). Swans, Geese, Dabbling Ducks. Mute Swans included 40 at Dundee Marina, Baltimore County on March 12 (Don Burggraf), 1 at Loch Raven on April 1 8 (Simon), and 24 at Scotland on May 2 (Stasz, Jett). A lingering Snow Goose was at the Horsehead Wetlands Center on May 5 (Graff), and 2 Ross’s Geese were in southern Dorchester County on March 20 (H. Armistead, Iliff). An exotic Swan Goose was present at Little Seneca Lake on March 14 (Hilton), and a small race Canada Goose was identified at Horsehead Center on March 6 (Iliff). Two Green- winged Teal were found at Hart-Miller on the late date of May 23, and a “Eurasian” Green- winged Teal was observed at E. A. Vaughn WMA on March 17 (Iliff) and March 26 (M. Hoffman). Jim Stasz found a female Mallard with 8 downy chicks at Chesapeake Beach June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 27 on April 13. Highs for Northern Pintails were 244 at Hart-Miller on March 7th, 125 in south- ern Dorchester County on March 20 (H. Armistead, Iliff), and 65 at the Nanticoke Marshes, Wicomico County on March 27 (Stasz). A late pintail was noted at Blackwater on May 25 (H. Armistead). The first Blue-winged Teal were 5 at Elliott Island on March 6 (H. Armistead), 3 at Jug Bay on March 9 (Chris Swarth, Dotty Mumford), and 1 at Scotland on March 10 (Craig), and an adult with 6 young was present at Courthouse Point WMA, Cecil County on May 30 (Fisher). Northern Shovelers began with 140 at Blackwater on March 6 (H. Armistead), and Stauffer Miller and party, during a Frederick County “big day” on April 24, found 4 male Shovelers at the Crum Farm Ponds. On March 6th, 61 Gadwalls were at Horsehead Wetlands Center (Iliff), and 115 were at Elliott Island (H. Armistead, Reese+). The high for Gadwalls was 300 at Deal Island WMA on March 28 (Stasz, Jett). Diving Ducks. Highs for Canvasbacks were 930 at Cambridge on March 6 (H. Armistead) and 1000 on the Potomac River near the Route 301 bridge in Charles County on March 7 (Jett, Iliff, Stasz). Iliff and Stasz had a nice sighting of 1 1 Redheads at Deep Creek Lake on March 23, and totaled up 169 Ring-necked Ducks there the same day. A lingering Ring-neck was found at Bethel WMA on May 30 (Fisher). The high for Greater Scaup was 4274 at Hart- Miller on March 7, and for Lesser Scaup, 900 at Cambridge on March 19 (H. Armistead. Iliff). Two Common Eiders were listed at reliable Ocean City on March 17 (Iliff), where 8 King Eiders were reported on March 28 (Don Burggraf). Ocean City also hosted Harlequin Ducks including 1 2 on March 26 and 1 0 on April 5 (Hoffmans), and 3 on May 1 1 (Bjerke). An Oldsquaw turned up at Jug Bay, an unusual location for this species, on April 1 (Bystrak). Highs for Surf Scoters included 455 at Cambridge on March 6 (H. Armistead). and 870 at Bellevue on April 12 (H. & Liz Armistead). A Hooded Merganser, possibly attempting to breed, was discovered at PWRC/N on May 25 (N. & F. Saunders), and a late Common Mer- ganser was found at Flag Ponds on May 15 (Ripley). Thirty-six Red-breasted Mergansers were found inland at Little Seneca Lake on March 7 (Sussman). and a few thousand were observed at Ft. Smallwood on March 14 (Davidson, Wierenga). The Red-breasted at Hains Point on May 30 (Sanford), and the 2 at Hart-Miller on May 3 1 were running late. High counts for Ruddy Ducks were 8000 on the Potomac River in Charles County on March 7 (Jett, Iliff. Stasz), 2000 at PRNAS on March 30 (Jim Swift), and 4000 at Horsehead Wetlands Center on March 31 (Graft). Late Ruddies were 2 in southern Dorchester County on May 25 and 1 at Bellevue on May 30 (Harry, Liz, and Mary Armistead). Diurnal Raptors. Jonathan Alderfer sent a report to the Records Committee for a Swal- low-tailed Kite at Hughes Hollow on May 16. Several Mississippi Kites were reported: 1 at Aquasco Farm, Prince George’s County on May 2 (Fred Fallon), 4 at Pt. Lookout on May 1 7 (Bell, Kostenko), 2 at Ft. Smallwood on May 22 (Davidson, Wierenga), and 4 at Dameron on May 26 (Craig). A Harris’ Hawk at South Point, Worcester County on March 12 (Biom, Brian Blazie) was being flown by Bill Waterman, a falconer. Patty Craig saw' an extraordinarily late Rough-legged Hawk at Dameron on May 26. Golden Eagles w ere 2 at Town Hill on March 6 (Czaplak) and 1 there on March 9 (Ray Kiddy), 1 at Sideling Hill, Washington County on March 22 (Iliff, Stasz), and an immature at Bellevue on March 29 (H. & Liz Armistead). A Merlin made a rare appearance at Jug Bay on April 27 (Bystrak), and Connie Skipper reported 1 near Oakland, Garrett County on April 1 6. Stasz and Jett observed 2 adult American Kestrels feeding young at God’s Grace Point, Calvert County on May 2. Gallinaceous Birds, Rails. Marshall Iliff had a nice count of 34 Wild Turkeys at Queponco Station, Worcester County on March 17. Harry and Mary Armistead had even a higher count of 40 at Blackwater on March 28. Pitney heard 2 Northern Bobwhites calling at Parsonsburg on 28 MARYLAND B1RDL1FE Vol. 55, No. 2 April 22, and Wierenga and Davidson tallied 1 2 Black Rails at 6 stops at Elliott Island on May 19. Harry and George Armistead checked off 14 Clapper Rails and 38 Virginia Rails in southern Dorchester County on May 9, when Harry conducted his 62nd Dorchester County May Count. Helping Harry and George with this count were Jan Mirro, Tom Horton, and Paul Spitzer. The Armisteads also found a Clapper Rail on their Bellevue property on May 8, the first there since 1985. The Nanticoke Marshes in Wicomico County hosted 7 King Rails on March 28 (Iliff, Stasz), and 6 were at Allens Fresh on May 2 (Jett, Stasz). April 21 was on time for the two Soras at Greenbury Point, Anne Arundel County (Davidson, Wierenga). Moorhens, Coots, Umpkin, Cranes. The Common Moorhen at Elliott Island on April 1 2 (Green) was a bit early. Other Moorhens included 1 2 at Easton on May 8 (H. & G. Armistead) and 1 on May 30 at Lake Artemisia, Prince George’s County, an unusual location for this species (Jack Saba). The high for American Coots was 550 at Piney Run on March 22 (Ringler), and 1 was at Bethel WMA on the late date of May 30 (Fisher). Greg Kearns heard a Limpkin at the Patuxent River in Calvert County near Nottingham on May 26 for the fourth Maryland record. Marita Smith observed 2 banded Sandhill Cranes at the ballpark at Colmar Manor, Prince George’s County on March 15. At least one of them had a radio transmitter. Shore hinds. Black-bellied Plovers included a nice count of 49 at Ocean City on March 17 (Iliff), 1 in Washington County at Whitehall Road on May 16 (Weesner), and 18 throughout Kent County on May 23 (N. & F. Saunders). The first Semipalmated Plovers were 1 at Merkle WS on April 26 (Sanford) and 2 at North Beach the same day (Stasz). Marshall Iliff found a Piping Plover at Ocean City on March 1 7 where he also listed 1 8 American Oystercatchers. Stasz and party found 6 oystercatchers at Smith Island on March 28; another was at Hart- Miller on May 2; and Harry Armistead, Mel Baughman, and Paul Spitzer located 4 at Hooper Island on May 2, the same day they found 2 Black-necked Stilts at Elliott Island. Another Black-necked was at Scotland on May 4 (Bell, Kostenko). The highs for Greater Yellowlegs were 42 at Athol and Taylors Road, Wicomico County on March 27, 40 near Ridgely on April 3 (Scudder), and 41 near Galestown on April 1 2 (Stasz). Two Lesser Yellowlegs at Jug Bay on March 17 (Bystrak) were interesting as were 2 at Dameron on March 21 (Bishop, Craig). The high for Lessers was 149 at Hart-Miller on May 2. Jett and Stasz had a good count of 12 Solitary Sandpipers at Waldorf on May 2. Willets included an early one at Ocean City on March 17 (Iliff), 1 at Pt. Lookout on April 20 (Cribb), and 1 at Courthouse Point WMA, Cecil County on May 30 (Fisher). One identified as a western race bird was at North Beach on April 8 (Stasz). There were only two reports of Upland Sandpipers with Stasz finding one at Comus on April 18. Bishop and Craig located the other one at Scotland on April 26, where they also found a Whimbrel the same day. Norm and Fran Saunders also found a Whimbrel on April 26 at Back River, 1 was at Arnold on May 23 (Davidson, Wierenga), 6 were at Tydings Island on May 25 (Webb), and 1 was at PRNAS on May 26 (Rambo). The 3 Red Knots at Ocean City on March 12-13 (Blom, Blazie) had wintered. Least Sandpipers were noted very early with 11 at Elliott Island on March 6 (H. Armistead), 8 at Hart-Miller on March 7, and 1 at Scotland on March 10 (Craig). Highs for Least Sandpipers were 120 at Chesapeake Beach on May 2 (Stasz, Jett), and 495 at Hart-Miller on the same day. The 3 at Ridge on May 27 (Craig) were running late. Steve Sanford reported an early White-rumped Sandpiper at Merkle WS on April 26, and another was at Chesapeake Beach on May 2 (Jett, Stasz). An alternate-plumaged Curlew Sandpiper at Hart-Miller from May 31 into early June was the third for Maryland and the island. Boxwell and Cribb found an early Stilt Sandpiper on May 2 in St. Mary’s County. High counts for Common Snipe were 80 at Allens Fresh on March 7 (Jett+), 43 at PRNAS on March 14 (Rambo), and 80 at Merkle WS on March 20 (Green). Two late Common Snipe were June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 29 at Hains Point on May 13 (Pisano). A coastal storm brought in the 1 1 Red Phalaropes found at West Ocean City on May 13 (Charles & Gail Vaughn). Gulls , Terns, Murre. There were 110 Laughing Gulls at the Salisbury landfill on the early date of March 17 (Iliff), and 2400 were massed in fields in Caroline County on April 12 (Stasz). A Laughing Gull X Ring-billed Gull hybrid was noted at Jackson Road, Caroline County on March 29 (Stasz, Iliff). A handful of Little Gulls were checked off this spring with I at Hart-Miller on March 7, 1 at Back River on April 5 (Mackieman, Cooper), and 2 at North Beach on April 9 (Stasz). The high for Bonaparte’s Gulls was about 1500 congregated at Back River on April 5 (Mackieman, Cooper), and 80 were found inland at Piney Run on April 18 (Stasz). About 2000 Ring-billed Gulls were tallied at Scotland on March 10 (Craig), and 1200 were in the fields of southeast Cecil County on March 29 (Iliff, Stasz). Large groups of Herring Gulls included 2000 at Browns Station on March 1 6 and another 2000 at Salisbury the same day (Iliff). Ottavio Janni reported a first-winter Iceland Gull in DC on March 1. Lesser Black-backed Gulls included 3 at Browns Station on March 16, 3 at the Worcester County landfill on March 17 and 3 at the Salisbury landfill on March 7 (Iliff), 3 in Havre de Grace on May 9 (Blom), and 1 at Jug Bay on the late date of May 1 1 (Bjerke). Highs for Great Black-backed Gulls were 70 at Cambridge on March 19 (Reese), and 130 at Havre de Grace on May 9 (Blom). Hal Wierenga found a Glaucous Gull at Ft. Smallwood on May 22. Highs for Caspian Terns were 47 at Tanyard on April 1 9 (H. Armistead), 442 at Hart-Miller on May 2, and 1 86 at Havre de Grace on May 9 (Blom). Two early Common Terns were at PRNAS on April 7 (Rambo), and 4 early Forster’s Terns were at Leonardtown on March 4 (Craig). Also early were 4 Least Terns discovered at Chestertown on April 27 (Gruber). Two Least Terns were at Harford Glen on May 6 (Jenkins). Black Terns were in evidence this spring with 1 at North Beach on May 2 (Jett, Stasz), 3 at Chino Farms on May 20 (Gruber, Snyder), and 1 at PWRC on May 27 (Burley). A storm brought in an adult Thick-billed Murre seen off the Ocean City inlet on May 13 (Sam Dyke, Charles and Gail Vaughn). Parrots, Owls, Whip-poor-will, Swifts, Hummingbirds, Flycatchers. An escaped Cock- atiel was seen at Washington Monument SP, of all places, on April 22 (Weesner). Jim Green found a Great Horned Owl nest with 2 young not far from Rileys Lock, Montgomery County on March 5, and a Northern Saw- whet Owl was calling near Nassawango Creek, Worcester County on March 27 (Stasz). Kevin Dodge heard a Saw-whet near Bittinger on April 7 and again on April 15. An early Whip-poor-will was at Ridge on March 31 (John Zyla), and 2 early Chimney Swifts were at Little Falls Parkway, Montgomery County on April 1 (Sunny Yoder). Ruby-throated Hummingbirds also started early with an adult male at Waldorf on March 30 (Lorraine Diana). A few single nice-to-find Olive-sided Flycatchers were notched this spring: Sang Run, Garrett County on May 16 (Ecker), Webster, Harford County on May 26 (Webb), and Rileys Lock, Montgomery County on May 27 (Green, Rabin, Stone+). The Acadian Flycatcher at Hollywood on April 25 (Rambo) was early, and the high count for Eastern Phoebes was 14 at Meadowside Nature Center, Montgomery County on March 26 (Sussman). Eastern Kingbirds were noted early in the season with 1 at Hollywood on April II (Runkles), 2 at Chino Farms on April 16 (Gruber), and 2 at Suitland on April 17 (David Bridge). Vireos, Corvids. White-eyed Vireos arrived very early with single birds at Dividing Creek, Worcester County on March 26 (Hoffman) and at Chino Farms on April 1 1 (Gruber). The first Red-eyed Vireos were singles at Ferry Landing, Calvert County on April 2 (Arlene Ripley), and at Tuckahoe SP on April 12 (Nuttle). The Blue-headed Vireo at Lake Elkhom on April 7 was also early (Ecker). Sue Ricciardi reported 3000+ Blue Jays at Ft. Smallwood on May 3, 30 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 and Lee Huff reported an albinistic Blue Jay at Hawkins Creamery Road, Montgomery County on May 8-11. About 500 American Crows were congregated in the Pleasant Valley area of Garrett County on March 23 (Iliff, Stasz), and 275 Fish Crows were gathered at Elliott Island on March 6 (H. Armistead). Other highs for Fish Crows included 150 at Brown’s Station on March 16 (Iliff), 40 at Bivalve on March 27 (Stasz), and 200 at Smith Island on March 28 (Stasz+). Dave Czaplak observed 3 Common Ravens playing with sticks at Town Hill on March 6, and one was observed at Ft. Smallwood, an unusual location for ravens, on April 25 (Ricciardi, Davidson, Wierenga+). Swallows, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Creeper. Tree Swallows were extraordinarily early this season including 6 at Hughes Hollow on March 1 (Norbu) and 1 in Upper Marlboro on March 3 (Stasz). These birds may well have been moved by coastal storms. High counts for Tree Swallows were 1200 at Havre de Grace on May 9 and 2500 at Conowingo on the same day (Rick Blom). Arlene Ripley observed Carolina Chickadee nest-building activity at Dunkirk on March 1 , and one with a white tail with two dark central rectrices was seen at the Horsehead Wetlands Center on March 6 (Iliff). Red-breasted Nuthatches were still being located pretty late in May, with 2 on Kent Island on May 12 (Roger Eastman), 5 at Clopper Lake, Montgom- ery County on May 15 (Andy Rabin), and single birds at Herrington Manor SP on May 30 (Gary Felton) and at Laurel Grove, St. Mary’s County on May 31 (Runkles). Jim Stasz heard a Brown Creeper singing at Fleming Mill Pond, Somerset County on March 27. Wrens, Kinglets, Thrushes. Arlene Ripley observed the nest-building activity of some Carolina Wrens in Dunkirk on the early date of March 1 , and Patty Craig saw a House Wren at Dameron on April 19. Only four Sedge Wrens were reported this spring: at Chesapeake Beach on April 19 (Stasz), at the Transquaking River, Dorchester County on May 2 (H. Armistead+), at Pt. Lookout SP on May 3 and May 9 (Bishop, Craig+), and at Little Bennett Park, Montgomery County on May 10 (Marshall Howe). Marsh Wrens were noted early with 3 at Rumbley Point Road, Somerset County on March 28 (Jett, Stasz+), 1 at Pt. Lookout on March 30 (Craig), and 2 at Chesapeake Beach on April 1 (Stasz). The high for Ruby-crowned Kinglets was 16 at Calvert Cliffs SP, Calvert County on April 1 1 (Greg Miller), and the one at Deep Creek Lake on May 1 5 (N. & F. Saunders) was running a bit late. In St. Mary’s County, Patty Craig had a nice count of 7 Gray-cheeked Thrushes at Dameron on May 23 and re- ported that a Bicknell’s Thrush was banded during a class at Green well SP on May 17. Three Gray-cheeked Thrushes were banded at Chino Farms on May 17,19, and 27. Jim Stasz totaled up 14 Hermit Thrushes in the Dividing Creek area of Somerset County on March 27, and Jim Green reported the first Wood Thrush at Porter’s Crossing, Worcester County on April 1 2. Several hundred American Robins were tallied at Ft. Smallwood on March 22 (Ricciardi+), and about 200 were in the Pleasant Valley area of Garrett County on March 23 (Stasz, Iliff). Mimids, Pipits, Waxwings, Starlings. The Gray Catbird at Hughes Hollow on March 1 (Norbu) most surely wintered there. Harry, Liz, and Mary Armistead enjoyed a Brown Thrasher at Bellevue imitating a Chuck- will’s- widow on May 31 . The high for American Pipits was about 100 at St. Ini goes, St. Mary’s County on March 22 (Bell, Kostenko), and Darius Ecker and Maud Banks turned in the high for Cedar Waxwings with 1 88 at Lake Elkhom on May 21. About 700 European Starlings were in the Pleasant Valley area of Garrett County on March 23 (Iliff, Stasz). Vermivora, Parula, and Dendroica Warblers. A Blue-winged Warbler was singing at Mt. Nebo on May 29 (Skipper), and 2 hybrid Brewster’s Warblers were located this spring, at Rock Creek Park on May 6 (Young, Loper), and at Herrington Manor SP on May 30 (Gary June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 31 Felton). A late Golden- winged Warbler was reported in DC at Battery Kemble Park on May 23 (David Gersten). Tina and Curtis Dew turned in the only Orange-crowned Warbler for the season, 1 at Chingville, St. Mary’s County on March 1. Northern Parulas began early with 1 at Seneca on April 2 (Youth). The first Chestnut-sided Warbler was on April 29 at Chino Farms (Gruber), and the last one was on May 30 at Hughes Hollow (N. Saunders). The Mag- nolia Warbler at Schooley Mill Park on April 26 (Ecker, Ott+) was a little early, as was the Cape May Warbler at Greenwell SP the same day (Runkles). A late Black-throated Blue Warbler was at Ashton on May 30 (Sussman). The high for Yellow-rumped Warblers was 300 at Dameron on April 28 (Craig). The Black-throated Green Warbler heard at the McKeldin Area of the Patapsco Valley SP in Howard County on April 11 was early (Ringler). Another was at Bear Swamp, Worcester County on April 12 (Green). A Black-throated Green was singing at Connie Skipper’s house near Oakland, Garrett County, on April 26. Late Blackburnian Warblers were at Lake Elkhorn (Ecker) and at Hammond Village (Solem) in Howard County on May 28. Yellow-throated Warblers were early with single birds at Fleming Mill Pond, Somerset County on March 27 (Stasz) and at Jefferson Patterson Park, Calvert County the same day (Bell). The high for Yellow-throateds was 1 1 at Flag Ponds on March 31 (Ripley), On April 12, at the Pocomoke Swamp in Worcester County, Schrenk observed Yel- low-throated Warbler nest building activity. Pine Warblers included 1 at Deer Park Road, Carroll County on March 1 (N. & F. Saunders), 25 at Dividing Creek, Somerset County on March 27 (Stasz), 1 singing at Broadford, Garrett County on March 29 (Pope), and 20 at Elk Neck SP, Cecil County on April 13 (Fisher). An early Prairie Warbler was at Greenwell SP on March 29 (Runkles). Palm Warblers were early as well, including 1 at Rileys Lock, Mont- gomery County on March 15 (Green), 1 at Lake Elkhorn on April 1 (Ecker), a yellow at Dameron the same day (Craig), and a western banded at Chino Farms on April 28. It looks like the western at Flag Ponds on March 7 (Craig) wintered. The last Bay-breasted Warblers were solo sightings at Lake Elkhorn on May 28 (Ecker) and at Great Falls, Montgomery County on May 31 (Bob Caswell). Fourteen Cerulean Warblers were found this spring including 2 on the Coastal Plain: 1 at PWRC/North on May 9 (Stan Arnold), and 1 at PRNAS on May 20 (Rambo). Other Warblers. The first Black-and-white Warbler was at Chingville Road, St. Mary s County on April 9 (Tina & Curtis Dew), and the first American Redstart was at Bear Swamp, Worcester County on April 12 (Green). Prothonotary Warblers were very early with 1 at Seneca on April 2 (Youth), and another at Dameron on April 9 (Craig). Lake Elkhorn was an unusual site for the Prothonotary there on May 28 (Solem). The first Worm-eating Warbler was at Nassawango Creek, Worcester County on April 21 (Friedland). An always-nice-to-find Swainson’s Warbler was at Pocomoke Swamp, Worcester County on May 11 (Bjerke), and another was at Dameron on May 23 (Craig). The Ovenbird at Chingville in St. Mary’s County on April 8 was very early (Dews). A Louisiana Waterthrush was at Greenbrier SP on March 24 (Weesner), the first Northern Waterthrush was at Fair Hill on April 19 (Fisher), and a Common Yellowthroat was reported in DC on March 30 (Jim Felley). The first Common Yellowthroat banded at Chino Farms was on April 12. Four solitary Mourning Warblers were notched this spring: at Conowingo on May 9 (Blom), at Battery Kemble Park in DC on May 23 (Gersten), at Greenwell SP on May 24 (Runkles, Cribb, Robinson), and at Pennyfield on May 25 (Friedland, Bowen). Hooded Warblers included 1 at Hollywood on April 25 (Rambo) and another at Washington Monument SP on April 30 (Weesner). A late Wilson’s Warbler was banded at Chino Farms on May 27, and another was at PRNAS on May 28 (Craig, Cribb+). Ten Canada Warblers were tallied at Dameron on May 25 (Craig), and a very early Yellow-breasted Chat was discovered at Black Hill Park on April 1 2 (Ted & Lola Oberman). 32 MARYLAND BIRDL1FE Vol. 55, No. 2 Tanctgers, Sparrows , Grosbeaks. Scarlet Tanagers began with one at Nassawango Creek, Worcester County on April 21 (Friedland). The last American Tree Sparrow was at North Beach on March 26 (Stasz). Two Clay-colored Sparrows were listed this spring, one at PRNAS on April 17 (Rambo) and one at Pt. Lookout on May 3 (Kurt Gaskill, Todd Day, Mike Day ). Highs for Field Sparrows were 40 at Dameron on March 1 1 (Craig) and 60 at Chino Farms on March 29 (Gruber). About 150 Savannah Sparrows were tallied at Pt. Lookout on April 25 (Craig), and an “Ipswich” race Savannah was identified at Cambridge on March 19 (H. Armistead, lliff). A Grasshopper Sparrow was heard in St. Mary’s County on the extremely early date of March 8 (Craig). Stasz and party found a Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow at Smith Island on March 28, another was at Cornfield Harbor, St. Mary’s County on April 19 (Craig, Cribb), and one was at North Beach on April 20 (Stasz). Solo Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows were identified this spring at Chesapeake Beach on April 10 (Stasz), near Lilypons on April 18 (N. & F. Saunders), and at Flag Ponds on April 23 (Ripley). Norm and Fran Saunders found a Seaside Sparrow at Irish Grove on April 4, and others included 1 at North Beach on April 15 (Stasz), 1 at Ft. Smallwood on April 15 (Wierenga), and 5 at Horsehead Wetlands Center on May 5 (Graff). Single Lincoln’s Sparrows were an early one in St. Mary’s County on May 2 (Boxweil, Cribb), 1 at New Germany SPon May 15 (Steve Sanford), and a late bird banded at Chino Farms on May 27. The last Swamp Sparrow banded at Chino Farms was on May 19, but another was notched at Idylwild WMA, Caroline County on the late date of May 23 (N. & F. Saunders). White-throated Sparrows also were noted late with 5 at Ft. Smallwood on May 23 (Davidson, Wierenga) and 2 at Woodend, Montgomery County on May 28 (Julie Kelly). Stasz and lliff were surprised by a Dark-eyed Junco with a white head at New Germany SP on March 23. Patty Craig found an adult female Northern Cardinal with a fledgling at Dameron on May 14. Blue Grosbeaks were among the many early arrivals this spring with 1 at Chino Farms on April 20 (Gruber), 1 at Cap Stine Road, Frederick County on April 22 (Stauffer Miller), and 1 in DC on April 24 (Paul Pisano). Icterids, FringiUids. Stauffer Miller and party wrote of a Bobolink at Cap Stine Road, Frederick County on April 22, the high for Bobolinks was 200 near Lilypons on May 10 (Norbu), and 1 was at Cornfield Harbor, St. Mary’s County on May 26. The high for Red- winged Blackbirds was 800 at Nanticoke Marshes, Wicomico County on March 28 (lliff, Stasz). Rick Sussman reported a pair of Eastern Meadowlarks building a nest on the very late date of May 31 near Triadelphia Lake Road in Montgomery County. A male Yellow-headed Blackbird was discovered in St. Mary’s County near Queen Tree Road on May 28 (Mark Runkles). Thirty Rusty Blackbirds were counted at Millington WMA, Kent County on April 12 (Stasz), and another 30 were tallied at Edgewood on April 27 (Jett, Stasz). The high for Boat-tailed Grackles was 100 at Smith Island on March 28 (Stasz+), and a nice tally of 30 Orchard Orioles was made at Pt. Lookout on May 3 (Gaskill, T. Day, M. Day). The Balti- more Oriole found at Leonardtown on March 6 probably had wintered there (Craig, Boxwell+). Red Crossbills this spring were 1 at Swallow Falls SP on March 23 (Stasz, lliff), 1 at Chestertown on March 24 (Marc Ribaudo), 8 near North East on April 18 (Gary Griffith), and 6 at Rock Creek Park on May 1 6 (Hilton). In Garrett County, 9 White- winged Crossbills were at Swallow Falls SP on March 23 (Stasz, lliff), and 4 were feeding in hemlocks along Mayhew Inn Road on April 24 and 30+ were at Swallow Falls SPon May 18 (Skipper). Dave Czaplak saw 5 Common Redpolls migrating north at Town Hill on March 6, and Kevin Dodge had one at his feeder in Bittinger on April 26. Fran Pope had a Pine Siskin at her feeder in Mountain Lake Park, Garrett County on the late date of May 23. The high for American Goldfinches was a nice 836 at Ft. Smallwood on April 25 (Ricciardi+). Twelve late Evening Grosbeaks were discovered at Mt. Nebo on May 16 (N. & F. Saunders+). 9763 Early Spring Why, Columbia, Maiyland 21046 June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 33 ANNUAL REPORTS OF CHAPTERS Allegany County Chapter Allegany Chapter enjoyed a year of varied nature activities, with membership increasing to 52 households from Allegany and Garrett Counties. The annual picnic at Carey Run Sanctu- ary in August 1998 started the year off and was attended by 48 adults and children. Our members voted to donate money to the DNR office in Garrett County to build two Osprey nesting platforms at Deep Creek Lake for the 1999 nesting season. We received an MOS grant for $200 to improve housing conditions at Carey Run for the children’s nature week that Charles and Pam Hager conduct each August. Other Chapter mem- bers acted as visiting resource leaders last August. Our chapter participated in five bird counts: ( 1 ) the Fall Bird Count on September 1 2, Ray Kiddy compiler; (2) the Christmas Count on December 19, Gwen Brewer compiler; (3) the C&O Canal Towpath Count in Allegany County on January 24, Ray Kiddy compiler; (4) the Winter Bird Count on January 30, Teresa Simon compiler; and (5) the May Bird Count on May 8, Teresa Simon compiler. Tally parties after the counts were enjoyed by many families. Seven field trips were planned for the year: to Dolly Sods in Tucker County, WV to watch the Brooks Bird Club band birds; to Town Hill in Allegany County for hawk observation; to Shawnee State Park in Pennsylvania to observe waterfowl; to area ponds to check out spring migrations; and to scenic Jennings-Randolph Dam on the MD/WV border. Two summer excursions are scheduled: a fossil field trip in Allegany County with Bob Twigg and a butterfly identification day with Ray Kiddy. The annual Allegany County Chapter Dinner in Frostburg was highlighted by a slide presentation on “Birds of Garrett County” by member Jon Boone, who is an accomplished nature artist. A silent auction raised funds for chapter work. Interesting and varied nature top- ics were presented by Frostburg State University personnel at four evening meetings. Wayne Yoder, a chapter member who teaches entomology, gave a program on spiders. Durland Shumway and chapter member Gwen Brewer, who are working on a forest ecology project, gave a fire history of trees in Savage River State Forest in Garrett County. Toa Kyle, a graduate student at FSU, spoke of his birding project and experiences in Ecuador. Gwen Brewer super- vised an evening in the science department computer lab on Internet Birding. We visited FSU Planetarium and enjoyed an astronomy night presented by Robert Doyle. Clean-up day at Carey Run Sanctuary on April 24 was well attended by local members and members of other MOS chapters who cleaned the house and grounds and cut down some of the overgrown autumn olive shrubbery on the property. A picnic closed out the day’s work. One of our local members, Charles Hager, was awarded an MOS scholarship to attend an Audubon Workshop in Maine during the summer of 1999. With sadness, we note that two long-time members, John Pfeiffer and Frank Byers, died in 1998. Participation has been increasing in the Allegany County Chapter. A greater effort has been made to communicate with the members and to make all feel welcome. We have enjoyed having children attend our Chapter activities as well. It has been a pleasure to serve this group the last two years, along with the other officers, Gwen Brewer, Kathleen Helker, and Charlotte Folk. Gladys Faherty, President 34 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 Anne Arundel Bird Club Another year of interesting lectures and great field trips was enjoyed by all. The lectures, which are the main function at our eight monthly meetings during the year, were excellent. Highlights include: Greg Kerns doing “Eastern Australia, 5,000 Miles in 30 Days,” Dr. Robert Trevor presenting “Chile — Driest Desert in the World.” Doug Forsell told us about “Gill Net Mortality on the Atlantic Coast,” and other equally interesting subjects. At our annual Richard E. Heise, Jr. Wildlife Program, the well-known Jim Clark talked about “A Natural Celebra- tion,” consisting of a beautiful slide presentation. Organizing this lecture series, arranging for and taking the speakers to dinner before the programs, and other miscellaneous assistance to me were the hard and greatly appreciated work of Doug Forsell, 2nd Vice President and Pro- gram Chair. Our lectures always include refreshments provided by many volunteers and organized by our Secretary, Laura Glass. Thanks to the volunteers and especially to Laura for all her hard work, including organizing the Christmas Count Tally-up food and refreshments. The 28 field trips took 83+ folks on both local and far-ranging locations to look for birds. Kim Hudyma, 1st Vice President and Field Trip Chair, did a first class job and made sure the trips were varied. To date, 1 80 species have been seen, not including the Texas trip. My thanks go to Kim and all of the trip leaders for making them all successful. Peter Hanan’s Maniac Tours with eight birders went to Southern Texas and came up with about 211 species. The club now has an official patch and pin. Four designs were submitted by members and after a difficult decision-making process, Leo Weigant’s entry was chosen. His design has a Bufflehead on a light blue background surrounded by a dark blue border with the club name inscribed. Fall and Spring picnics rounded out the year. At the Club’s annual business meeting, the only official business was the election of officers. Al Haury, President Caroline County Bird Club We met the third Friday of each month, September through May, except December, at 7 p.m. at the Caroline County Library in Denton. We started our program year on September 18, 1998 when Jan Reese provided an entertaining program on simple tips to improve our birding identification skills. This was followed the next morning as both skilled birders and beginners set out to do a Fall bird count. The coordinator of the count was Ethel Engle. We tried a couple of field trips this year, one on Sunday, September 27, at Horsehead Sanctuary, led by Danny Poet, and another on October 3, as Mariana Nuttle led a small but eager group of birders to Martinak State Park near Denton. On Friday, October 16 we had our Annual Program by Dr. Robert Trever. He spoke on the Pribilof Islands of Southwestern Alaska. On October 18, Bill Scudder led a group of eager folks on a cleanup of Pelot Sanctuary, near Greensboro. On November 20, Glenn Therres, of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, spoke on the status of Bald Eagles in Maryland. On December 1 9, a merry bunch of birders set June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 35 out to do our Christmas Bird Count, which is coordinated by Steve Westre. At our January meeting we had to get a new speaker at the last minute but I can’t remember who it was at this point. In February, Les Coble gave a talk and slide show on Birding at Point Pelee, in Canada. At our March meeting, Wanda Cole, a Purple Martin landlord for a number of years, spoke on how to start and maintain a Purple Martin colony. This was a very well attended meeting with lots of new faces. In April Wayne Bell spoke on Ecology for Birders and in May we did the May Count and had a reported Swainson’s Warbler in Tuckahoe State Park. Mariana Nuttle was our County Coordinator for the count. Our May speaker cancelled at the last minute so we had a short but lively discussion. Danny Poet , President Carroll County Bird Club The Carroll County Bird Club’s 1998-1999 season was fun and action-packed. We held eight monthly meetings at Carroll Community College with an average attendance of 17 mem- bers and guests. The featured speakers covered many topics of interest: “Birds and Butterflies of Ecuador” (Bob Ringler), “Bear, Turkey and Grouse in Maryland” (Steve Bittner), “Owls of the Eastern U.S ” (Rick Blom), “Life Zones of Northern Colorado” (Jerry Tarbell), “Horse- shoe Crabs in Maryland” (Thomas O’Connell), "Wildflowers" (Dave Pyle), “The Mute Swan Dilemma” (Larry Hindman), “Birds of Trinidad and Tobago" (Dave Harvey). Thanks to the many members who provided the tasty treats for each meeting! Members Kathy Harden, Maureen Harvey, Dave Harvey, Bill Kulp. Jr., Bob Ringler. Jerry Tarbell and Sue Yingling led field trips to Carroll County hot spots and beyond. More distant trips were taken to view fall raptor migration at Pennsylvania's Wagonner’s Gap, win- ter congregations at Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge (with the bonus Cinnamon Teal!), and the eagles at Conowingo Dam. We also had a wonderful Presidents' Day weekend birding trip to the Eastern Shore, as well as a memorable Memorial Day weekend at Carey Run. Many members participated in the annual fall, winter and May bird counts. The tally rallies that followed at Kathy Harden’s, Dave & Maureen Harvey’s and Laura and Jerry Tarbell' s homes rewarded the bird counters with delicious meals and company. Several members volunteered their time and energy to worthy causes. Maureen Harvey represented the Club’s interests at Teaming with Wildlife meetings, while Bob Ringler and Mark Hoffman were active with Partners in Flight. Mark was also a member of the victorious MOS Yellowthroats at the World Series of Birding. Erma Gebb and Gerry Mathias continued their hard work and volunteer efforts at Piney Run Nature Center. In the conservation arena, the Club wrote a letter to Carroll County Commissioner Julia Gouge in response to her shortsighted comments regarding the endangered Bog Turtle. This year our Club was fortunate to have added several new members who have brought new talents and enthusiasm into our amiable group. Our officers have settled into their new positions and have performed their duties well over the past year, especially our Treasurer, Greg Klein, and Secretary, Laura Tarbell. Amy Hoffman, President 36 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 Cecil Bird Club The Cecil Bird Club continues to keep busy, with 17 activities scheduled between Janu- ary and September of 1999. Our thanks go to Scott Powers, who continues to do an excellent job as our Field Trip Chair. During April and early May, attendees had increased to 10+ per trip, with guests from out of state and out of county as well. We continue to schedule joint trips with other local clubs. People have commented on the catchy trip names coined by Scott, such as “Loons Along the Susquehanna” and “Happy Owl-o-Ween,” the latter trip having 70 par- ticipants last October! ! ! On the membership front, we have grown to 60+, and seem to be picking up someone new at virtually every recent activity. A continuing publicity campaign includes notice in the event calendars of local papers and columnists, feature articles to local papers to highlight meetings, and local cable channels. Club brochures and fliers have been placed in a wide variety of locations around the county, such as libraries and garden centers. Marcia Watson-Whitmyre has done a wonderful job of recreating our website, so much so that she received notice in early May that the site had won an award. Be sure to visit us at www.udel.edu/cecilbirds. The Cecil Bird Club continues its association with the Fair Hill Nature Center and Natural Resources Area. For the third year running, club members participated in March for Parks to raise money for Fair Hill. Also, in October of 1998, club members Charlie Gant, Scott Powers and Leslie Fisher led morning bird walks for participants of Fair Hill’s first annual camp-over. In other community events, CBC has been in touch with officials from the town of Port Deposit, as they strive to become recognized as an official sanctuary of MOS, in a program initiated by Karen Morley. As of April 1999, officials from the town of Perry ville have also been contacted with the information necessary to initiate the same procedure for their commu- nity. The CBC will also be participating at a community event in North East at the Upper Bay Museum Decoy and Art show on June 5th. Funding was approved for an MOS education grant to purchase a portable dub display, which we hope to have completed by that time. The club will have a square in the Delaware Art Museum 1999 Quilt Display, which will be designed for us by the Cecil County Quilters. Club activity on the MOS level continues to increase, with Donna Brown having recently agreed to represent us as Education Committee, in addition to Doug Senn as Conservation and Ron Kelczewski as Sanctuary. Ron has already attended a work session at Irish Grove and is very enthusiastic. He is most recently working on an inter- pretive sign for the Turkey Point Hawk Watch. Doug Senn, club member and biologist, will be presenting a slide show for the May 26 meeting on “Identification of Native Trees in the Field,” so one no longer needs to instructively shout “in that tree over there.” We continue to meet bimonthly; past speakers have included Charles Gant on “Identifying Birds of Prey in Flight,” Mark Johnson on “Factors Impacting Breeding Success of Wood Thrush,” and Jerry Newman on “Maintaining a Bluebird Trail.” We also have a newly formed Records Committee, and Parke John coordinated our May count. Regarding our Newsletter, Ken Drier continues to do an excellent job as editor, Scott Powers efficiently gets it out there, and Marcia Watson-Whitmyre is a regular contributor. Senator Paul Sarbanes recently requested to be put on our mailing list. Regarding officers for the upcoming year, nominating chair Amy Gordon polled existing officers who all indicated they would remain on board. We are happy to have Jonah Goodwin return for yet another stint as secretary/treasurer. My heartfelt thanks go to a wonderful mem- June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 37 bership for their support in what has been a fulfilling year. Were it not for members willing to take on varied responsibilities in their already busy lives, we wouldn’t be much of a club! ! Last of all, a special thanks to Marcia Watson- Whitmyre: Vice-President, invaluable right hand and wise advisor in all matters great and small; couldn’t have done it without ya! ! Leslie Fisher, President Frederick County Chapter We had a wonderful year: 10 membership meetings, 1 3 field trips, and 5 organized counts. We started in September with a wonderful talk by Connie Toops, well-known writer and freelance photographer. She shared her expertise on the subject of bluebird biology and how we can help with nesting success. The chapter participated in the Koi festival at Lilypons again this year. Hummingbirds even visited the feeder we had on display. October’s meeting was a real learn- ing experience as Bob Ringler introduced us to the full potential of the Yellow Book. We are all now using the Yellow Book more than ever. In November I took our club on a slide/audio tour of Machias Seal Island and other birding spots in Maine and New Hampshire. Our annual Christmas dinner at Araby Church was a real success due to the great food and the wonderful trip to New Zealand on which Steve Rannels took us. His slides could have been featured in National Geographic. He also shared several audio recordings that he had made on location. Where do we sign up for his next trip? We launched 1999 with a travelogue by Stauffer Miller. It’s always interesting to see where Ellie and Stauffer have been in the past year. In February Mike Welch reviewed an impressive fifty years of Catoctin Christmas counts. It was really interesting to see some of the trends in different species over the fifty years. In March, of all months, our meeting was canceled because county schools were closed. We had all been looking forward to Bob Johnsson’s talk on “Potomac Basin: Botanical Crossroads.” We’ll have to sign him up for next year. Kevin Dodge entertained us with his unique presentation on Night Sounds at our April meeting. His imitations were terrific. He had all of us simultaneously doing imitations of different night sounds. It sounded, well... interesting. We were especially fortunate to get Dr. Chan Robbins from the Patuxent Wildlife Re- search Center for our May meeting. He had just flown back to the States the night before and shared his views on “Forest Conservation and Migratory Bird Populations — in Maryland and the Tropics.” He had some encouraging news on the efforts to save habitat in Central America and how this work is affecting the local bird populations as well as the neotropical migrants that winter there. The chapter tried a long weekend field trip for the first time in many years. Mike Welch coordinated a wonderful trip that included the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT), Chincoteague VA, Indian River inlet, Ocean City and many other hot spots. We had to brave fierce icy winds on the CBBT but we were rewarded by very close views of the Black-tailed Gull (a lifer for everyone). The chapter is looking forward to our annual picnic in June and our Delaware coastal refuge trip in July. The chapter would like to thank all of the speakers for sharing their talents and expertise with us. We would also like to thank the club’s officers for a job well done. And 38 MARYLAND B1RDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 last, but certainly not least, we want to thank the tireless individuals who coordinate the counts in Frederick County. Wilbur Hershberger, President Harford Bird Club The Harford Bird Club started the year early by having a Summer Social at the Anita Leight Estuary Center in Abingdon. More than 60 people enjoyed light fare and conversation in a casual setting. The guest speaker was Mr. Bob Schutsky who presented a program on the birds and beauty of Arizona. The club officially started its 50th year with our annual picnic at the Rocks 4-H Camp. About 50 people enjoyed the pit beef and other food prepared by Randy Robertson with assis- tance from Joe Vangrin and others. The club has decided to move the picnic to the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1999, so this was the last time for a picnic at the Rocks. We continue with dinner meetings three times per year at the Churchville Presbyterian Church. There is also a meeting at the church in January, with no dinner provided. An average of about 50 people attend each dinner meeting. The November meeting featured Dr. Mike McGrady who presented a program on the status of Russian Sea Eagles. He has been conducting research in the Magadan area since 1991. Our January meeting was cancelled after two successive Friday nights with snow and ice. The March dinner meeting was highlighted by a program on falconry presented by Mr. George Tredway. Dr. Ben Posco ver presented a program on the relationship between Horseshoe Crabs and shorebirds in the Delaware Bay at the final dinner meeting of the year in May. Barbara Siebens handles the dinner reservations and acts as liaison with the church. Les Eastman continues to edit our newsletter. He has been doing an excellent job in preparing the newsletter and also does other computer tasks, such as maintaining a web site for the club. Joe and Carole Vangrin prepare each edition of the newsletter for mailing. Les has asked to be relieved from the position of editor, so he will be greatly missed. Dave Webb and the members of the field trip committee spend a large amount of time planning and monitoring the trips to the field to make sure that they are successful. Our club averages eight field trips per month so there is a wide variety from which to choose. The field trips are publicized on the local cable TV channel and also in local newspapers, thanks to the efforts of Jean Williams. Dave Webb has also asked to be relieved from his position as chair- person and he will also be missed. In addition to the field trips, the club participated in the Fall Migration Count on September 19, the Rock Run Christmas Count on December 29, the Mid- winter Count on January 30, and the International Migratory Bird Count on May 8. Each year the club provides a donation to the Envirothon competition involving teams from the local school system. This year we again donated $150 to help with their expenses. The winners of our annual awards presented at the March meeting were: Harford County Lister of the Year, Dave Webb with 208 species; Rookie of the Year, Matt Hafner; Bird of the Year, Marbled Godwit at Havre de Grace on a club field trip; Distinguished Service, John and Lorna Wortman and also to Dave Webb. Last year members of the club provided over $500 in donations so that a bird garden could be planted at the Anita Leight Estuary Center. We are pleased to report that almost all of the shrubs and perennials planted survived the dry summer June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 39 and winter. The club also provided bird feeders and bird feeding stations, which were recently constructed. Randy Robertson and Tom Congersky planned for a Nest Box Workshop at the Anita Leight Estuary Center on February 6. More than 75 nest boxes were cut of cedar and as- sembled for the purchasers. The annual Earth Day Celebration at Havre de Grace on April 17 was well attended this year. We take the club display and hand out county checklists and newsletters. Les Eastman provided a highlight of the show as he showed many people the newly found Bald Eagle’s nest on the other side of the Susquehanna River. MOS education grants were combined over the past two years and used for the purchase of copies of the Breeding Bird Atlas of Maryland and the District of Columbia . We provided one copy to the Harford County Historical Society, one copy to the Harford Glen Outdoor Education Center, and eight copies to the Harford County Library for educational and research purposes. The club has had several winners of MOS Scholarships in previous years. This year Mary Procell won a scholarship to the Audubon Ecology Camp in Wyoming. The 1998-99 year is the 50th year for the Harford Bird Club. Our official celebration of this achievement will take place at the dinner meeting on November 5, when Chandler Robbins will present the program. A 50th Anniversary committee is currently planning festivities for the meeting. One long-term project is yet to be finished and that is the Harford Bird Site Brochure, We hope to get that to the printers this summer so it is available for our 50th Anniversary celebra- tion. I would like to thank the other elected officers for their assistance over the past two years. The Vice President was Randy Robertson, Joyce Gorsuch was Treasurer, and Mary Procell was Secretary. This is my last Annual Report as my two-year term of office has expired. I have enjoyed the past two years, but also realize that it is time to move on. I will continue to be actively involved in club activities and will continue with involvement in MOS as Executive Secretary for the next year. I hope that the club continues to grow and prosper under our newly elected president, Debbie Delevan. Larry Fry, President Jug Bay Bird Club The Jug Bay Bird Club had another busy and productive year. At the end of the 1998 MOS Conference we decided to help plan the next conference. This became a major activity for the year. We held meetings at our club Director, Gary Flenner’s house in Calvert County; our President, Dale Johnson, was the local coordinator; Mike Callahan, our new Vice Presi- dent, was conference publicity, and our newsletter editor and club publicity person; our loyal Secretary Jean Tierney, helped with field trips and many behind-the-scenes jobs; and our faith- ful Treasurer, Bob Courtemanche, and his wife Anne, worked on the 300 packets for the conference. Jug Bay Bird Club, even though a small club, can be proud of our contribution to this conference. Our other members are to be recognized for their helpful contribution at this con- 40 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 ference: Tyler Bell, Jane Kostenko, Patty Craig, Rich Dolesh and sons, Fred and Jane Fallon, Mary Kilbome, Kyle Rambo, and Arlene Ripley. Our club, along with Conference Chairman Lou DeMouy, the Anne Arundel Chapter, and the Southern Maryland Audubon Society (SMAS), worked together over the year to create a delightful conference. SMAS benefited by being voted the auction and raffle proceeds for their Native Shrub habitat education project along the Patuxent River in Southern Maryland. Our annual functions are a December Christmas Party, the Christmas Bird Counts, elec- tions in March, Bluebird trails, May Bird Counts, and a July picnic and boat trip. The field trips and meeting locations were a little different this year. We are making an effort to spread our trips and meetings into Southern Maryland. We have held meetings at Battle Creek Cy- press Swamp Nature Center in Calvert County, at the Leonardtown Library in St. Mary’s County, and at the Wild Bird Center in Waldorf, Charles County, along with some at Patuxent River Park. The programs were great. We learned about “Tobago,” “Australia,” “Ecology for Birders,” “Ethiopian Birds,” “Barn Owls in Charles County,” and “Horseshoe Crabs and Shore- birds.” Our trips were the annual Ocean City Birds on New Year’s Day, a preview of the confer- ence area at Solomons Island and the Calvert Marine Museum, fall raptors in Pennsylvania, the new Chapman’s Landing State park, a joint trip with Prince George’s Audubon Society to Shady Side, a Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Education Center trip, and a trip to the Dela- ware Bay for shorebirds. Other club projects were to update a display board with a grant from MOS. Our new project for the coming year is to build slide programs to be used by our club officers and members to give short talks about birds to community groups. Our new season will take us into the year 2000 and we look forward to new alliances with the other chapters of MOS and Audubon and other interested groups in our area. Dale Johnson, President Kent County Chapter The Kent County Chapter gained four new memberships this year but lost four old ones, so our membership remained the same as past years’, locked in at 50. We had eight meetings with one being cancelled due to snow. Topics at our monthly meetings included “Birding on the Internet,” “Bird Identification,” “Birding Accessories,” and “Ecology for Birders.” Our monthly meetings have an average attendance of 25. Field trips had an average attendance of six observers. We try for one field trip per month. The Chapter is involved in both the Christ- mas and the May Bird Count We support our Field Banding Station, located in Queen Anne’s County, with a donation to help buy nets, and we try to work with Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge with the involvement of several members and scheduled field walks there. The speaker at our Annual Meeting was Marsha Fritz, who told of the Chester River Association and who enlisted members to help with the Water Quality Testing Program. We do have several members already involved. We also held a joint field trip with the Association in November 1998 at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge. June 1999 MARYLAND B1RDLIFE 41 We continue to man a table at the Chestertown Wildlife Show in October, with displays of bluebird boxes, pictures of the banding station at work, free plans for building a bluebird nesting box, applications for the Gibson-Mendinhall Scholarship to a summer Audubon work- shop, and selling MOS literature. The display is manned for seven hours by our volunteers, who answer any and all questions from passersby. We also had handouts for the children of coloring pages, mazes, and quizzes — all about birding. We will continue to sponsor the Gibson-Mendinhall Scholarship, but it is getting more difficult as the price of the Audubon Camps keeps increasing. The initial investment does not grow at the same rate as the increases. Gail Regester, President Montgomery County Chapter Field trips continued to be one of the strengths of our chapter as trip Chair Mike Bowen came up with an array of trips to take us through the seasons. The birding year began in early September at Little Bennett State Park with our traditional Presidents’ Day Walk led by par- ticipating past presidents. Later that fall, we forded streams at Layhill Park in search of sparrows and looked for lingering migrants at Meadowside Park, Hughes Hollow and Myrtle Grove; we canoed on the Potomac guided by Dave Winer to check out riverine species; we scanned the skies for hawks at Washington State Park and Waggoner’s Gap. December kept us busy with area Christmas Counts: in particular, the Seneca Count which our Chapter continues to spon- sor. Upholding a January tradition, 20 hardy members braved an ice storm to drive to the Outer Banks for a birding weekend with the Hatteras Bird Club. Later, closer to home, we had field trips to Black Hill Park and Conowingo dam. Spring saw us straining our necks for treetop warblers along the C&O Canal, and finally, as summer neared, busily sorting out shorebirds at Bombay Hook. A host of excellent speakers enlivened our monthly meetings. A sampling: Pamela Rasmussen, who gave a first-hand account of her discovery of the Forest Owlet of India; Dr. William S. Seegar, who revealed the remarkable amount of information on migratory patterns garnered by telemetry; and MOS member Dave Brinker, who gave us the inside story on the Saw- whet Owl. Two chapter members shared personal accounts of birding trips: Gail Mackieman showed us her excellent video footage of seabirds (including the Kelp Gull!) taken on a re- search vessel off the coast of South America, and Daphne Gemmill recreated her fascinating trip to South Africa. Popular additions to the business meetings were the seasonally appropri- ate 10-minute Bird IDs presented by Luther Goldman, George Jett and Bill Kulp. Members agreed this was a good way to sharpen our birding skills. Although our regular January meeting was cancelled (nasty ice storm) we did meet to- gether later that month on a positively balmy Saturday afternoon to celebrate the completion of the Claudia Wilds Bird Library at Black Hill Visitor Center in Boyds, Md. We encourage all MOS members to visit this remarkable collection of over 360 books left to our chapter by Claudia Wilds and now permanently housed at the Center. Our bimonthly newsletter The Chat has two new editors: Gemma Radko and Lydia Schindler, who have continued the well-established tradition of providing our 320 members 42 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 with informative and lively material five times a year. We also keep in touch via the chapter web site, masterminded by Kathy Neugebauer. Our annual March Social was a great success with over 90 members enjoying an evening of good food, lively conversation and slides. The chapter presented a plaque to guest of honor Bill Oberman in recognition of his many years of service to the chapter and the birding com- munity at large. There were a number of innovations this year: • State Director Rick Sussman began the long-term project of creating an up-to-date site guide to the birding hotspots of Montgomery County. As each site is completed it will appear in The Chat, providing timely information and allowing members the chance to make sugges- tions and comments before the final publication. • State Director Dr. Sam Freiberg was the driving force behind the establishment of an- nual awards to bird-related entries at the Montgomery Area Science Fair held each March. This year three students received certificates acknowledging their efforts. Next year the chap- ter hopes to present cash awards to outstanding entries. • Spurred by the large collection of bird slides left to our chapter by Claudia Wilds, we have begun to set up permanent slide shows of specific groups of birds. The first set, consisting of gull slides, was used for a study session at Patuxent Visitor Center in February led by Vice President Mike Bowen. A similar session on shorebirds is scheduled for June. Linda Friedland, President Patuxent Bird Club The Patuxent Bird Club held its regular monthly meetings at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Bioscience Building on the fourth Tuesday of each month, September-No- vember and January-May. Topics at our meetings this past year included: “Effects of PCBs on American Kestrels,” by Dr. John B. French; “Protecting Endangered Species,” by Robin Eisman; “The North Ameri- can Breeding Bird Survey,” by Keith Pardieck; “Adopt an Acre: Preservation of Neotropic Habitats,” by George Jett; ‘The Natural History of Chile,” by Sid Jacobs; “Cerulean War- blers,” by Deanna Dawson; “Birding in Venezuela,” by Fred Fallon; and Members’ Night: birding slides and forays by our members. Our field trip program included scheduled monthly visits to Lake Artemesia, led by David Mozurkewich, and joint participation with the Prince George’s Audubon Society in tours of the Fran Uhler Natural Area. Other activities of the year included participation by club members in Christmas and May Bird Counts, and the Annual Field Trip and Picnic, held at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in June. Our Conservation Committee, chaired by Eleanor Robbins, carried out an active advocacy role on conservation issues. June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 43 Elections for the 1999-2000 year were held at the March meeting. Officers for the com- ing year are: President — Tom Loomis, Vice-President — David Mozurkewich, Treasurer — Loren Fulton, Secretary — Eleanor Robbins, State Trustee — Chandler Robbins. Leonard Lutwack, Helen Meleney, and Harriette Phelps were elected to new two-year terms as Direc- tors. Marty Barron, Robert Caswell, and Fred Fallon will enter their second years as Directors. Tom Loomis, President Tri-County Bird Club Memberships in the Tri-County Bird Club totaled 63 in 1998-99, a 24 percent increase over the prior year. Eight monthly meetings were held from September through May. Programs included Whimbrel research at the Virginia Coast Reserve, Saw-whet Owls, birding in Alaska, a visit to the Ward Museum’s Rachel Carson Exhibit, planting for birds, Soras at Jug Bay, and warbler identification. Fourteen field trips took club members and guests north to Bombay Hook Refuge, south to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel islands, west to Dorchester County marshes and east to the Atlantic seashores of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Club members participated in the Salisbury Christmas Count and the May Count. Samuel H. Dyke, President Washington County The Washington County Chapter held its monthly meetings at the Mt. Aetna Nature Cen- ter on the fourth Tuesday of the month. During the summer our meetings are replaced by picnics. Our Secretary, Janet Shields, set up an interesting and entertaining list of speakers for our monthly meetings. The speakers presented the following programs: “The Yellow Book and How to Use It,” by Bob Ringler; “Sound in the Natural World: Purpose and Pursuit,” by Wilbur Hershberger; “Scales and Tales,” by Mark Spurrier; “Trinidad and Tobago,” by Dave Harvey; “TheC&O Canal,” by Bob Johnsson; and “Bird Photography,” by Hugh Brandenburg. We also had one meeting called Members’ Night where members could show slides and/or discuss some of their recent activities and experiences. During the past year our members went on several field trips. Besides the usual Washing- ton County areas, we went to Little Bennett Park, the National Zoo, Town Hill, Strawberry Hill near Fairfield, PA, Southern Frederick County, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and a pelagic trip in Virginia. Our Chapter hosted the September 1998 MOS Board Meeting at Greenbrier State Park. Members also participated in the Washington County Christmas Count, two Christmas Counts in Frederick County, the National Park Service mid-winter bird survey along the C&O Canal, 44 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 the Flower and Garden Show at Hagerstown Community College, Earth Day events at Green- brier State Park, the May Count, and the Carey Run Sanctuary Work Day. I want to thank all of the officers and members of the Washington County Chapter for all their help during a very busy year. I also want to thank Judy and John Lilga for building an exhibit board so we can display information about our club during special events. Dave Weesner, President ANNUAL REPORTS OF COMMITTEES Audit Committee The annual audit of the MOS financial records for the period ending April 30, 1998 has been completed. These records are judged complete and have been faithfully maintained by our Treasurer, Jeff Metter. The salient feature of the Society’s financial well-being is reflected in the increased valuation of our investments. The MOS net worth as reported to the IRS is now approaching $900,000. The incremental increase in investments for the year ending 1997 was $49,680.55; for 1998, $117,870.10. Prudently, approximately 65% ($76,272.11) of the latter gain has been shifted to U.S. Treasury Notes. The Budget Committee and Long Range Planning Committee probably need to review future investment strategy. The present budget structure of the operating and permanent funds (i.e. , research, sanctu- ary, education, scholarship, future atlas) seems especially awkward, unnecessarily complicating financial management. The value of the income-generating assets of each fund possibly have become distorted through the choice and gains in equity over and above the original intent and needs of the various funds. This subject could well be included in the review suggested above. One further small point: one temporary fund, Wanuga, valued at $2,455.75, has been retained in the last three annual reports, hence probably needs to be distributed. Gerald F. Cotton Budget Committee The budget committee met in February to put together a budget for approval by the board of directors at their March meeting. Several changes were made this year in order to simplify the budget and to make it a more complete picture of the financial activities of the MOS. These changes included adding MOS website maintenance to the operating fund budget, supporting all liability insurance premiums under the operating fund budget, supporting all life member- ship costs under the operating fund budget, combining the sanctuary maintenance and endowment funds into one sanctuary fund, including conference accounts over multi-year pe- riods, and including an explicit budget for the atlas fund. The operating fund budget for the MOS for the fiscal year starting May 1, 1999 was $32,550 compared to anticipated earnings of $28,000. Since the budget amount is never fully spent (containing some upper limits that are not normally reached), this difference was deemed acceptable and advisable. Apart from the operating fund are the special funds for atlas, confer- June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 45 ence, education, research, sanctuary, and scholarship activities. For the last four of these, the budget for the coming year is equal to the earnings of the endowments from the preceding year. There were also several special expenditures added to this year’s budget. These included $500 for inspection of the buildings at the Carey Run and Irish Grove sanctuaries, $500 for replacement of mist nets used in research projects, $2000 to rent a climate-controlled storage facility for MOS records, and $800 to fund an additional scholarship this year. The mist net and scholarship expenses were earmarked from the funds raised by the MOS team in the World Series of Birding. The budget was approved by the board of directors at their March 1999 meeting. Paul A. Zucker, Chair By-laws Committee Notice regarding two proposed changes to the MOS by-laws was published in the March/ April 1999 issue of The Maryland Yellowthroat on page 7. These proposed changes were then presented at the 1 999 Annual Conference and unanimously approved by the general member- ship of the Society. The first change was in Article IV, Officers, to allow appointment of separate Editors for Maryland Birdlife and Maryland Yellowthroat. The second change was in Article VII, Board of Directors, to provide that each Editor shall be an ex-officio voting member of the Board and that the Editors may serve in more than one position. A copy of the MOS by-laws incorporating the approved changes is attached, in both printed and electronic format (MSWord97). Tom Loomis, Chair Conference Committee The 54th annual conference of the Maryland Ornithological Society (MOS) was held in Calvert County at the Holiday Inn Select Solomons on Solomons Island during the weekend of May 14-16, 1999. The 244 registered attendees enjoyed the program and spotted 162 species of birds on field trips. Friday evening’s speaker was Mr. Greg Miller of Baltimore County (formerly of Calvert County). The title of his talk was “My Dream Year” — a recounting of Mr. Miller’s adventures in identifying 715 bird species in North America during 1998. MOS president Norm Saunders presided over the annual business meeting on Saturday evening, May 15. Norm Saunders (President), Karen Morley (Vice President), Kathy Neugebauer (Sec- retary), and Jeff Metter (Treasurer) will continue in their roles during the coming year. The local planning team for the conference included representatives from Calvert County, the Southern Maryland Audubon Society (SMAS), the Jug Bay Chapter, and the Anne Arundel Chapter of MOS. The lead local planners were Dale Johnson, Gary Flenner, and Ernest Willoughby (representing SMAS). Other key planning committee members were Mike Callahan, Anne Courtemanche, Bob Courtemanche, Sue Hamilton, Peter Hanan, A1 Haury. Carol Jelich, and Dotty Mumford. 46 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 Peter Hanan planned and directed an extensive field trip program that resulted in a Con- ference total of 162 species seen. Dale Johnson and Gary Flenner organized an art exhibit displaying the work of 13 local artists. Sybil Williams coordinated a raffle and silent auction ($1,868). The total proceeds were donated in the name of MOS to help a joint project of SMAS, the Calvert County Parks and Recreation Department, and the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanc- tuary to support the Shrub Habitat Enhancement Project for neotropical migratory birds on the shoreline of the Patuxent River. Dave Brinker arranged presentations of research papers on Saturday afternoon. John Malcolm organized competition for the conference pin. This year’s pin design winner was Don Culbertson of the Baltimore chapter. The winning design was a wood duck — a bird seen by many while at the conference. Norm Saunders presented “Birder Assistant of the Year” awards to John Quade and Bobbie Ray Dean, owner and general manager respectively, of the Sea Breeze Restaurant in St. Mary’s County. Also receiving the Birder Assistant award were the husband and wife team of Jane Kostenko and Tyler Bell (St. Mary’s County). The awards were for valuable assistance to birders from far and wide who came to see the Kelp Gull in the months preceding the confer- ence. Valued Service awards went to Lou DeMouy (Conference), LeAnne Pembum (May Count), and Isa Sieracki (Scholarships). Finally, Norm presented the Distinguished Career Service Award to John Malcolm for his many contributions to MOS over more than 25 years. The society’s next conference will be held on the weekend of May 1 9-21 , 2000, in Washing- ton County. The conference site will be the Ramada Inn in Hagerstown. Lou DeMouy, Chair County List Compiler This year marks the thirteenth time the MOS has compiled state and locality list totals submitted by its members. This year, 86 observers submitted list totals, up 15 from last year ( !). Of these 86, nine were first-time submitters (up five from last year). Currently, 1 63 observ- ers are in the database, reflecting that not everyone submits updated list totals each year. Phil Davis Education Committee The Education Committee had five members this year. Baltimore, Cecil, Howard, Talbot, and Wicomico Chapters had representatives on the Committee and they awarded $1,200 in grants to: • Harford Chapter — Four copies of the MD Breeding Bird Atlas to local libraries • Jug Bay Chapter — Traveling exhibit board • Patuxent Chapter — Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Center items • Cecil Bird Club — Portable display board • Allegany County Chapter — Carey Run Sanctuary items June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 47 • Carroll County Chapter — Pine Valley Nature Center items Next year there will be two new members on the committee with one additional chapter, Allegany. This will give us coverage across the State. Maud Banks, Chair Gifts Committee The principal function of the Gifts Committee has been to develop recommendations to the MOS Board for uses of gifts or bequests of funds or other assets for which donors have not made specific designations as to how they are to be used. In 1998 MOS received a bequest of about $32,000 from the estate of Frances Covington in memory of Etta Mae Wedge. The bequest did not designate a specific use for the funds. The Gifts Committee approved a request by the Chairman of the Scholarship Committee that one-half of this bequest be added to the Scholarship Endowment Fund so as to support an annual award of an additional scholarship. The Committee further recommended that the re- maining one-half of the bequest be held in unassigned reserves pending additional review of needs by the Board. These allocations of the Covington bequest were accepted by the Board at the March 13, 1999 meeting. The Gifts Committee has also been studying preparation of an information sheet for those persons who may wish to consider a gift or bequest to MOS. This effort has not yet been completed. Richard Cleveland was appointed Gifts Committee Chair in May 1991 and has served in that position through the end of the 1998-99 membership year. The reorganization of the Com- mittee and the disposition of a number of sizable bequests were addressed over the past eight years. To ensure a broad spectrum of knowledge on the Committee, it has consisted during this period of a minimum of five members. These persons were the Treasurer of MOS, the Chair of the Long-Range Planning Committee, the Chair of the Budget Committee, a past president of MOS, and the Committee Chair (who formerly served as MOS Treasurer). Numerous helpful suggestions and comments on matters before the Committee have been generously furnished from many MOS members. However, special thanks are due to the fol- lowing for their participation on the Gifts Committee: Emily Joyce, John Malcolm, Jo Solem, Larry Fry, Jeff Metter, Paul Zucker, and Fran Saunders. Richard Cleveland, Chair Library Committee The work of the Library Committee over the 1998-99 membership year consisted of: 1. Writing book reviews for Maiyland Yellowthroat on Project Puffin , by S. W. Kress & P. Samuelson; The Bird Almanac, by David Bird; Baby Bird Portraits ofG. M. Sutton, by Paul Johnsgard; and The Mind of the Raven, by Bernd Heinrich. 48 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 2. Receiving and organizing the exchange journals using newly purchased magazine hold- ers. 3. Weeding the collection of duplicates of Audubon Magazine and organizing it chrono- logically with the help of a community service class of eight students from Roland Park Country School. 4. Beginning an investigation of what to do with the Audubon Magazine duplicates. 5. Checking on the collection of Life Histories of North American Birds and Handbook of Birds of the World held at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Central in Baltimore City. There are now over 400 Life Histories on hand and four volumes of the Handbook of Birds of the World, with Volume 5 on order The library staff of the Science, Business and Technology Department at EPFL continues to express their gratitude for these valuable references. They report that a number of users have said they heard of its availability through the Maryland Ornithological Society. Joy Wheeler, Chair Long-range Planning Committee Planning for the future is essential for any organization. Long-range or strategic planning provides a blueprint for future actions and growth. To be successful, however, such planning must be oriented towards fulfilling the goals or missions of the organization. This year, the Long-range Planning Committee prepared a series of mission statements for presentation to the Board of Directors. The ten statements characterize the “spirit” of MOS, its programs and activities. They outline how “MOS fosters interaction and exchange of information among people interested in wild birds to encourage the study and enjoyment of birds and the natural world.” The statement was approved by the Board of Directors on December 5, 1998, and is attached. The document will form the basis for our Committee’s planning discussions. Within the next year we will evaluate each statement, identifying MOS programs and activities that sup- port each individual mission. From there, we will identify shortcomings, where they exist, and propose items for future planning. These recommendations will, in turn, hopefully assist our officers and committee chair to ensure a vital MOS for many days to come. I want to thank all Committee members for their participation, especially Marcia Watson- Whitmyre. Fran Saunders , Chair June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 49 Maryland Ornithological Society Mission Statement The Maryland Ornithological Society (MOS) fosters interaction and exchange of information among people interested in wild birds to encourage the study and enjoyment of birds and the natural world. MOS does this by: 1. Publishing and distributing information about the society, its interests, ac- tivities, and projects; 2. Sponsoring field trips and other excursions to observe birds in their natural habitats; 3. Encouraging the study, recording, and observation of bird life in Maryland; 4. Providing educational opportunities in bird and nature study, and supporting research on the birds and bird habitats of Maryland; 5. Encouraging the protection and conservation of bird life and natural resources that support bird life; 6. Acquiring real and personal property to promote sanctuaries for birdlife in the various Maryland habitats, and to maintain such properties for the benefit of birds and other wildlife; 7. Encouraging the formation of local chapters to carry out some or all of the above activities in their local areas; 8. Effectively conducting the business of the society; 9. Ensuring adequate funds and resources to meet the needs and responsibilities of the society; and 10. Working in cooperation with other organizations, as appropriate, to carry out some or all of the above activities. Prepared by the Long-range Planning Committee Approved by the MOS Board of Directors, December 5, 1998 50 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 MD/DC Records Committee Achievements : 1. Bringing on-line the MD/DCRC portion of the MOS website: Thanks to Fran and Phil for their expertise and hard work in getting us started with a very valuable resource. 2. Adoption of a species list for DC: Thanks to the efforts of Ottavio Janni, Dave Czaplak, Marshall Iliff, Phil, and, of course, the invaluable start provided by the Swift Committee, this has now been accomplished. Several problem species remain under review, or otherwise in the works, but we now have a good baseline list for the District. 3. Publication in Maryland Birdlife (54 [#1], 3-26, March 1998) of the “Second Report of the Maryland/DC Records Committee,” thanks to the knowledge and persistence of Mark Hoffman and Phil Davis, This report covered 102 final decisions and brought coverage of decisions up to March 1998. A total of 405 final decisions (of 481 made — see below) have now been detailed and summarized by the combined reports by Bruce Peterjohn and Phil Davis ( Maryland Birdlife (52 [#1 ]: 3-43, March 1996) and the recent one by Mark and Phil. 4. Creation of an “Outreach Committee” under the leadership of Mary Ann Todd, and now Paul O’Brien. This group is preparing a program that can be presented to MOS Chapters to help explain the mission of MD/DCRC; how it goes about trying to fulfill that mission; how we depend on MOS members to bring to us their interesting sightings; perhaps to give con- structive suggestions about making reports; and to have a question-and-answer period in which people can frankly verbalize problems and shortcomings they perceive about MD/DCRC and what can be done about them. An announcement should be ready by the time of the Annual Meeting to bring the availability of this program to the attention of the chapters as they begin to work on their program schedules for next year. Where we stand; As of February 1999, MDDC/RC had arrived at a total of 481 decisions during the 17 years since its inception in 1982. Overall, the acceptance rate has been 74.2%. During the past year, 83 decisions were made, with an acceptance rate of more than 90%. During that year, the backlog of reports somehow “in the works” was reduced from 204 to 143. Since there are inevitably always some reports being processed, this represents a significant catching-up to something close to a tolerable steady-state. The MD/DCRC files now also contain information on another 237 potentially reviewable sightings (mostly older “one-liners” from Maryland Birdlife, American Birds, or elsewhere) for which, in spite of efforts to track down further documentation, for the moment the commit- tee considers that insufficient material is available to justify review. These reports, of course, like the remainder of the material in the MD/DCRC files, are available to anyone who cares to make use of them. Of course, we hope that MD/DCRC is seen by the members of MOS as doing its best to carry out a function that is valuable both to them and to MOS. Certainly, we are always open to suggestions as to how we can improve our procedures so as to better carry out this mission. S. Harvey Mudd, Chair June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 51 Publicity Committee The Publicity Committee has worked to actively publicize MOS projects and events dur- ing the past year. MOS Press Release (PR) 98-05 was released on August 6, 1998, announcing the creation of a Birdwatchers Library at Black Hill Regional Park in Montgomery County. We helped the Scholarship Committee with publicity and announced the 1999 scholarship recipi- ents. The Committee played an active role with the 1999 Annual Conference Committee. We developed a publicity plan and sent a letter to the businesses of Solomons informing them that MOS was coming to Solomons. The letter also solicited donations for the Silent Auction. The Conference PR was sent out on May 7 to the Southern Maryland Press. I worked with the Baltimore Bird Club and produced a PR for their participation and co-sponsorship of ‘The Big Help” in Baltimore City. The Records Committee was mentioned in a Washington Post article. Developed a schedule and plan of action for activities of the Publicity Committee during the next year. Committee Chairman Mike Callahan was on Karen Morley’s Souvenir Committee. Mike Callahan, Chair Research Committee During the 1998/99 fiscal year two research grants were awarded, G. Michael Haramis and Gregory D. Kearns received $2,000.00 for the proposal “Length of Stay, Survival, and Habitat Use of Fall Migrant Sora ( Porzana Carolina ) on the Patuxent River Marsh as Deter- mined by Radio Telemetry.” This is continuation of research that was initiated several years ago. The MOS research grant is combined with grants from several other sources to fund the Jug Bay Sora research, illustrating the frequent role that MOS research grants play in collabo- rative research efforts. The second grant was awarded to Kerry J. Fitzpatrick for the proposal “The effects of grassland management on the selection of foraging by birds of prey” which received a grant of $1,410.00. No additional proposals were received. At the close of fiscal year 1998/99 the MOS research grant fund contained $1,030.19. The income during fiscal year 1998/99 from interest on the research endowment amounted to $3,046.19. The balance in the MOS Research Grant Fund at the beginning of the 1997/98 fiscal year was $4,076.38. The Research Committee organized the 1 1th annual afternoon paper session for the 1999 conference. Since its inception in 1989, a wide variety of topics have been covered in the 46 paper presentations. The annual conference is the singular opportunity for people interested in birds in Maryland to share their knowledge with others from across the Free State. All MOS members, professionals and amateurs alike, are encouraged to participate in projects that in- crease the knowledge of Maryland bird life, to present their findings at the annual conference, and to publish in Maryland Birdlife. Attendance at the Saturday afternoon paper session was approximately 20 people. The success of the 1998 World Series of Birding (WSB) team, the Maryland Yellowthroats, has opened a window of opportunity for the research committee. Part of the profit from the WSB team ($500) was allocated to the research committee to establish a fund to help bird banders replace worn-out mist nets. The research committee is in the process of establishing guidelines for distribution of these funds. Several banders have already contacted the research committee seeking mist net funds and it is hoped that as long as MOS sponsors a WSB team, some of the proceeds can be annually added to the mist net fund to help banders replace nets. David F. Brinker, Chair 52 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 Sanctuary Committee Three workdays were conducted during the past year, two at Irish Grove and one at Carey Run. Attendance was low at the two Irish Grove workdays but we still managed to get a good bit of work done. The workday at Carey Run had a good turnout and a good start was made towards eliminating the Autumn Olive hedgerows. Autumn Olive is no longer considered a “good” thing for wildlife management. It will take us several years to get all of the hedgerows eliminated. They will eventually be replaced by hedgerows of native vegetation. Irish Grove is doing well with Dick Roberts, the local manager. Dick has been doing some trail maintenance, bird banding during migration, and generally keeping an eye on the place. The workdays have been working primarily on patching and painting the outbuildings. Our big concern here is the continual intrusion of the marsh into the roads that lead to Round Pond and the Canal Trail. The entry road to Carey Run had to be raised because the county put a new layer of pavement on the public road. The cost of this work was shared by the three other land-owners who use this road. There is a serious erosion problem with runoff from the big field into the roadway that will need to be corrected. Recommendations have been made to correct the prob- lem. The culvert on the entry road has become inadequate and needs to be replaced. The Board approved having Partners In Flight evaluate our sanctuaries for habitat man- agement. These evaluations will be done during the coming year. The Board of Directors also approved having inspections made at the houses at Irish Grove and Carey Run. These inspections are being done by Mike Knott, in a professional capacity. The text for the revision of the Sanctuary Guide is in a final draft form. Maps showing trails, etc. for Irish Grove and Carey Run need to be made. It has been a fairly busy year at the sanctuaries. I thank all of the volunteers who help to keep our sanctuaries usable and beautiful. Dorothy M. Mumford, Chair Scholarship Committee This year there were 20 applicants for Audubon workshops and 10 scholarships were awarded. Their total value was $6,970. Winner of the Chandler S. Robbins Scholarship was Dr. Charles Hager from Allegany County. He will attend the Maine Ornithology Workshop. Dr. Hager is a dentist who is also a volunteer camp director at a nature camp for young people held each summer at Carey Run Sanctuary. The Eleanor C. Robbins Scholarship was awarded to Mary Procell, a biologist and environmental science teacher at Bel Air High School in Harford County. Mary will attend the Wyoming Ecology Camp. Barbara Holloman was the recipient of the Orville Crowder Schol- arship. Barbara is an active community volunteer from Montgomery County and she plans to attend the Maine Ornithology Camp. June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 53 Funds from the 1998 World Series of Birding Team provided a scholarship to the Maine Ornithology Camp for Susanna Engvall, a Chespax instructor for the gifted and talented after- school and summer enrichment programs in Calvert County. Helen Miller Scholarships to the Connecticut Ecology Camp were awarded to James Kurtz, a seventh-grade life sciences teacher at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School in Charles County; to Nicole Veltre, a science teacher at Canton Middle School in Baltimore City; to Robert Hicks, a park ranger at Kinder Farm Park in Anne Arundel County; to Mark Spurrier, an educational programmer with the Department of Natural Resources at Soldier’s Delight in Baltimore County; and to Monika Botswai, a grade school teacher who incorporates numerous birding activities into the curriculum at the German School of Washington, DC, which is located in Potomac, MD. Monika is a member of the Howard Bird Club. The World Nature Association, which awarded the Orville Crowder Scholarship in the past, has merged with the Audubon Naturalist Society and transferred its funds to ANS. Fortu- nately, at least for now, ANS has chosen to continue awarding the Orville Crowder Scholarship. $ 1 5,000 from the Covington Bequest have been assigned by the Board of Directors to fund an additional scholarship in the coming years; the new scholarship will be known as the Covington- Wedge Scholarship. A special thanks goes out to the Kent Chapter for continuing to fund the Gibson-Mendinhall Scholarship. The Committee made an extra effort this year to refine some of the ranking procedures and will continue to work on that process during this next year. Individual chapters are encour- aged to appoint a scholarship representative to assist in recruiting good candidates from around the State and assisting them with the application process. The State Committee members are Michael Callahan, Charlotte Folk, Elayne Metter, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Taylor, and Marcia Watson-Whitmyre. They are to be commended for all of the time and effort that they expended in the ranking of applicants, a difficult procedure.' The Scholarship Program is one major area where MOS has the potential to expand its influence to others. A scholarship to an Audubon camp is truly a “gift that keeps on giving,” because each person who is selected to attend is in a position to pass on information gained. The Scholarship Committee would like to encourage MOS members and chapters to establish trusts or to give gifts to the Scholarship fund. This quote aptly sums up the goals and purposes of the MOS scholarship program: “In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; we will understand only what we are taught.” (Baba Dioum) Jean Fry, Chair 54 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 OBSERVATION OF A WEASEL AT A MOURNING DOVE NEST IN HOWARD COUNTY, MARYLAND Tim Ray On the morning of May 25, 1999, 1 observed a weasel near the nest of a'Mouming Dove {Zenaida macroura) in a multiflora rose ( Rosa multiflora) at Centennial Park, Howard County, Maryland. The day was sunny and breezy with temperatures 65° to 75°F. In a dense multiflora rose about 1 5 feet south of the main path, I located a Mourning Dove on a nest five feet above the ground. The shrub was about 100 feet from the south shore of the lake and perhaps 200 feet from Centennial Lane. Yellow Warblers ( Dendroica petechia ) were making frequent trips to the same shrub, but I could not see that nest (I later located it). I continued east along the path and after about 20 minutes doubled back. By that time it was about 9 a.m. Once more I checked the rose with the Mourning Dove nest. The male Yellow Warbler flew into the rose, so I went over for a closer look. As I did so, I noticed the Mourning Dove nest was unoccupied. Surpris- ingly, the Yellow Warbler flew within six feet of me and perched. At that point I noticed a weasel moving on the ground beneath the rose. It climbed easily to the nest, looked in, then moved back to the ground where it stood within five feet of me. Once, when I moved slightly, it backed off a foot so I knew it was aware of me, but it showed no fear. When the weasel returned to the ground, I noticed a dead Mourning Dove lying there. With its mouth the weasel grabbed the dead bird by the neck (the head hung limply) and began carrying it away. At times it hopped to make progress. The bird was a significant burden for the approximately 10-inch weasel. Eventually, I lost sight of the mammal and its prey in the vegetation. On the basis of comparative sizes of the mammal and its prey, I would judge it to be a male Long-tailed Weasel (. Mustela frenata). Paradiso (1969) notes that “Male Long-tailed Weasels are strikingly larger than females.” Males are listed as 9-101/2 inches (Burt and Grossenheider 1964). Paradiso also describes this species as the most common of the possible Maryland weasels. It was dark gray above, white underneath; and the outer half of the long furred tail was black. There was no eye ring, nor were there other obvious stripes or bands. Meanwhile, the Yellow Warbler remained perched six feet from me during the above proceedings. It was singing again within one minute of the departure of the weasel. After the weasel left, I reached into the Mourning Dove nest, but felt no eggs, eggshell fragments, or nestlings. A few light gray feathers remained in a pile beneath the rose. When I returned to the spot in the afternoon, the Yellow Warblers were still feeding their young and a Mourning Dove a few feet from the nest was calling. It had not called at all while I was in the vicinity in the morning. Burt and Grossenheider (1964) describe Long- tailed Weasels as “chiefly nocturnal, but also active by day.” Paradiso (1969) notes that the species “is highly adaptable and willing to live in close proximity to man as long as suitable prey is available.” He states that young are born from mid-April to mid-May, so this weasel may well have been taking prey to a family in its den. June 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 55 Acknowledgments My thanks to Joanne K. Solem for helping put my journal entry into a form for publication. Literature Cited Burt, W.H. and R.P. Grossenheider. 1964. Afield guide to the Mammals. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. Paradiso, J.L. 1969. “Mammals of Maryland," North American Fauna 62. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. 522 i Windmill Lane. Columbia. MD 21044 56 MARYLAND BlRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 2 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Published Quarterly by the Maryland Ornithological Society, Inc. to Record and Encourage the Study of Birds in Maryland. Editor: Chandler S. Robbins, 7900 Brooklyn Bridge Rd., Laurel, MD 20707 Phone: 301-725-1176; fax: 301-497-5624; e-mail: Chan_Robbins@usgs.gov Assoc. Editor: Janet Millenson, 10500 Falls Rd., Potomac, MD 20854 Asst. Editor: Robert F. Ringler, 6272 Pinyon Pine Ct„ Eldersburg, MD 21784 Mailing: Howard County Chapter Headings: Schneider Design Associates, Baltimore CONTENTS, JUNE 1999 First Specimen Record of White- winged Dove (, Zenaida asiatica ) for Washington, DC Claudia Angle & Carla Dove ... 23 The Season: Spring Migration, March 1-May 31, 1998 .. Daniel R. Southworth 25 Annual Reports of Chapters Chapter Presidents 33 Annual Reports of Committees Committee Chairs 44 Observation of a Weasel at a Mourning Dove Nest in Howard County, MD Tim Ray 54 38 - 8 11 ISSN 0147-9725 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Bulletin of the Maryland Ornithological Society, Inc. SEPTEMBER 1999 VOLUME 55 NUMBER 3 MARYLAND ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. Cylburn Mansion, 4915 Greenspring Ave., Baltimore, MD 21209 STATE OFFICERS FOR JUNE 1999 TO JUNE 2000 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL President: Norm Saunders, 1261 Cavendish Dr., Colesville, MD 20905 (301-989-9035) Vice Pres.: Karen Morley, 2719 N. Calvert St„ Baltimore, MD 21218 (410-235-4001) Treasurer: Jeff Metter, 4626 Live Oak Ct., Ellicott City, MD 21043 (410-480-9169) Sec’y: Kathleen Neugebauer, 18217 Fox Chase Cir., Olney, MD 20832 (301-570-8969) Executive Sec’y: Larry Fry, 1202 Ridge Rd., Pylesville, MD 21132 (410-452-8539) Past Pres.: Robert Rineer, 8326 Philadelphia Rd., Baltimore, MD 21237 (410-391-8499) STATE DIRECTORS Allegany: * Gladys Faherty Howard: * Mike Kerwin Teresa Simons Elayne Metter Mary-Jo Betts Darius Ecker Anne Arundel:* Larry Zoller Patricia Dardinsky Allan Haury Jug Bay: * Dale Johnson Gary Flenner Baltimore: * Terrence Ross Gail Frantz Kent: * Gail Regester Leanne Pembum Elizabeth Taylor Patricia Wilson Peter A. Webb Montgomery: * Linda Friedland Sam Freiberg Rick Sussman Caroline: * Danny Poet Janet Millenson Lydia Schindler Carroll: * Amy Hoffman Patuxent: * Tom Loomis Roxanne Yeager Chandler Robbins Cecil: * Leslie Fisher Talbot: * Wayne Bell Ken Drier Frank Lawlor Scott Powers Bill Novak Frederick: * Wilbur Hershberger Tri-County: * Samuel Dyke Bob Johnson Washington: * David Weesner Harford: * Debbie Delevan Thomas Congersky John Nack Ann Mitchell Joseph Vangrin * Chapter President Active Membership: S 10.00 plus chapter dues Life: $400.00 (4 annual installments) Household: $15.00 plus chapter dues Junior: (under 18) $5.00 plus chapter dues Sustaining: $25.00 plus chapter dues Cover: Nest of Brown Pelican on Spring Island. Photo by Harry Armistead, June 21, 1998. MARYLAND BIRDLIFE VOLUME 55 SEPTEMBER 1999 LhiiIIIII NUMBER 3 MAY COUNT 1998 Leanne J. Pemberton, Wanda Diane Cole, and Mark Eanes Saturday, May 9, 1998 was Maryland’s 51st annual May Count, the 7th annual North American Migration Count, and one event in the celebration of the 6th annual International Migratory Bird Day held across the North and South American continents each year. This day found birders out in less than stellar weather, with cool temperatures, rain and drizzle in most locations. Although fewer individual birds were seen than usual, the count day ended with a total of 249 species observed. No results were reported for the District of Columbia. The Cecil County report was incomplete and the results shown in the following table were reconstructed from the records of one party. For those who participated in the Cecil County May Count that day, but whose records had not been provided, we apologize that we were unable to locate you in order to include your time and efforts into this report. You will note that a few of our counties, such as Worcester and Somerset, are perennially under-covered. This is unfortunate as these counties have some beautiful habitats unique to Maryland. Think of the many interesting and uncommon species that are being missed there! We encourage observers whose counties currently have ample coverage to consider making their next May Count one of adventure; volunteer to spend May Count participating in one of these counties. It can be difficult to determine valid, long-term trends in the data over the years, particu- larly when the number of observers varies widely among and within counties. Other factors that affect what, how many, and where species are seen include: changes in land use that cause loss or gain in habitat types; whether or not participants follow the same route each year; regional and local weather systems and whether the birds are taking advantage of them to speed their movements; the time of day that participants canvass their areas; and the number of hours of effort. The following examples show changes in the totals of certain species over five-year inter- vals. These changes could be due to a trend in that species’ population, changes in habitat, or simply a result of birders being in the right places at the right times. May Count results might reveal a clearer picture of what is happening to species totals if habitat and land use patterns could be assessed with the count data. The totals below are for 1988, 1993, and 1998. Red-throated Loon Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron 0,1,3 634, 1265, 1347 541, 1011, 1087 60 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 Great Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Wood Duck Black Vulture American Black Duck Bald Eagle American Kestrel Northern Bobwhite Killdeer American Woodcock Black Skimmer Least Tern Yellow-billed Cuckoo Bam Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Great Homed Owl Eastern Screech Owl 68, 109, 50 198, 169, 114 75, 30, 9 389, 486,519 173, 309,352 ■102, 98, 201 45,93, 171 93, 102, 201 314,411,91 300, 651,567 32, 73, 29 33, 302, 0 — a miss! 183, 104,81 366, 258, 112 3, 6, 22 1,1,0 — a miss! 68, 110, 30 33, 89, 22 The following table of results by county utilizes a modified format that we hope will make the report easier to read and follow. Below is a legend with the abbreviations assigned to each county. These abbreviations are similar in format to those used by state agencies in Maryland. This is Leanne Pemberton’s last count as state compiler. It is her handiwork that com- piled the table and list of participants. She leaves this departing message: “Many, many thanks to all the county compilers, who did most of the work, and were very patient with me, as time and electronic mishaps required sending the data repeatedly. I haven’t been able to give this important job nearly the attention it deserves, and hope my successors will do better.” As her successor, I can verify that electronic mishaps continue as software and hardware upgrades sent this report back to square one several times. Mark Eanes, an Information Technician (yes, he really is IT), and I, Wanda Cole, made the final edits and format changes. Finally, it is here! To all Maryland Birdlife readers, we thank you for your patience in waiting for this report. P. O. Box 161, Cordova, MD 21625 AA Anne Arundel HA Harford AL Allegany HO Howard BA Baltimore City/County combined KE Kent CV Calvert MO Montgomery CE Cecil PG Prince George’s CH Charles QA Queen Anne’s CR Carroll SM St. Mary’s CN Caroline SO Somerset DC Washington, D.C. TA Talbot DO Dorchester WA Washington FR Frederick WI Wicomico GA Garrett WO Worcester September 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 61 Participants in May Count 1998 A bird count is successful only when a substantial number of dedicated volunteers turn out and share their expertise and enthusiasm to search the hills and vales, roadsides and inter- changes, looking and listening for every feathered being that dares to make itself known. This year we were blessed with the generous support of 459 volunteers who collectively contrib- uted 1 ,639 party-hours and traveled 6,216 miles to find 166,992 individual birds. That’s some effort! Many thanks go to the following observers. If your name does not appear in this list, please accept our apologies. The oversight is not intentional, but logistical, as we changed statewide coordinators between the count day and the writing of the report. Mark Angle, Henry Armistead, George Armistead, Stan Arnold, Jean Artes, Linda Baker, Tim & Mary Baldwin, Bob Balestri, Marcia Balestri, Maud Banks, Marty Barron, Polly Batchelder, Ken Bauer, Tom Beal, Genevieve Beck, Denise Bee, Wayne Bell, Tyler Bell, Debby Bennett, Mary Jo Betts, Mary Ann Beverly, Bonnie Bick, Katleen Bielicki, Anne Bishop, Peter Blank, Rick Blom, Bill & Karan Blum, Dennis Boles, Dan Boone, Jon Boone, Raymond Bourgeois, Michael Bowen, Dessie Bowman, Sharon Bowman, Bob Boxwell, Jim Boxwell, Frank Boyle, Vera Brechbiel, Gwen Brewer, Carol & Donald Broderick, Doris Brody, Anne Brooks, Andy Brown, Roy Brown, Carl O. Brudin, III, Judy Burdette, Don Burggraf, Gwen Burkhardt, Brent & Mary Byers, Lori Byrne, Joe Byms, Mike Callahan, Simon Calle, Kathy Calvert, Mary Jo Campbell, Libby Campbell, Steve Cardano, Linda Cashman, Chesapeake Audubon Society Team, Marty Chestem, Joe Chronowski, John Churchill, Dan Cockerham, Lisa Colangelo, Wanda Cole, Dan Collins, Tom Congersky, Don Conley, Andy Cooper, Den- nis & Jane Coskren, Patty Craig, Lisa Crawford, Marty Cribb, Ruth Culbertson, Ralph Cullison, Bridgit Cupp, Jon Cupp, Sr., Sandy Dany, Robert Davis, John Dawson, Deanna Dawson, Preston Day, Curtis Dew, Tina Dew, Allen Deward, Sherri Dietrich, Robert Dixon, Carolina & Kevin Dodge, Bob Donaldson, Erin Donecky, Elizabeth Dooling, Barbara Dowell, Malcolm Doying, Robert Doyle, JoAnn Dreyer, Sam Dyke, Mark Eanes, Les Eastman, Ward Ebert, Darius & Paula Ecker, Graham Egerton, Gil Ellis, Courtney Englar, Ethel Engle, Zack Essner, Rob Etgen, John H. Fales, Frederick & Jane Fallon, Chuck Finley, Leslie Fisher, Gary Flenner, Charlotte Folk, Steve Ford, D. Ford, Colton, Conor, Liz & Jon Forrester, Doug Forsell. Sam Freiberg, Gary French, Eileen Frey, Linda Friedland, Tom Fry, Jean & Larry Fry, Cora Fulton, Jeff Futrell, George Gaffney, Carol Garza, Shirley Geddes, Ralph & Jane Geuder, Carol Ghebelian, Betty Goldman, Luther Goldman, Greg Gough, Edwin Gould, Kevin Graff, LeJay Graffius, Jim Green, Phyllis Grimm, Walter Grimm, Linda Groff, Dot Gustafson, Scott Guzewich, Matt Hafner, Chuck Hager, Joseph Halpin, Sue Hamilton, Peter Hanan, Fred Handte, Thomas Harten, Dave & Maureen Harvey, Jeff Hatfield, A1 Haury, Kevin Heffeman, Jane Heim, Rebecca Herb, Jim Highsaw, Rob Hilton, Steve Hitchner, Ann S. Hobbs, Frances & Harold Hoecker, John Hoffman, Don Hollway, Dave Holyoke, Dick Homan, David , Hooper, Barbara Hopkins, Helen Horrocks, Tom Horton, John Horton, Clark Howells, Kim Hudyma, Sheila Hughes, Carl Hull, Jeanette Hull, Mary Humphreys, Miriam L. Hursey, Bob Jackson, Jan Janssen, Kye Jenkins, George Jett, Don Jewell, Diane Johns, Dale Johnson, Mark S. Johnson, Donald C. Jones, Vincent C. Jones, Leon Jordan, Peg Kaiser, Sukon Kanchanaraksa, Lois Kauffman, Nancy Kauffman, Greg Kearns, Mary Keedy, Robert Keedy, Ann Kefamner, Linda Keller, Julie Kelly, Lynn Kenny, Peter Kenny, Alys Kerns, Michael Kerwin, Ray Kiddy, Jay Kilian, Phylis Kind, Don & Ruth Kinney, Sadie Kinsinger, Andy Kinziger, Elliot & Nancy Kirschbaum, Hillar Klandrof, Richard Kleen, Bryan Knedler, Bunny Knipp, Jane Kostenko, Russell Kovach, Roger Krebs, Dave & Julie Kubitsky, Robyn Landry, Ray Lane, Dorothy Lauber, Jackee Launder, Ellen Lawler, Willie Lent, Dolly Leonig, Henry Leskinen, Mike (continued on page 72) 62 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 May Count 1998 Species: GA AL WA FR CR BA HA CE HO MO DC Red-throated Loon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Common Loon 22 12 0 2 9 36 26 0 13 26 - Pied-billed Grebe 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Homed Grebe 1 0 0 0 ‘ 0 4 0 0 0 0 - Brown Pelican 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Double-crested Cormorant 28 3 4 7 0 257 61 3 16 103 American Bittern 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Least Bittern 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - Great Blue Heron 1 1 6 8 1 110 110 3 63 29 - Great Egret 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 - Snowy Egret 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Little Blue Heron 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 - Tricolored Heron 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Cattle Egret 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 - Green Heron 6 4 9 4 1 0 4 0 18 12 - Black-crowned Night-Heron 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 . Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 2 - Glossy Ibis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Tundra Swan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Mute Swan 0 0 0 5 0 6 0 0 1 0 - Snow Goose 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . Canada Goose 159 96 221 593 17 241 282 24 544 386 - Wood Duck 37 32 18 24 1 15 31 6 44 22 - Green-winged Teal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 - American Black Duck 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 144 0 - Mallard 165 64 250 102 2 281 36 14 0 97 . Northern Pintail 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Blue-winged Teal 0 0 0 3 0 5 0 5 0 0 - Northern Shoveler 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - Gadwall 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 - American Wigeon 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 - Canvasback 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Ring-necked Duck 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - Greater Scaup 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Lesser Scaup 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 - Scaup sp. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - White-winged Scoter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Common Goldeneye 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Bufflehead 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - Hooded Merganser 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Common Merganser 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Red-breasted Merganser 1 5 1 0 0 5 0 0 0 3 - Ruddy Duck 12 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 14 - Black Vulture 0 7 10 28 2 36 14 1 53 15 - Turkey Vulture 44 64 89 92 25 54 41 12 189 79 - Osprey 4 8 11 3 0 32 13 1 9 6 - Bald Eagle 0 0 0 0 0 3 34 2 2 1 - Northern Harrier 0 1 1 2 0 3 1 1 0 0 - Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 11 5 2 1 3 0 0 3 2 - Cooper's Hawk 1 2 0 2 0 4 0 0 1 2 - September 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 63 May Count 1998 PG AA CV CH SM KE QA 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 15 1 7 19 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 89 143 10 119 252 65 93 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 112 63 12 139 80 80 70 2 0 1 5 9 0 3 1 6 1 0 4 5 9 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9 0 145 10 7 8 8 6 3 7 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 5 12 9 0 10 66 41 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 453 221 58 321 140 71 60 93 35 31 41 19 15 33 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 2 17 191 237 103 104 98 170 112 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .0 0 0 1 0 0 2 9 0 1 0 8 0 21 19 155 0 26 11 35 40 29 3 3 115 68 39 49 73 112 123 60 110 34 72 114 57 53 12 4 5 26 12 10 8 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 3 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 CN TA DO Wl so wo MD Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 1 2 0 7 207 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 4 0 0 0 12 44 4 30 7 0 9 1347 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 37 107 40 10 1 4 1087 0 7 12 i 0 6 50 1 1 30 i 0 3 62 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 1 0 1 0 0 165 3 1 1 1 0 1 114 0 0 1 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 7 0 0 26 37 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 97 3 0 0 0 257 0 0 0 0 0 6 12 31 25 450 130 6 146 4675 0 6 12 1 0 3 519 0 0 16 0 0 1 27 0 1 14 6 0 2 201 0 31 65 29 0 48 2199 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 12 0 0 4 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 10 0 2 0 0 0 0 30 4 1 0 9 0 5 255 18 8 8 3 0 2 352 181 60 55 118 17 37 1736 31 64 40 31 0 2 755 7 3 40 1 0 1 171 4 1 3 1 0 0 24 1 0 0 0 0 0 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 64 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 Species: GA AL May WA Red-shouldered Hawk 4 10 0 Broad -winged Hawk 8 17 2 Red-tailed Hawk 6 23 14 Buteo sp. 0 0 0 American Kestrel 2 6 5 Merlin 0 1 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Falco sp. 0 0 0 Ring-necked Pheasant 0 0 0 Ruffed Grouse 21 5 1 Wild Turkey 32 11 16 Northern Bobwhite 0 0 0 Clapper Rail 0 0 0 King Rail 0 0 0 Virginia Rail 0 2 0 Sora 0 1 0 Common Moorhen 0 0 0 American Coot 22 1 3 Black-bellied Plover 0 0 0 Semi pal mated Plover 0 0 0 Killdeer 50 49 30 American Oystercatcher 0 0 0 Black-necked Stilt 0 0 0 Greater Yellowlegs 0 4 0 Lesser Yellowlegs 0 7 0 Solitary Sandpiper 5 5 13 Willet 0 0 0 Spotted Sandpiper 31 21 31 Marbled Godwit 0 0 0 Ruddy Turnstone 0 0 0 Sanderling 0 0 0 Semipalmated Sandpiper 0 0 0 Least Sandpiper 5 5 1 White-romped Sandpiper 0 0 0 Peep sp. 0 0 0 Pectoral Sandpiper 0 0 2 Dunlin 0 0 0 Short-billed Dowitcher 0 0 0 Common Snipe 0 0 0 American Woodcock 7 3 0 Laughing Gull 0 0 0 Bonaparte's Gull 0 0 0 Ring-billed Gull 79 24 4 Herring Gull 0 0 0 Great Black-backed Gull 0 0 0 Gull sp. 0 0 0 Caspian Tern 0 0 0 Royal Tern 0 0 0 Common Tern 0 0 0 Forster's Tern 1 0 0 1998 CR BA HA CE HO MO DC 2 13 1 0 30 12 . 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 4 20 12 1 21 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 5 3 3 0 11 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 1 1 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 2 - 0 6 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 3 0 2 2 . 0 6 13 2 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 3 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 0 1 1 0 0 6 - 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 0 104 0 0 0 0 - 7 49 28 11 35 10 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 7 5 0 2 7 - 0 491 4 0 5 0 - 0 10 8 1 47 20 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 33 8 0 33 55 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 38 2 0 8 8 - 0 756 8 0 0 3 - 0 3 0 0 0 0 - 0 289 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 _ 0 130 0 0 0 0 - 0 30 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 0 0 2 0 - 0 0 11 0 0 0 - 0 6 2 0 0 0 _ 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 0 138 12 2 10 3 - 0 314 1 1 1 0 - 0 93 2 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 362 6 0 1 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 5 0 0 0 - Count FR 4 1 19 0 20 1 0 0 4 0 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 35 0 0 6 11 21 0 32 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 September 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 65 May Count 1998 PG AA cv CH SM KE QA CN TA DO Wl so wo MD Total 21 9 9 11 7 0 0 4 0 2 2 0 3 144 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 9 7 6 9 10 3 1 9 7 6 5 0 3 197 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 13 4 0 2 1 2 1 4 0 0 2 0 0 85 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 1 0 5 0 1 1 0 28 2 4 6 0 10 130 6 8 1 6 5 2 8 13 4 6 6 0 2 91 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 14 1 0 0 23 0 0 0 2 7 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 18 1 0 2 3 0 1 0 0 6 38 0 0 0 53 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 12 0 0 0 14 4 0 1 2 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 53 1 3 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 12 5 0 0 0 51 4 0 3 18 140 12 0 0 337 26 18 10 29 28 24 20 27 22 30 19 6 4 567 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 8 18 0 2 5 24 7 4 24 10 25 6 0 8 164 4 3 0 0 2 11 3 3 15 2 10 0 1 572 18 30 0 5 7 1 7 0 3 1 4 0 0 206 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 30 2 0 17 52 22 18 5 18 12 1 6 18 3 6 0 0 3 357 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 16 26 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 15 4 2 0 0 12 96 8 3 0 15 6 71 10 0 0 95 17 0 7 1010 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 303 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 60 0 0 8 201 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 4 47 2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 29 331 161 91 14 1058 85 746 1405 1551 600 2603 200 213 9066 0 6 0 5 2 65 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 80 120 85 84 45 325 693 163 44 13 60 50 0 110 2064 60 39 18 15 232 2 28 0 12 75 22 0 139 966 0 18 1 12 166 32 4 1 3 15 0 0 3 350 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 12 0 2 2 12 5 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 396 0 0 9 55 232 0 0 0 2 6 0 0 7 311 17 0 2 1 7 42 3 0 5 2 0 0 0 79 6 39 0 1 69 15 6 9 7 70 1 0 7 236 66 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 Species: GA AL Sfema sp. 0 0 Least Tern 0 0 Black Tern 0 0 Rock Dove 79 135 Mourning Dove 179 131 Black-billed Cuckoo 4 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo 4 15 Bam Owl 0 0 Eastern Screech-Owl 0 0 Great Homed Owl 3 3 Barred Owl 2 2 Common Nighthawk 0 3 Chuck-will's-widow 0 0 Whip-poor-will 0 2 Chimney Swift 46 136 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 27 21 Belted Kingfisher 12 1 Red-headed Woodpecker 3 0 Red-bellied Woodpecker 20 34 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 0 Downy Woodpecker 71 35 Hairy Woodpecker 31 8 Northern Flicker 37 35 Pileated Woodpecker 17 20 Olive-sided Flycatcher 0 0 Eastern Wood-Pewee 0 3 Acadian Flycatcher 0 2 Willow Flycatcher 0 0 Least Flycatcher 21 3 Empidonax sp. 0 0 Eastern Phoebe 47 41 Great Crested Flycatcher 8 35 Eastern Kingbird 12 24 Horned Lark 0 4 Purple Martin 20 4 Tree Swallow 196 62 No. Rough-winged Swallow 6 16 Bank Swallow 1 8 Cliff Swallow 72 36 Bam Swallow 347 178 Blue Jay 268 458 American Crow 316 175 Fish Crow 0 3 Crow sp. 0 0 Common Raven 4 12 Black-capped Chickadee 172 45 Carolina Chickadee 0 0 Tufted Titmouse 111 101 Red-breasted Nuthatch 11 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 70 25 1998 CR BA HA CE HO MO DC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 12 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 15 130 55 3 327 36 - 63 202 469 5 333 121 - 2 0 0 0 0 3 . 0 1 3 1 2 13 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 0 2 3 0 0 0 - 0 2 0 0 3 9 . 0 0 2 0 3 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 17 0 0 0 - 36 150 85 0 655 411 ■ 2 8 5 1 13 13 0 7 7 0 27 16 - 3 0 1 0 0 1 - 10 68 72 2 176 97 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 5 22 10 2 66 41 . 0 5 2 0 25 12 - 7 37 23 1 68 47 - 1 4 3 0 23 21 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 5 3 0 10 10 . 0 16 4 0 30 38 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 0 0 0 3 - 9 20 17 0 61 39 . 7 16 14 1 26 81 - 13 73 83 5 127 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 11 7 0 21 32 - 8 150 143 150 247 602 10 96 110 2 91 256 - 0 89 35 2 1 8 - 0 82 0 0 82 9 - 124 680 190 50 520 283 - 77 110 127 1 333 128 78 325 178 30 497 353 - 4 9 17 0 22 8 - 0 46 32 0 451 34 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 21 125 103 8 313 182 - 42 91 84 1 338 175 - 0 1 0 0 4 1 - 5 14 4 0 69 20 - May Count WA FR 0 0 0 0 0 1 244 215 208 298 3 0 13 4 1 0 3 7 1 1 5 3 3 0 0 0 4 1 204 206 16 ■ 4 12 12 2 4 69 62 0 0 36 37 6 6 40 37 17 15 1 0 11 11 1 39 0 0 1 0 0 1 41 31 43 59 51 86 2 0 79 27 190 173 63 49 3 10 4 12 228 350 174 150 406 282 16 40 0 0 5 2 5 0 76 93 115 125 1 0 30 12 September 1 999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 67 May Count 1998 PG AA cv CH SM KE QA CN TA DO Wl SO WO MD Total 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 5 16 27 2 3 0 0 0 0 81 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 122 74 9 21 10 9 28 83 24 40 4 2 7 1672 276 224 88 104 179 37 81 84 63 12 60 0 9 3226 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 7 2 1 15 7 2 0 5 0 6 3 1 7 112 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 22 0 1 2 2 2 1 1 3 3 1 0 0 1 30 2 5 1 5 3 0 0 6 2 1 1 0 2 54 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 17 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 4 8 0 0 0 16 2 5 3 2 1 0 0 5 2 1 0 0 0 47 1002 101 36 125 130 40 42 80 14 30 16 0 0 3545 13 5 17 6 22 4 5 14 5 3 8 0 2 214 13 6 9 7 8 1 0 7 1 0 2 0 0 148 2 1 0 6 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 26 129 71 47 69 57 47 29 30 15 6 9 1 5 1125 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 33 21 22 17 25 10 8 21 7 5 8 0 3 505 17 4 6 2 5 3 0 3 2 1 0 0 0 138 42 24 2 8 26 13 21 9 13 5 9 0 7 511 12 7 9 19 13 0 0 8 5 4 0 0 6 204 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 2 6 10 6 2 4 7 3 2 8 0 5 114 42 14 26 11 22 4 4 3 1 0 5 4 9 275 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 26 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 41 14 15 24 10 3 5 8 1 0 6 0 3 436 27 21 17 20 35 42 30 37 55 25 20 2 23 644 79 77 35 19 40 10 8 23 16 12 15 0 2 810 0 0 0 2 16 2 12 64 29 2 5 0 7 145 82 85 142 146 78 84 18 143 70 45 120 0 10 1224 583 387 19 147 130 174 423 210 13 55 33 0 27 4122 315 110 0 27 15 26 7 0 1 0 5 0 0 1205 22 112 0 25 27 40 12 0 0 8 0 4 0 407 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 303 512 537 91 523 1003 266 309 199 160 110 69 0 98 6827 142 122 62 39 174 35 48 33 101 6 22 0 11 2621 442 209 139 176 392 75 59 104 35 30 22 4 14 4341 31 25 21 19 25 9 21 27 12 10 2 0 5 326 49 170 6 63 30 0 22 11 0 0 0 4 9 927 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 222 173 134 78 64 120 66 42 48 53 5 47 1 17 1769 218 136 129 1 155 37 24 48 33 12 40 3 25 2044 2 0 0 108 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 133 16 4 4 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 0 0 7 290 68 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 Species: GA AL Brown-headed Nuthatch 0 0 Brown Creeper 6 1 Carolina Wren 6 39 House Wren 72 27 Winter Wren 1 0 Sedge Wren 0 0 Marsh Wren 0 0 Golden-crowned Kinglet 8 0 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 22 10 Blue^gray Gnatcatcher 32 105 Eastern Bluebird 37 43 Veery 17 0 Gray-cheeked Thrush 0 0 Swainson's Thrush 0 1 Hermit Thrush 20 1 Wood Thrush 45 57 American Robin 548 408 Gray Catbird 102 96 Northern Mockingbird 1 22 Brown Thrasher 22 14 American Pipit 0 0 Cedar Waxwing 0 7 Loggerhead Shrike 0 0 European Starling 197 300 White-eyed Vireo 0 7 Solitary Vireo 26 3 Yellow-throated Vireo 3 5 Warbling Vireo 0 5 Philadelphia Vireo 0 0 Red-eyed Vireo 61 110 Blue-winged Warbler 4 4 Brewster's Warbler (hybrid) 0 1 Golden-winged Warbler 4 9 Tennessee Warbler 2 1 Orange-crowned Warbler 0 0 Nashville Warbler 6 0 Northern Parula 34 17 Yellow Warbler 92 44 Chestnut-sided Warbler 27 7 Magnolia Warbler 12 1 Cape May Warbler 0 0 Black-throated Blue Warbler 19 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 100 22 Black-throated Green Warbler 73 6 Blackburnian Warbler 10 4 Yellow-throated Warbler 2 5 Pine Warbler 0 14 Prairie Warbler 4 31 Palm Warbler 0 1 Bay-breasted Warbler 1 0 1998 CR BA HA CE HO MO DC 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 9 83 40 1 225 137 - 24 44 14 0 115 102 - 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 22 3 0 0 0 - 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 3 0 32 4 - 24 94 86 1 197 234 - 12 65 68 1 147 63 . 3 20 2 2 21 10 - 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 0 3 1 0 3 10 - 0 1 0 0 3 0 - 36 119 97 10 342 164 . 205 370 331 9 585 169 - 77 264 101 1 610 287 - 23 80 80 6 161 55 - 3 5 4 3 22 30 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 17 42 0 253 61 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 243 608 655 109 1142 398 - 4 33 23 3 80 28 - 0 0 0 0 5 2 1 14 11 0 16 16 . 0 12 3 0 1 28 - 0 1 0 0 0 1 - 18 130 78 0 264 247 - 0 15 0 0 12 5 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 2 - 0 0 0 0 1 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 2 - 0 1 0 0 2 0 5 59 49 1 145 139 . 9 84 50 0 143 52 - 0 5 3 0 6 3 - 0 2 3 0 11 2 - 0 1 2 0 0 2 . 4 43 20 3 131 63 . 26 128 259 7 252 317 - 1 15 12 0 21 19 - 0 2 2 0 0 2 - 0 1 2 0 1 13 . 0 2 2 1 3 3 - 0 15 14 2 61 38 - 0 0 1 0 0 4 - 0 2 1 0 3 4 - May Count WA FR 0 0 0 0 58 118 78 71 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 2 36 109 143 82 1 7 0 0 0 1 0 2 89 242 715 795 152 224 151 138 35 21 0 20 2 14 0 0 867 1882 7 11 2 0 4 6 13 11 0 0 45 69 7 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 59 29 62 3 1 4 5 0 0 3 12 122 62 4 2 1 2 5 0 3 0 7 4 1 2 0 1 September 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 69 May Count 1998 PG AA cv CH SM KE QA CN TA DO Wl SO wo MD Total 0 0 0 9 17 0 0 0 7 5 3 0 4 45 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 103 99 71 75 109 44 38 35 28 8 21 0 11 1358 34 42 6 3 5 22 6 14 6 5 10 0 5 705 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 13 1 14 4 18 7 2 0 0 20 2 0 0 106 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 5 2 0 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 99 163 60 77 58 38 15 10 2 6 9 59 5 36 1456 151 66 79 85 125 69 24 0 16 14 22 2 9 1323 6 1 5 1 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 103 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 31 219 98 103 69 108 91 82 43 32 10 28 2 47 2133 343 338 84 130 459 340 636 442 144 95 266 6 95 7513 190 121 26 37 58 78 49 30 18 3 19 0 7 2550 131 77 51 67 134 61 91 110 37 7 29 0 10 1522 20 14 16 27 69 11 13 31 4 1 3 0 2 370 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 311 58 129 104 394 11 0 26 100 0 0 0 0 1539 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 520 655 148 382 789 280 436 619 76 65 283 16 129 10799 75 42 29 57 73 22 15 15 3 5 37 0 14 583 1 2 1 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 50 16 1 5 13 8 1 0 1 0 0 3 1 7 132 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 299 119 131 159 169 39 29 17 17 3 29 3 10 2046 3 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 113 70 113 104 59 12 18 5 28 2 4 1 6 1053 53 36 4 14 23 38 11 2 3 4 6 0 1 760 5 2 1 4 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 76 10 2 3 0 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 62 0 0 0 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 67 29 56 7 32 28 10 4 11 1 0 0 0 545 0 207 56 41 84 186 58 15 57 35 19 0 0 2053 17 8 0 2 8 5 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 198 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 3 0 23 2 6 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 41 109 17 7 18 21 81 4 6 11 16 25 35 0 16 285 35 33 13 17 41 1 3 10 0 2 51 0 15 397 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 14 3 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 70 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 Species: GA AL Blackpoll Warbler 0 0 Cerulean Warbler 6 12 Black-and-white Warbler 15 5 American Redstart 77 44 Prothonotary Warbler 0 6 Worm-eating Warbler 0 24 Swainson's Warbler 0 0 Ovenbird 83 54 Northern Waterthrush 13 1 Louisiana Waterthrush 9 13 Kentucky Warbler 1 3 Mourning Warbler 0 1 Common Yellowthroat 223 109 Hooded Warbler 17 13 Wilson's Warbler 0 0 Canada Warbler 2 0 Yellow-breasted Chat 3 9 Summer Tanager 0 0 Scarlet Tanager 57 62 Northern Cardinal 96 166 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 120 12 Blue Grosbeak 0 1 Indigo Bunting 71 137 Dickcissel 0 0 Rufous-sided Towhee 199 100 American Tree Sparrow 0 0 Chipping Sparrow 301 72 Field Sparrow 78 40 Vesper Sparrow 1 6 Savannah Sparrow 26 5 Grasshopper Sparrow 8 2 Henslow's Sparrow 2 0 Sharp-tailed Sparrow 0 0 Seaside Sparrow 0 0 Song Sparrow 219 95 Lincoln's Sparrow 0 0 Swamp Sparrow 56 0 White-throated Sparrow 45 19 White-crowned Sparrow 9 4 Dark-eyed Junco 6 0 Bobolink 181 27 Red -winged Blackbird 467 193 Eastern Meadowlark 65 32 Yellow-headed Blackbird 0 0 Rusty Blackbird 0 2 Boat-tailed Grackle 0 0 Common Grackle 201 164 Brown-headed Cowbird 133 82 Blackbird sp. 0 0 Orchard Oriole 0 14 1998 CR BA HA CE HO MO DC 1 2 10 1 37 38 _ 0 2 2 1 8 4 - 3 49 31 0 91 34 - 16 58 23 0 101 130 - 0 0 1 0 1 15 - 3 21 0 0 27 9 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 10 77 43 1 194 63 - 0 6 3 0 12 24 - 1 21 4 0 19 24 - 1 5 5 0 44 2 _ 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 24 164 112 11 359 216 - 0 15 2 0 9 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 0 0 0 3 . 0 6 5 1 11 7 - 0 4 1 0 0 0 - 1 36 37 6 95 73 - 64 247 226 5 658 336 - 1 8 1 0 24 12 0 2 8 0 5 1 - 8 42 37 6 92 131 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 20 80 19 2 162 42 - 0 0 0 3 0 0 . 28 51 120 4 80 32 - 13 17 21 2 95 41 - 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 0 2 3 0 10 2 - 0 0 8 0 54 4 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 25 127 34 0 215 62 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 _ 0 4 4 0 21 6 - 4 58 15 0 150 63 - 1 4 0 0 11 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 103 196 0 358 2 . 91 648 241 80 786 290 - 1 5 17 0 9 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 10 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 _ 178 268 234 58 498 369 - 41 76 84 2 227 140 - 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 18 18 3 54 35 - May Count WA FR 5 1 0 2 4 8 12 30 1 16 6 4 0 0 21 30 1 7 3 21 1 3 0 0 32 71 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 0 0 22 32 289 347 5 1 2 3 57 119 0 0 91 75 0 0 112 85 29 42 1 1 0 2 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 79 133 1 0 1 1 36 19 13 5 4 0 66 810 227 497 49 80 0 0 0 0 0 0 932 1277 54 73 0 0 14 4 September 1 999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 71 May Count 1998 PG AA CV CH SM KE QA CN TA DO Wl SO WO MD Total 25 26 10 22 36 9 0 4 11 2 1 0 1 242 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 43 41 32 23 14 42 17 15 10 13 2 6 1 10 466 83 44 28 37 16 13 10 3 9 2 7 0 15 758 11 8 4 13 2 0 5 0 1 3 14 4 39 144 2 3 23 4 15 1 3 1 4 5 25 1 16 197 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 191 67 60 83 113 17 30 21 25 10 56 0 41 1290 7 4 3 2 3 3 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 93 5 8 17 15 13 0 2 1 2 0 3 2 11 194 22 3 36 17 19 3 4 2 0 0 3 1 3 178 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 154 66 70 139 73 44 44 47 40 69 3 15 2085 31 18 48 31 22 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 3 215 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 35 16 11 29 17 4 3 13 1 2 22 0 1 205 6 2 24 7 34 2 0 1 6 3 13 0 4 107 56 53 38 52 34 12 8 15 12 0 6 1 3 711 417 231 147 132 294 288 106 120 71 15 59 3 21 4338 4 1 3 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 200 19 12 13 12 49 8 6 26 14 4 13 2 6 206 188 64 79 92 111 33 18 39 11 4 11 5 3 1358 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 102 66 22 41 69 59 23 29 19 4 32 0 21 1277 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 106 32 73 48 110 26 31 67 88 20 68 0 12 1566 45 27 20 28 32 11 15 24 3 1 18 0 8 610 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 13 7 18 3 0 17 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 99 27 24 2 13 43 11 6 20 18 8 5 0 0 264 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 60 0 0 0 61 78 38 33 29 65 2 20 17 6 2 0 0 6 1285 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10 14 4 3 6 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 133 117 40 29 4 7 12 1 1 22 1 19 0 0 662 1 1 0 0 4 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 65 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 21 337 5 1 92 2 0 23 0 0 0 0 0 2225 778 428 169 186 622 850 618 477 313 500 226 17 95 8799 16 15 9 11 72 17 14 9 10 10 5 0 4 452 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 51 67 984 408 233 435 1019 510 973 754 505 600 239 21 253 11113 119 55 44 54 93 168 53 76 23 30 39 2 51 1719 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 43 21 3 22 29 39 24 54 26 45 20 2 2 491 72 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 May Count 1998 Species: GA AL WA FR CR BA HA CE HO MO DC Northern Oriole 91 73 164 122 13 90 34 7 104 112 . Purple Finch 35 3 30 0 0 10 2 0 0 1 - House Finch 46 34 160 135 69 88 68 21 227 56 - Red Crossbill 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 - White-winged Crossbill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Pine Siskin 50 19 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - American Goldfinch 272 119 372 285 33 285 108 15 457 278 - Evening Grosbeak 20 5 0 0 0 0 188 0 0 1 - House Sparrow 58 159 215 451 47 176 0 0 255 137 - Total Species Total Individuals 138 7959 146 5701 138 8921 144 12375 85 2059 162 11902 139 6744 70 750 136 16858 145 9568 Observers 28 20 28 16 5 57 21 4 70 34 Parties 15 12 13 8 3 24 6 1 35 21 Party-hours (on foot) 72 52.5 32 33 11.5 102.8 31.25 - 184.8 118.5 Party-hours (by car) 51.2 29 81 56 5 15.5 32.33 - 20.7 22 Party-hours (total) 123.2 81.5 113 89 16.5 118.3 63.58 - 205.5 140.5 Party-miles (on foot) 49.7 40 27 24 8 70.7 24 - 135.2 78 Party-miles (by car) 571.1 214 625 573 78 89 196.2 - 236.8 150 Party-Miles (total) 620.8 254 652 597 86 159.7 220.2 - 372 228 May Count Participants (continued from page 61) Leumas, Peter Lev, Joseph Lewandowski, Lloyd & Dorothy Lewis, Judy Lilga, Roland Limpert, Doug Lister, Lisa Lister, Annette, James & Shane Livengood, David R. Livengood, Cynthia Loeper, John Lorenz, Keith Lott, Dennis Luck, Ann Lucy, Bob Lukinic, Brigitte Lund, Leonard Lutwack, Lucy MacClintock, Nancy MacClintock, Nancy Magnusson, Dorothea & Henry Malec, Elwood Martin, Rich Mason, Carolyn May, Jim McCann, Mike & Grazina McClure, Betty McCoy, Ray McCoy, Caroline McGain, Howard McIntyre, Tim McKenzie, Dolly McSorley, Don Mehlman, Helen Meleney, Michele Melia, Nick Merryman, Don Meritt, Jeff & Elayne Metter, Barry Miller, Jan Mirro, Ann Mitchell, Michael Moffat, Barbara Molyneux, Gary Morgan, David Mozurkewich, Dwight Mueller, Dotty Mumford, Larry Murphy, Jim Myers, Isabel Neddow, Erich Neupert, Cheryl, Hannah & Steve Newcomb, Paul & Carol Newman, Paul Newton, Paul Nistico, Paul Noell, Bill Norris, Mariana Nuttle, Doug Odermatt, Daryl Olsen, Jeff & Tina Opel, Richard L. Orr, Peter Osenton, Bonnie Ott, Sharon Overholser, Jeff S. Parker, Floyd Parks, Zachary Parks, Jim Paulus, Linda Payne, Jeremy Pearse, Ed Pembleton, Siliesa Pembleton, Leanne & Mark Pembum, Patsy Perlman, David & Peggy Perry, Anita Picco, David Pierce, Betty Pitney, Fred Pittenger, Lanna Pittenger, Mac Plant, Danny Poet, Ron & Susan Polniaszek, Bill & Fran Pope, Cal Posey, Sarah Potter, Linda Prentice, Meg Prior, Suzanne Probst, Suzanne Procell, Katie Prothero, Mike Quinlan, Kyle Rambo, Ann Marie Raterman, Sharon Raun, Mark Rawlings, Tracy Rawlings, Roger Redden, Jan Reese, Sue Ricciardi, Glen Richardson, Ellen Riley, Bob Rineer, Bob Ringler, Arlene Ripley, Les Roslund, Ronald Runkles, Jack Saba, Steve Sanford, Steve Sarro, John Sauer, September 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 73 May Count 1998 PG AA CV CH SM KE QA CN TA DO Wl SO WO MD Total 36 17 3 13 19 37 11 30 14 0 0 0 2 992 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 85 132 125 46 70 173 26 38 51 60 3 14 0 9 1651 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 76 250 125 95 80 141 30 41 152 114 25 43 1 28 3349 0 0 2 0 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 266 128 77 27 53 150 28 61 216 71 15 43 0 13 2380 149 148 134 148 166 144 114 121 131 138 114 38 125 249 13434 8946 4315 6302 12712 6697 6814 7058 5003 4384 5683 365 2442 166992 42 27 14 13 23 8 10 11 6 5 8 2 7 459 23 12 11 9 13 5 7 6 5 1 4 1 5 240 121 61.5 53 38 46 12.5 19 31.5 11.5 12 14 1.5 12 1071.8 27.5 20 12 38.5 42.75 23 29 22 6.25 8.5 9 0.33 15.5 567.06 148.5 81.5 65 76.5 88.75 35.5 48 53.5 17.75 20.5 23 1.83 27.5 1638.86 73 44 47 27 46.25 12 11 12.5 9.1 3 1.75 0.5 6 749.7 115 221 190 452 427 162 250 211 161 180 156.3 13 195 5466.35 188 265 237 479 473.3 174 261 223.5 170.1 183 158 13.5 201 6216.05 Dean Scarff, Mark Scarff, Gene Scarpulla, John Scharp, Carol Schreter, Richard Schurbert, Kurt Schwarz, Judy Sconyers, Bill Scudder, Susan Setterberg, Robert Shackleton, Lisa Shan- non, Dennis Shaw, Janet Shields, Chris Shipe, Craig Sholley, L.T. Short, Steve Simon, Theresa Simons, Don Simonson, Susan Sires, Skip Skipton, Chris & Eddie Slaughter, Romayne Smith, David Smith, Donald Smith, Ed Smith, Therese Smith, Jo & Bob Solem, Lynn Speedy, Paul Spitzer, Hank Stanton, Nancy Stewart, Pat Stewart, Van Stewart, Jacob Still, John Stinson, Chuck Stirrat, Betty Stockslager, Tom Strikwerda, Carolyn Sturtevant, Eva Sunell, Rick Sussman, Gary, Jacob & Joshua Swartzentruber, Hayward Swisher, Allen Swope, Cheryl Swope, Michelle Tango, Peter Tango, David Taylor, Evelyn Taylor, John Taylor, Marilyn Taylor, Mareva & Orval Teets, David Terlizzi, Tracey Terry, Glenn Therres, David Thompson, Charles Thome, Jean Tierney, Isobel Todd, Michael Todd, Robin Todd, Paul Tolson, Robert Tourville, Todd Treichel, Bob & Mary Twigg, Lyn Ultrecht, Spike Updegrove, Joshua Urban, Robert Urban, Gary Van Velsir, Gail & Charles Vaughn, Matt Von Hendy, David Walbeck, Beverly Walker, Warren Walker, David Wallace, Mark Wallace, Frank Warfield, Mark Weatherholt, David Webb, Pete Webb, Peter Wechsler, Sally Wechsler, Dave Weesner, Barry Weinberg, Heidi Welch, Glenn Welch, Bill Wells, Joy Wheeler, Marsha Whitmyre, Leo Wiegant, John Williamson, Ken Williamson, Ernest Willoughby, George Wilmot, Pat Wilson, David & Jane Winer, David Winner, Dana & Scott Winters, Betty Wolfe, Shirley Wood, Paul Woodward, Roxann Yeager, Andrea Zakowsky, Beth Zang, Helen Zeichner, Anne Ziccardi, Tony Ziccardi, Liz Zucker, Paul & Sherry Zucker, and all the unnamed birders of Maryland. 74 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 BREEDING SEASON: JUNE 1, 1998-JULY 31, 1998 Daniel R. Southworth While June was slightly wetter than usual, July brought a prolonged drought. Quite a few fall migrants arrived early, and Brown Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants continued their Chesapeake Bay expansion. Observers'. Henry Armistead, Stan Arnold, Rick Blom, Connie Bockstie, Jon Boone, Danny Bystrak, Martha Chestem, Jane & Dennis Coskren, Patty Craig, Lynn Davidson, Sam Dyke, Darius Ecker, Ethel Engle (reporting for Caroline County), Leslie Fisher, Jim & Trish Gruber, Marshall Iliff, Ryan Lesh, Elizabeth Pitney (reporting for the Wicomico Bird Club), Danny Poet, Fran Pope, Suzanne Probst, Mike Quinlan, Kyle Rambo, Jan Reese, Robert Ringler, Eugene Scarpulla (reporting for Hart-Miller), Stephen Simon, Susan Sires, Connie Skipper, Jo Solem (reporting for Howard County), Jim Stasz, Rick Sussman, Marcia Watson- Whitmyre, Dave Webb, Michael Welch, Dave Weesner, Hal Wierenga. Abbreviations: DC - District of Columbia, NWR - National Wildlife Refuge, PRNAS - Patuxent River Naval Air Station (St. Mary’s County), PWRC - Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Prince George’s County), PWRC/N - Patuxent Wildlife Research Center North (Anne Arundel County), SF - State Forest, SP - State Park, WMA - Wildlife Management Area, WS - Wildlife Sanctuary. Locations: Place names (with counties in parentheses) not in the index of the State high- way map: Adam Island (Dorchester), Assateague Island (Worcester), Barren Island (Dorchester), Blackwater NWR (Dorchester), Bloodsworth Island (Dorchester), Chino Farms (Queen Anne’s), E. A. Vaughn WMA (Worcester), Hart-Miller Island (Baltimore), Horsehead Wetlands Center (Queen Anne’s), Hughes Hollow (Montgomery), Lake Elkhom (Howard), Merkle WS (Prince George’s), Pone Island (Dorchester), Pickering Creek Environmental Center (Talbot), Tucka- hoe SP (Caroline), Spring Island (Dorchester), Tydings Island (Harford). Loons, Grebes, Shearwaters, Storm-Petrels. One of the more exciting summer birds in recent years was the Pacific Loon frequenting Hains Point from May 25 (Hilton+) through June 7 (Todd+). From June 8 - June 1 1 it was seen in the area off Roaches Run (Elitzak, Farkas+). Dave Weesner reported a Common Loon at Greenbrier SP on June 7 and found it still present on July 7. Leslie Fisher found an adult Pied-billed Grebe with 10 young at Grove Point, WMA on June 6, and an adult Pied-billed and 5 chicks were observed at Easton on June 20 (Stasz, Ringler). Darius Ecker noted a Horned Grebe at Lake Elkhom on June 12. The deep waters of Baltimore Canyon yielded some pelagic birds this season with Andy Ednie and September 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 75 party reporting 3 Cory’s Shearwaters on June 21; 30 Greater Shearwaters on June 14, and 73 on June 21; 3 Sooty Shearwaters on June 14, and 1 on June 21; 1 Manx Shearwater on June 14; and 1 Audubon’s Shearwater on June 21 . Dave Czaplak and Mary Ann Todd spied 2 Audubon’s Shearwaters about 8 miles offshore from Worcester County on June 28. Wilson’s Storm-Petrels included about 100 in Baltimore Canyon on June 14 and 30 there on June 21 (Ednie+). Pelicans, Cormorants, Herons, Egrets, Ibis. The summering population of Brown Peli- cans in the lower and middle portions of the Chesapeake Bay has been showing increases in recent years. Harry Armistead surveyed some Dorchester County islands again this season, and for the first time found several Brown Pelican nests on Spring Island: three nests with 3 eggs, nine nests with 2 eggs, and three nests with 3 eggs on June 21 . Dave Brinker noted the two oldest of 12 chicks banded at Spring Island on July 17. Armistead also found a Double- crested Cormorant nest with two eggs on Spring Island on June 21. The high for inland Great Egrets was 20 at Lilypons on July 26 (Michael Welch), and the high for Cattle Egrets was 51 at Kitt’s Point, St. Mary’s County on July 24 (Craig). Pete Webb reported a Yellow- crowned Night-Heron nest in Locheam, Baltimore County on June 1 1 with two adults and five young. Post-breeding dispersal Yellow-crowneds included an immature at Font Hill, Howard County on July 26 (Coskrens), and 2 adults and 1 juvenile at Lilypons the same day (Welch). An immature White Ibis was reported at Lilypons on July 26 (Welch), and a Glossy Ibis was listed inland at Merkle WMA, Prince George’s County on July 1 1 (Beth Johnson). Harry Armistead roughly estimated the following numbers of breeding pairs at the Holland Island heronry in Dorchester County: 10 Little Blue Heron, 15 Snowy Egret, 5 Cattle Egret, 15 THcolored Heron, 35 Great Blue Heron, 35 Great Egret, 10 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 12 Yellow-crowned Night- Heron, 7 Glossy Ibis, and 2 Green Heron. Harry reports that the owner is attempting to preserve this quickly eroding island. Hopefully, he will have some success. Martha Chestem tracked the Great Blue Herons nesting at Vantage Point in Columbia throughout the spring and summer, and on July 9 she noted large young still in the nests. Chris Swarth reported a Black-crowned Night-Heron on June 1 at Jug Bay, where they are rare. Vultures, Swans, Geese, Ducks. Mike Quinlan reported two nestling Tbrkey Vultures in a tree hollow on June 9 for the first nesting record at Jug Bay, and Jan Reese found a Turkey Vulture nest in a hollow log at Pickering Creek Environmental Center on June 5. Ryan Lesh spotted a solo Ttindra Swan at North Branch on June 7. Thankfully, it appears that fewer numbers of Mute Swans are being reported, although 203 were at Eastern Neck NWR on July 2 (Gruber, Snyder). Lingering Snow Geese were present with 1 at the Tred Avon River, Talbot County on June 24 (Carol McCullough), and another at Loch Raven on July 19 (Simon). Brant also summered with 2 at Ocean City on June 21 (Hilton), and June 25 (Watson- Whitmyre). The high for Canada Geese was 300 in northern Montgomery County on June 27 (Stasz, Lesh). Solo Green-winged Teals were present at E. A. Vaughn WMA on June 27 (Dyke), and at Hart-Miller on July 25. Scarpulla and party counted the high for Mallards with 357 at Hart-Miller on June 14th; 200 were at Chestertown on July 2 (Gruber, Snyder). Hart- Miller hosted several summering ducks: a female Northern Pintail on July 25, 3 Northern Shovelers on June 20, an American Wigeon on June 14 and June 20, and a Red-breasted Merganser on July 6. Also lingering into the summer were a Canvasback at Cecilton on July 2 (Fisher, Watson- Whitmy re), single Ring-necked Ducks at PWRC/N on June 13 (Dave Mozurkewich), and at Lake Artemesia, Prince George’s County on June 26 (Lesh), a Lesser Scaup at Grasonville on July 12 (Boone), a Surf Scoter at Bellevue on July 26 (H. & Liz Armistead), a Hooded Merganser near Town Hill on June 7 (Stasz, Lesh), 2 Common Mer- gansers in Prince George’s County on the northeast branch of the Anacostia River on June 21 (Philip Meyers), 3 Red-breasted Mergansers at Ocean City on June 21 (Hilton), a Red-breasted 76 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 at Chesapeake Beach on July 15 (Stasz, Lesh), and 10 Ruddy Ducks at Lilypons on June 13 (Konchog Norbu). Diurnal Raptors. Once again, Mississippi Kites were spotted including 2 at PRNAS on June 3 (Rambo), 1 in Upper Marlboro on June 24 (Stasz), and 1 at the Route 13/Route 640 interchange on July 31 (Michael O’Brien). Susan Sires identified an adult Mississippi Kite following a storm at Dans Mountain, Allegany County on June 17. Bob Ringler and Jerry Tarbell listed an adult Bald Eagle on the Potomac River at Cohill in Washington County on June 7. Three Northern Harriers were present at Hart-Miller on the rather late date of June 14, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk, carrying prey, was spotted on June 27 at Morgan Run in Carroll County in an area where this species is not known to nest (Ringler). Merlins were in evidence with single sightings on June 3 at PRNAS (Rambo), and on July 20 near Columbia (Dave Harvey). Grouse, Turkeys, Rails, Coots, Cranes. Connie Skipper discovered an adult Ruffed Grouse with 4 young at Bittinger on June 18, and Bob and Marilyn Crouse discovered an adult Wild Turkey with 6 young at Williston on July 2. A Ring-necked Pheasant was found near Elkridge in Howard County on May 30 and June 7 (Probst). The only Black Rail report was of 2 on June 27 at Elliott Island where this species appears to be declining (Davidson, Wierenga). Very interesting were the individual Soras at Hughes Hollow on June 10 (Dave Young), and near Millington for the second consecutive summer on June 17 (Fred Fallon). Soras are rare breeders in our region. At Easton, Ringler and Stasz found an adult Common Moorhen on June 20 sitting on a nest with 1 downy chick visible, and Ethel Engle reported three summer- ing at Tanyard. American Coots were present with 9, including a downy young, at Easton on June 20 (Ringler, Stasz), 2 at Hughes Hollow on June 27 (Lesh, Stasz), 2 in Havre de Grace on July 11 (Webb), and 1 at E. A. Vaughn on July 19 (Dyke). Jim Gruber spied 2 Sandhill Cranes flying over Chestertown on July 15. Fig. 1. Nest of Double-crested Cormorant on Spring Island, June 21, 1998. Photo by Harry Armistead. September 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 77 Shorebirds. A late migrant Black-bellied Plover was notched at Hart-Miller on June 14, and 4 presumably early fall birds were spotted at Tydings Island on July 31 (Webb). Four late Semipalmated Plovers were at Hart-Miller on June 20. Harry Armistead reported that 55 Piping Plovers were monitored by DNR staff at Assateague Island. Twenty-one Killdeer were flocking at Hart-Miller on June 6, and 24 were counted at Courthouse Point WMA, Cecil County on June 13 (Watson- Whitmyre). Jan Reese found a Killdeer nest with four eggs in a Walmart parking lot in Easton on July 1 1 , and on July 14 he noticed 4 recently hatched young in the lot. A Black-necked Stilt was located at Elliott Island on June 27 (Davidson, Wierenga-i-). The 3 Lesser Yellowlegs at Hart-Miller on June 6 were late spring migrants and the single bird there on June 20 was possibly an early fall migrant, as were the solo Solitary Sandpipers at E. A. Vaughn on June 27 (Dyke), and at PWRC/N on July 2 (Arnold). Two Willets were noted at Chesapeake Beach on June 17 (Bystrak), and an eastern race Willet was identified at Hart- Miller on July 25. Rick Blom counted 46 Spotted Sandpipers, including 8 juveniles, at Hart-Miller on July 17. Upland Sandpipers were 5 near Lilypons on July 12 (Shiras Guion), 7 at PRNAS on July 16 (Rambo) and 28 there on Aug. 1 (Tyler Bell), and 6 at the Frederick County Airport on July 27 (Weesner). A Marbled God wit was a nice find at Ocean City on July 29 (Armistead, Brinker+), and an early migrant Ruddy Tbrnstone was checked off at North Beach on July 26 (Stasz). Scarpulla and party were treated to a late migrant Red Knot at Hart-Miller on June 6. Dave Webb listed Sanderlings at Tydings Island with 2 on July 26 and 14 on July 31. Semipalmated Sandpipers at Hart-Miller included 193 on June 6, 4 on June 14, 2 on July 6, and 202 on July 18. Western Sandpipers are rare in spring at Hart- Miller but 1 was present on June 6. Two were checked off at Blackwater on July 9 (Mary Ann Todd), and 13 were at North Beach on July 31 (Stasz, Lesh). Least Sandpipers, unusually late for spring, included 2 at Scotland on June 5 (Craig), 1 at Pleasant Valley, Garrett County on June 6 (Stasz, Lesh), 1 1 at Hart-Miller the same day, 5 at North Branch on June 7 (Stasz, Lesh), and 1 at Hart-Miller on June 14. A White-rumped Sandpiper at Tydings Island on June 4 (Webb), and one with an injured leg at Hart-Miller on June 28 were most likely late spring migrants, while the one at Hart-Miller on July 18 was a record early fall arrival. The single Pectoral Sandpipers found at Chesapeake Farms, Kent County (Gruber, Snyder), and at Hart-Miller on July 6 were heading south. The Dunlin at Hart-Miller on June 28 was most likely a late spring migrant, while the one there on July 1 1 was an unusually early fall bird. A nice altemate-plumaged Curlew Sandpiper was at Hart-Miller from May 31 into June and on July 25, and 2 Stilt Sandpipers were observed at Horsehead Wetlands Center on July 12 (Boone). A late spring migrant griseus race Short-billed Dowitcher was noted at Hart-Miller on June 14, and an early fall Short-billed was present at Scotland on July 4 (Craig). The high for the Short-bills was 50 at Cecilton on July 26 (Fisher+). Hart-Miller hosted a male Wilson’s Phalarope on June 6; Blom reported an adult female there on July 17. Red-necked Phalaropes also visited Hart-Miller with 3 on June 6. Gulls , Terns. Scarpulla noted a lone Bonaparte’s Gull at Hart-Miller on June 14. One or two adult Ring-billed Gulls at Neavitt and at St. Michaels on June 23 (Reese), and at North Beach on July 4 (Stasz) were a little unusual. David Abbott reported an adult California Gull loafing with some Ring-billeds in DC on July 23, and a first-summer Iceland Gull visited Hart-Miller on June 6. Lesser Black-backed Gulls, the majority first-summers, were very evident at Hart-Miller: 1 bird was there on June 6 and June 14, 3 on July 6 and July 10, 5 on July 1 1, and 6 on July 17. On June 28, Czaplak and Todd found Great Black-backed Gulls with nests and young at the Fourth Street flats in Ocean City; this does not harbor good things for the nesting Royal Terns, Common Terns, and Black Skimmers utilizing the small is- lands there. Sam Dyke reported 430 pairs of Royal Terns at this site on June 17, and 10 Black Skimmer nests with eggs or small young were there on July 29 (Armistead, Weske, Brinker+). Dyke found 2 Gull-billed Terns at E. A. Vaughn on both June 27 and July 19. Stasz noted a 78 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 Caspian Tern on the late date of June 2 at Upper Marlboro, and the high for Caspians was 1 5 1 at Hart-Miller on June 14. Jim Stasz counted 28 Royal Terns at Pt. Lookout on June 21, and Craig noted 10 Forster’s Terns at Scotland on July 4. Sandwich Terns were in Ocean City with 2 seen on June 16 (Dyke), 1 on June 28 (Czaplak, Todd), on 1 on July 29 (Armistead, Weske, Brinker+), but no evidence of nesting was reported. Twenty Common Terns were attending nests at Western Island, Dorchester County on July 29 (Armistead+). Jim and Trish Gruber observed several nesting Least Terns at Rose’s Department Store in Chestertown on June 20, and the high count for this tern was 32, 18 adults and 14 juveniles, at Horsehead Wetlands Center on July 26 (Boone). A Black Tern was spotted at the mouth of the Choptank River in Talbot County on July 15 (Stasz), and another was at Horsehead Wetlands Center on July 26 (Boone). Doves, Cuckoos, Owls, Kingfishers. Emily Pugsley reported a Ringed Turtle-Dove in Silver Spring on June 10-11, and Gail Mackieman verified this sighting on June 16. The Black-billed Cuckoo at Lake Elkhorn on June 12 (Ecker) was probably a late migrant. Connie Skipper enjoyed observing two juvenile Barred Owls begging for food successfully for about two weeks beginning July 2 at her home near Oakland. Jan Reese found a Belted Kingfisher nest-tunnel with chirping young at Terrapin Pt. Park, Queen Anne’s County on July 13. Woodpeckers, Flycatchers. Fran Pope wrote that the two adult Red-headed Woodpeck- ers that began frequenting her feeders in Garrett County on July 1 1 were joined by a young one on July 18, and that on July 31, two young began coming to the feeder, occasionally with both adults. Patty Craig reported an adult and juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker at Dameron on July 31, as well as 2 adult Red-bellied Woodpeckers with a juvenile there earlier on June 9. A molting adult Yellow-bellied Flycatcher was reported at Ferry Landing, Calvert County on July 1 8 (Stasz, Lesh), and Least Flycatchers included solo birds at the Route 40 Industrial Park, Cecil County on May 29 (Watson-Whitmyre) and June 6 (Fisher), at Lake Elkhorn on June 8-9 (Ecker), and at Patuxent River Park, Prince George’s County on June 13 (Paul DuMont). Danny Poet observed a Great Crested Flycatcher carrying nesting material to a box on June 29 and again on July 1 at Queenstown. Dameron was the place to be on June 20th when Patty Craig found a Gray Kingbird at her home, only the fourth for Maryland. Vireos, Jays, Larks, Swallows. On June 13, Ringler found a Warbling Vireo feeding young in a nest on Roops Mill Road, Carroll County, and on July 20, Poet observed a Red- eyed Vireo feeding a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird at Queenstown. An adult Blue Jay with two fledglings was seen at Pickering Creek on June 5 (Reese). The high for Homed Larks was 30 at PRNAS on July 24 (Rambo), and for Tree Swallows, 220 at Chino Farms on July 29 (Gruber). Jan Reese found an early Tree Swallow nest at Pickering Creek on June 5. The highs for Northern Rough-winged Swallows were 200 at River Road, Montgomery County on July 1 1 (Ralph Wright), and 175 at Chino Farms on July 29, where Jim Gruber also tallied 200 Bank Swallows on the same day. Ralph Wright discovered three Cliff Swallow nests with young at Rileys Lock, Montgomery County on July 11. Wrens, Thrushes. Interesting wrens included a Winter Wren singing at Roth Rock, Garrett County on June 6 (Stasz, Jett, Lesh), and a nice-to-find Sedge Wren at Deal Island WMA on June 25 (Watson-Whitmyre). The Swainson’s Thrush banded at PRNAS on June 16 was very late (Craig, Hardgrave, Wright). Jan Reese observed an American Robin gathering nest- ing material on July 14, and Danny Poet found three half-grown robins in a nest at Queenstown on July 31. September 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 79 Warblers. Connie Skipper heard a Blue-winged Warbler singing at Gorman, Garrett County on June 26. The 2 Magnolia Warblers at Joe Metz Road, Cecil County on June 6 (Fisher), the 3 Black-throated Green Warblers at Pt. Lookout on June 4 (Craig), and the 2 Black-throated Green Warblers at Chino Farms on June 6 (Gruber) were all late migrants. A Yellow-throated Warbler was checked off at Lost Land Run, Garrett County on July 27 (Skipper). Jon Boone observed 2 adult Pine Warblers feeding a young cowbird at Horsehead Wetlands Center on July 26. The Palm Warbler at Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Center, Charles County on June 13 (Norm Saunders) was extraordinarily late, and tardy Blackpoll Warblers included singles at PWRC/N on June 6 (Arnold), at Chingville on June 8 (Tina Dew), and at Patuxent River Park, Prince George’s County on June 13 (Paul DuMont). The 2 Black-and-white Warblers banded at PRNAS on July 24 (Craig) were probably early fall migrants. Patty Craig found an adult and a recently fledged Kentucky Warbler at PRNAS on July 3, and a Mourning Warbler was at Rockbum Branch Park on June 5-7 (Erich Neupert). Sparrows. Jan Reese discovered an Eastern Towhee nest with 3 nestlings at Neavitt on June 5, and a pair of Field Sparrows with 4 fledglings there on June 1 6. Patty Craig found 3 Field Sparrows, including a juvenile, at Dameron on June 13. The 2 Savannah Sparrows at Hart-Miller on June 6 were interesting because that is well beyond their usual departure date. A nice count of 40 Grasshopper Sparrows was made at PRNAS on July 24 (Rambo). Eleven Henslow’s Sparrows were tallied at Combination Road, Garrett County on June 6 (Stasz, Jett, Lesh). A Henslow’s Sparrow was also at Moore’s Way, Prince George’s County on June 15 and July 3 (Stasz, Greg Miller*)- Connie Skipper reported the following Henslow’s activ- ity in Garrett County: 16 at White Church-Steyer Road, Gorman on June 23, 9 at S wanton on June 26, 4 at Audley Riley Road, Gorman on the same day, 1 1 , including a juvenile at Lost Land Run on July 27, 10 singing males and a juvenile at Bittinger on July 28, and 6 to 7 singing males at Rock Lodge Trust, McHenry on July 29. A tally of 79 Song Sparrows was turned in from Hart-Miller on June 20. The Swamp Sparrow at Pt. Lookout SP on June 4 (Craig) may have been breeding there. Two White-throated Sparrows were noted at Pt. Lookout on June 4 (Marty Cribb, Craig), 1 was at Ellicott City on June 7 (Bockstie, Probst), and another was in Bowie from June 8 through July 15 (Fred Fallon). Three juvenile Dark- eyed Juncos were at Roth Rock, Garrett County on June 6 (Stasz, Jett, Lesh). Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Dickcissels. Patty Craig noted a pair of Northern Car- dinals with 2 recently fledged young at Dameron on June 10. Tom and Cathy Franklin reported a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at a feeder near Marriottsville Road in Howard County, an unusual location for this species, on July 17-19. Craig noted a pair of Blue Grosbeaks carry- ing food at Elms Beach, St. Mary’s County on June 13, and found an Indigo Bunting nest with three eggs, one a cowbird’s, the same day at Dameron. A Dickcissel was singing at Triadelphia Road, Montgomery County on June 1 (Sussman). Icterids, Siskins, Finches. A male Bobolink was singing at PWRC/N on June 4 (Dave Mozurkewich, Arnold). Two Bobolinks were at Hart-Miller on July 1 1. Jan Reese located a Red-winged Blackbird nest with 4 nestlings at Neavitt on June 5, and Rick Sussman saw a pair of Eastern Meadowlarks building a nest at Triadelphia Mill Road, Montgomery County on June 1 . Dameron hosted about 1000 Common Grackles on June 4 (Craig). A male Balti- more Oriole visited Salisbury, where they are rare, on June 1 4-1 5 (Jo Satloff). A male Orchard Oriole was singing at Gorman, Garrett County on June 22 (Skipper). Two Pine Siskins were located at Swallow Falls SP, Garrett County on June 6 (Stasz, Jett, Lesh), and a female Purple Finch was found at Greenbrier Road, Washington County on July 2 and July 8 (Weesner). 9763 Early Spring Way, Columbia, Maryland 21046 80 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 3 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Published Quarterly by the Maryland Ornithological Society, Inc. to Record and Encourage the Study of Birds in Maryland. Editor: Chandler S. Robbins, 7900 Brooklyn Bridge Rd., Laurel, MD 20707 Phone: 301-725-1176; fax: 301-497-5624; e-mail: Chan_Robbins@usgs.gov Assoc. Editor: Janet Millenson, 10500 Falls Rd., Potomac, MD 20854 Asst. Editor: Robert F. Ringler, 6272 Pinyon Pine Ct., Eldersburg, MD 21784 Mailing: Howard County Chapter Headings: Schneider Design Associates, Baltimore CONTENTS, SEPTEMBER 1999 May Count 1998 Leanne J. Pemberton, Wanda Diane Cole, and Mark Eanes 59 Participants in May Count 1998 61 Results by County 63 Breeding Season: June 1— July 31, 1998 Daniel R. Southworth 74 y n _ 21 2 o c § 3 5* 00 ? & 3 2 S o p Profit . Post PAID ■u 2 cn a to U fa r*> eg 9 ^ qq ISSN 0147-9725 Bulletin of the Maryland Ornithological Society, Inc. DECEMBER 1999 VOLUME 55 NUMBER 4 MARYLAND ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. Cylburn Mansion, 4915 Greenspring Ave., Baltimore, MD 21209 STATE OFFICERS FOR JUNE 1999 TO JUNE 2000 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL President: Norm Saunders, 1261 Cavendish Dr., Colesville, MD 20905 (301-989-9035) Vice Pres.: Karen Morley, 2719 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21218 (410-235-4001) Treasurer: Jeff Metter, 4626 Live Oak Ct., Ellicott City, MD 21043 (410-480-9169) Sec’y: Kathleen Neugebauer, 18217 Fox Chase Cir., Olney, MD 20832 (301-570-8969) Executive Sec’y: Larry Fry, 1202 Ridge Rd., Pylesville, MD 21132 (410-452-8539) Past Pres.: Robert Rineer, 8326 Philadelphia Rd., Baltimore, MD 21237 (410-391-8499) STATE DIRECTORS Allegany: * Gladys Faherty Teresa Simons Howard: Anne Arundel:* Larry Zoller Patricia Dardinsky Allan Haury Baltimore: * Terrence Ross Gail Frantz Leanne Pembum Elizabeth Taylor Peter A. Webb Caroline: * Danny Poet Carroll: * Amy Hoffman Roxanne Yeager Cecil: * Leslie Fisher Ken Drier Scott Powers Frederick: * Wilbur Hershberger Bob Johnson Harford: * Debbie Delevan Thomas Congersky John Nack Joseph Vangrin Jug Bay: Kent: Montgomery: Patuxent: Talbot: Tri-County: Washington: Mike Kerwin Elayne Metter Mary- Jo Betts Darius Ecker * Dale Johnson Gary Flenner * Gail Regester Patricia Wilson * Linda Friedland Sam Freiberg Rick Sussman Janet Millenson Lydia Schindler * Tom Loomis Chandler Robbins * Wayne Bell Frank Lawlor Bill Novak * Samuel Dyke * David Weesner Ann Mitchell * Chapter President Active Membership: $10.00 plus chapter dues Life: $400.00 (4 annual installments) Household: $15.00 plus chapter dues Junior: (under 18) $5.00 plus chapter dues Sustaining: $25.00 plus chapter dues Cover: American Golden-Plover at Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD. Photo by George Myers, Oct. 28, 1998. MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Hill! VOLUME 55 DECEMBER 1999 NUMBER 4 KELP GULL VISITS ST. MARY’S COUNTY, MD PART II Jane Kostenko Review of Part I Part I (Kostenko 1999) discussed the initial location by Patty Craig of a Herring Gull- sized, very dark-mantled, yellow-legged gull in St. Mary’s County during the winter of 1997-1998; The initial reaction that Patty Craig and fellow birder, Kyle Rambo, had on seeing it was that it probably was an intermedius subspecies of Lesser Black-backed Gull ( Larus fuscus ). When Kyle relocated the gull in January of 1999, Patty requested identification help from other birders, including Marshall Iliff, who concurred with their ID, saying in an Internet post on February 12 “...it is the first such bird for MD and is certainly the first one photo- graphed.” That post was enough to draw Rob Hilton, Ottavio Janni, and Lisa Shannon to St. Mary’s County on February 13. Their subsequent identification of the bird as a Kelp Gull (L dominicanus) was confirmed the next day by Paul and Michael O’Brien and Louise Zemaitis, who then alerted other birders. On February 15, 1999, Michael O’Brien sent out the first Internet post with the subject header “Kelp Gull (?) in St. Mary’s County” which started what Part II will describe — the tremendous interest and resultant nationwide visitation to the small residential development known as Sandgates. Though visitation to the still-present KEGU is on-going, this article is limited to the initial birder response over the course of five weeks in 1999 (February 14 through March 21). It Begins... The First Weekend In February, the Sea Breeze Restaurant and Crab House is sleepily into the winter off- season. One waitress handily serves the regular customers at the bar and restaurant during the day; local folks who enjoy the home-style fare, pool table, and big screen TV make up the bulk of the customers. Spring, summer, and fall are the restaurant’s busier times, with patrons fresh from restaurant-sponsored softball games or horseshoe and billiards tournaments, or Patuxent River boaters who tie up at the pier for an evening drink and meal. However, from mid-February through the third week of March, 1999, the Sea Breeze would experience a phenomenon unprecedented in all of its years of business, a time that will 84 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 be spoken of among the regulars for years to come. In that period, the Sea Breeze also made one of the best public relations/marketing moves in local history, guaranteeing itself a place in Maryland birding lore: When approached about posting signs about the Kelp Gull on their riverside glass doors, the managers of the Sea Breeze cheerfully said yes. Conversely, the adjacent crab house declined the request, their parking lot sprouting “No Parking Except for Restaurant Patrons” signs. Birders would amply reward the Sea Breeze for their decision. The information presented here, derived from signings in an unofficial logbook put out at the restaurant, e-mail posts, and personal communication, is not without errors, but it repre- sents the best documentation available about who came when and from where to see the Kelp Gull. Not every birder signed in; the numbers represented here err on the conservative side. Not every birder signing in saw the Kelp Gull (KEGU). Others came repeatedly before seeing it or saw the gull repeatedly. Each person’s daily visitation is counted as a separate visit. No attempt is made here to distinguish between every birder from out-of-state who came solely to see the KEGU versus those who were in the area for other purposes (conventions, family visits, work, etc.). Phone calls to area birders came on Monday, February 15, President’s Day, and many local birders had the day off; this largely accounts for the first visitation upswing on Figure 1 . Seventeen birders saw the gull this day. Figure 1. Kelp Gull Visitation by Date, February 14 - March 21, 1999 Deccember 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 85 Thanks to the timing of the gull’s identification, the Voice of the Naturalist included the Kelp Gull in its Rare Bird Alert posting on February 1 6. Interestingly, this was during a time (subsequently dubbed “Gulltopia”) when a possible Slaty-backed Gull (L. schistisagus) at Conowingo Dam in Harford County was being discussed, and a Black-tailed Gull (L. crassirostris) on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was also being reported on the RBA. Over the next few weeks, some hardy souls would try for a three-gull sweep in one day’s time. However, only nine regional birders came on February 16. See Figure 1 for each day’s visita- tion record throughout this article. By the 17th, the first documented birders from Pennsylvania joined those coming from around Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Birders were showing up at first light and staying until sunset. Paul Baicich (American Birding Association’s Birding maga- zine editor) taped the front cover of the Fall 1997 issue of Field Notes (subsequently renamed North American Birds), showing a full-color picture of a Kelp Gull in Galveston, Texas, to the riverside door of the Sea Breeze. He gave the restaurant, being run by the vacationing owner’s daughter and son-in-law, a heads up about the expected traffic for the weekend. Paul wrote in a private e-mail, “(The Sea Breeze) should brace themselves for the onslaught this weekend. They have been warned. So far at least, they are delighted.” By Thursday the 18th, birders from New York, North Carolina, and more birders from New Jersey had come to see the gull. Rains and blowing winds may have deterred other birders, but nearly two dozen came. Two birders from Michigan and two from Ohio drove down for the gull, arriving on Friday, February 1 9; a birder from Guernsey in the United Kingdom saw the Kelp Gull, noting that it was a Northern Hemisphere tick and later posting a comment to UKBirdNet about the gull’s presence in North America. Some three dozen birders from MD, VA, and DC also came on this first Friday, along with 19 birders from PA, five from NJ, one from NY, plus the first (of only three) from West Virginia. Meanwhile, the Internet was busy with discussion about the gull. Soon after the original series of messages describing it, a flurry of posts questioned the gull’s countability and the possibility of it being a hybrid (largely discounted because of prevailing KEGU characteris- tics). Though visitation was documented every day during the specified five-week period, weekends were, not unexpectedly, certainly the busiest time. Figure 1 shows the peaks and valleys that correlate with Saturdays and Sundays versus weekdays. Saturday, February 20, dawned cold and windy, but the forecasted snow did not materi- alize. A small craft advisory on the water made for wind chills in the teens. By first light (sunrise in mid-February is at 6:50 a.m.), several birders were already at the Sea Breeze. The restaurant opened well before its normal 11:30 a.m., selling coffee and donuts to freezing birders, and making restrooms and indoor viewing in the glassed-in seating section available. Tables in this part of the restaurant boasted “Reserved for Birders” placards. Almost doubling the number of people having seen the bird since February 15, 111 people signed the logbook 86 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 on this day alone. Not surprisingly, MD and VA continued to account for the largest number of birders there, but PA (25 came from Pennsylvania on this day, marking PA’s highest daily attendance ever), NJ, and NY also contributed high numbers. See Figure 2 for these states’ totals. Illinois and Delaware birders made their first visits to the Sea Breeze. Having been sternly admonished by his absentee sister, the restaurant owner’s brother was ordered to “Keep that bird around,” so Clifton Heiston took it upon himself to offer raw jumbo shrimp and uncooked oysters on the half shell to the KEGU, which actually came to recognize the man. Clifton would emerge from the Sea Breeze every hour or so with a gastro- nomic offering, and would walk out on a short pier by the back of the restaurant; waving the tasty tidbit in the air, Clifton would holler, “Here, Shrimpy! C’mon boy!” The KEGU, aka Shrimpy, would fly in from wherever it was, and would land on the piling, gulp down the offering, fend off any other gulls, and then fly back to its preferred piling, much to the delight of the crowd. The aggressiveness of the KEGU was often on display, as it took on Herring Gulls and the much-larger Great Black-backed Gulls. Afternoon birders often had to wait while the KEGU slept off its lunch, before it would arouse itself from a sated stupor and finally stand up, showing off its signature legs. In the windiest, coldest conditions yet, birders in full winter plumage had to work for the bird at times on Sunday, February 21. Deviating from its usual routine of making forays between the Sea Breeze and Sandgates Restaurants, the Kelp Gull spent long periods of time out of sight behind the Sandgates Restaurant (as much as 45 minutes), with only brief aerial displays. Once some jumbo shrimp and more oysters on the half shell were placed out on the pilings behind the Sea Breeze, though, the Kelp Gull flew in and stayed in the area behind the Sea Breeze for the rest of the time. Over 100 birders signed the logbook, coming from MD, VA, and DC, plus IL, NJ, PA, NY, NC. Arizona registered its first visiting birder, and a birder from the Netherlands and one from Wales signed in. Saturdays and Sundays during any season normally saw slightly increased business at the crab house, and many of the restaurant’s regular patrons were intrigued by the obvious excitement in their usually roomy parking lot; many joined the visiting birders in looking at the KEGU, often looking through a spotting scope for the first time. Word spread rapidly among non-birders, too, and many came to the Sea Breeze over the next two weekends solely because they had heard about the show being put on by the birders. Discussions between birders and crab house patrons about how the KEGU differed from the abundant Great Black- backed Gulls were oft repeated, assuring the friendly patrons that they likely did not have a KEGU in their backyard up the road on the creek. Where the gull normally occurs, how it got to the Sea Breeze, where (and why!) all of these birders came from, and other oddities of the field of birding were bandied about. Conversation inside the Sea Breeze (particularly at the bar) was frequently good-natured teasing. David Strother posted a message to Maryland Osprey saying, “The local gentry took occasional breaks from the NASCAR North Carolina 400 on the big screen to be bemused by all the visitors, replete with binoculars and scopes, looking at ‘some bird.’” And on the seventh day, they rested. Monday, February 22, was a quiet day of 20 birders. On Tuesday, February 23, another 25 signed in, including a group of six from PA. The first logged reference to the cream of crab soup was noted (though an Internet post about the Deccember 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 87 Figure 2. Kelp Gull Visitation by Top Six States, February 14 - March 21, 1999 soup appeared several days earlier); that soup would become an oft-praised and highly sought culinary treat. New Hampshire logged in on the 23rd. Wednesday, February 24, saw one dozen birders sign in, with birders from OH equaling birders from MD. The 24th was the first day the Kelp Gull appeared in traditional print — the St. Mary’s County newspaper carried an article about the visiting gull and the 250-plus birders who had come to see it by then. Sixteen birders came on the 25th, including the first birder from Maine, and two more MI birders. Nearly 30 people came on Friday, the 26th, including birders from NC, NY, and PA, a visiting birder from San Francisco, a nice assortment of regional birders, Michael O’Brien back from NJ, and a reporter and a photographer from the Washington Post. The last two in that list of visitors were responsible for what happened the following two days. If the Sea Breeze was ill-prepared for the crowds the first weekend after the KEGU was identified, they were now to learn what real birding mania was all about. 88 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 Who Knew? The Second Weekend On Saturday, February 27, the sun rose, people rolled out of bed with weekend plans vaguely in mind, collected their Posts from their doorsteps, and sat back to enjoy some coffee and news. Within hours, 224 people were on the deck of a restaurant in a tiny peninsular county, looking at a Kelp Gull. The front-page, color photo of the gull, with a front-page Metro section story, alerted birders who weren’t on the various RBA’s. Stories were laugh- ingly exchanged about what plans had been ditched, how quickly people had gathered up birding paraphernalia, and how amazed they were to read about this nearby rare bird. Some birders had started gathering before sunrise. The Sea Breeze had staff on hand to direct or- derly parking. The gull did not disappoint, giving everyone a full display all day. A birder from Florida and one from Alaska logged in, along with a birder from Cameroon. To add to the general madness, CNN sent a film crew and taped a piece on Saturday, which aired nationwide throughout the day on Sunday, the 28th. Various television crews from the DC and Baltimore areas picked up on the story and carried their own versions of the birding news; newspapers in Richmond, Annapolis, and Wilmington (DE) picked up the As- sociated Press story from the Post. February 28 saw another 140 people turn up during frequent downpours at the Sea Breeze to see the gull until late afternoon. Texas, Massachusetts, and Idaho each provided birders on this day. By now, the logbook had become a veritable Who’s Who in Birding, and scanning it for friends, acquaintances, and well-known birding names became an ancillary activity to seeing the gull. Newcomers would arrive with a spray of gravel as they braked to a stop in the parking lot, flinging themselves from their cars with wild-eyed panic, dashing up to a group of chatting birders, frantic to know when the gull was last seen. Reminded why they were stand- ing on the shoreline in St. Mary’s County, the other birders would sheepishly turn around to point out the Kelp Gull, casually ignored in the glow of an easy tick. On Monday, March 1 , birders were present at sunrise, but no Kelp Gull greeted them. Two dozen birders came throughout the miserable day of rain, drizzle, and sleet, but the un- thinkable had happened: The Kelp Gull had flown the coop. Sea Breeze managers Donny Ray and Nioma Dean were beside themselves. “What did we do wrong? Where did it go? Why would it leave?” they demanded. “Will it be back? What are Mom and Dad (the owners) going to say?!” they fretted. Camaraderie among the visiting birders was high, but their spirits were low; these two dozen birders were to become the first to not see the KEGU, out of the 400 who had come for and seen it. Fox 5 out of DC had sent a film crew down to film the story, but it never aired — what was a story about a rare bird, without the rare bird? To compound birders’ misery (including one birder who flew in from Washington state specifically for the gull, and a birder from Colorado), the Sea Breeze ran out of the now- famous cream of crab soup. The Sea Breeze owner, who kept the soup recipe secret even from her daughter, had frozen 160 gallons of the soup, trusting it would last until she and her husband returned from their annual vacation in Florida. Though the daughter tried to re-create Deccember 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 89 the recipe, it took her parent’s premature return to get more soup made. In a private e-mail from his March 1 visit, Richard Becker of New York signed his message, “No Gull, No Soup, No Cole Slaw, No Video at Ten, Good Friends.” Tuesday, March 2, the visiting birder from WA was joined in his unsuccessful vigil by over a dozen birders, including the first birders from Connecticut, who scanned the Patuxent River pilings, looking for the gull. Several birders left, only to read later that the bird flew in around 3 p.m., after an absence of 47 hours. The restaurant managers were relieved beyond words; birders who’d missed the gull used many words to describe their frustrating experi- ence. The days settled into a more relaxed pattern. South Carolina was represented on March 3, two out of 23 birders. Thursday and Friday, March 4 and 5, saw a combined total of 70 birders enjoy the Kelp Gull’s presence. Continued visitation may be attributable to coverage during this time on the Voice of the Naturalist, Baltimore Bird Club, MarVaDel, Maryland Osprey, Virginia-Bird, Central Pennsylvania Birdline, Eastern Pennsylvania Birdline, Philadelphia Birdline, Pennsylvania Birds, Birdline Delaware, Massbird, Voice of New Jersey Audubon, Connecticut Rare Bird Alert, National Birding Hotline Cooperative ID-Frontiers (BirdWGOl), and BirdChat. The Long Slide Downhill Georgia showed up in the logbook on Saturday, March 6. Out of 143 birders that day, VA outnumbered MD birders for the only time during this period; that balance was tipped by a group of VA high school ornithology and biology students on their first birding field trip. Sixty-nine birders logged in on Sunday the 7th, and birders from Minnesota and Arkansas were present. Low visitation but a gull that was present marked the next several days, until the 11th, when the KEGU again disappeared. This time, the gull would stay away until Sunday morning, March 14, when two New Jersey birders, who had dipped on the gull the day before, stopped by the snowy piers for a last look, only to find the gull in place! Their happiness was shared with only six other people, including one each from North Dakota and New Mexico. The restaurant staff had become accustomed to having birders to talk to, reporting that it was “boring” when no birders were around. They had assumed the role of gull hosts to non- birding patrons, pointing out the gull (though an occasional Great Black-backed Gull was actually the object of their attention). However, at least one unhappy busboy scrawled in the logbook that he saw the Kelp Gull “every day I work,” and added, “I don’t like it.” The Kelp Gull apparently took the lad’s complaint to heart, and was not seen again until Saturday, March 20, when 39 people enjoyed the gull’s presence. The last Sunday in this reporting period ended with the gull being viewed by a dozen birders. In Summary Though birders continue to come, their numbers have never again rivaled those from the first five weeks after the gull’s identification. During the five-week time frame, over 1,300 90 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 signed the logbook. Maryland birders accounted for 48% of the total; Virginia birders made up another 23%. Pennsylvania sent down 10% of the total, and the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York each accounted for either 3% or 4%. Thirty states, DC, and three foreign countries were represented during these five weeks. Table 1 shows visitation from all places not documented in Figure 2. Human interest stories abound {like the birder who wouldn’t put his binoculars up until he had visual confirmation of the Kelp Gull, then lifted his bins so the KEGU would be the first bird he’d see through his brand new glasses, or the birder who brought his childhood birding mentor, who turned 90 two days after seeing the gull). The shared enjoyment of com- ing for the sought-after bird wasn’t dimmed for those who missed it; their stories are the more poignant for their miss. Non-birders may have learned to appreciate birds (and birders?) a bit more, and tolerance for differences may have been deepened somewhat on both sides. Certainly many people felt the positive impact that birders can have on an area. The American Birding Association, the Maryland Ornithological Society, and the Southern Mary- land Audubon Society all presented plaques and certificates of appreciation to the Sea Breeze, honoring their commitment to making the gull accessible to birders. The restaurant gradually stopped hand feeding of Shrimpy, but their piles of oyster shells continue to supply the area’s gulls with abundant food. And as the number of birders coming for the Kelp Gull dwindled to a trickle, the manag- ers of the Sea Breeze sighed and said aloud, “We need to find another rare bird. Business is slacking off!” Literature Cited Kostenko, J. 1999. Kelp Gull visits St. Mary’s County, MD. Part I. Maryland Birdlife 55(1): 3-6. Worthington, A. 1997. Kelp Gull photo. Field Notes 51 (4): Front Cover. 23035 Forest Way , California, MD 20619 Deccember 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 91 Table 1. Visits Per State/Country, February 14— March 21, 1999 No. of Visits State/Country 17 North Carolina 16 Delaware 9 Ohio 7 South Carolina 6 Georgia 5 Massachusetts Michigan 4 Illinois 3 Arizona California Colorado Florida Washington West Virginia 2 Connecticut Idaho Minnesota New Hampshire Texas United Kingdom 1 Alaska Arkansas Maine Montana New Mexico North Dakota Cameroon Netherlands 92 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 FALL MIGRATION: AUGUST 1, 1998-NOVEMBER 30, 1998 Daniel R. South worth Weather patterns in the region yielded only a single east coast hurricane of note, Bonnie, during this relatively mild fall period. It was a still a good fall for vagrants, however. Observers : George Armistead, Harry & Mary Armistead, Tyler Bell, Anne Bishop, Rick Blom, Carol & Don Broderick, Martha Chestem, Barry Cooper, Jane & Dennis Coskren, Patty Craig, Marty Cribb, Dave Czaplak, Sam Dyke, Darius Ecker, Ethel Engle (reporting for Caroline County), Gary Felton, Leslie Fisher, Kurt Gaskill, Inez Glime, Kevin Graff, Jim Gruber, Wilbur Hershberger, Mark Hoffman, Marshall Uiff, Ottavio Janni, Kye Jenkins, George Jett, Mike Kerwin, Jane Kostenko, Ellen Lawler, Ryan Lesh, Doug Lister, Gail Mackieman, Sean McCandless, Nancy Magnusson, Harvey & Marian Mudd, Mariana Nuttle, Bonnie Ott, Paul Pisano, Elizabeth Pitney (reporting for the Tri -County Bird Club), Danny Poet, Fran Pope, Mike Quinlan, Kyle Rambo, Jan Reese, Robert Ringler, Chan Robbins, Steve Sanford, Norm & Fran Saunders, Gene Scarpulla, Kurt Schwarz, Bill Scudder, Stephen Simon, Susan Sires, Connie Skipper, Jo Solem (reporting for Howard County), Dan & Linda Southworth, Jim Stasz, Chris Swarth, Debbie Terry, Mary Ann Todd, Mark Wallace, Dave Webb, David Weesner, Marcia Watson-Whitmyre, Jim Wilkinson, Paul Woodward, Helen Zeichner. Banding was conducted at Chino Farms by Jim Gruber, and at Mt. Nebo WMA by Connie Skipper and Fran Pope. Hart-Miller Island records were provided by Gene Scarpulla. Abbreviations : DC - District of Columbia, NEA - Natural Environmental Area, NRM A - Natural Resource Management Area, NWR - National Wildlife Refuge, PRNAS - Patuxent River Naval Air Station (St. Mary’s County), PWRC - Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Prince George’s County), PWRC/N - Patuxent Wildlife Research Center North (Anne Arundel County), SF - State Forest, SP - State Park, UMCF - University of Maryland Central Farm (Howard County), WMA - Wildlife Management Area, WS - Wildlife Sanctuary, WWTP - Waste Water Treatment Plant . Deccember 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 93 Locations : Place names (with counties in parentheses) not in the index of the State high- way map: Alpha Ridge Park (Howard), Assateague Island (Worcester), Blackwater NWR (Dorchester), Black Hill Park (Montgomery), Bloodsworth Island (Dorchester), Browns Bridge (Howard), Central Sod Farms (Queen Anne’s), Chino Farms (Queen Anne’s), Cornfield Har- bor (St. Mary’s), Daniels (Howard), Deep Creek Lake (Garrett), Eastern Neck NWR (Kent), E. A. Vaughn WMA (Worcester), Greenbrier SP (Washington), Font Hill Park (Howard), Greenwell SP (St. Mary’s), Hart-Miller Island (Baltimore), Horsehead Wetlands Center (Queen Anne’s), Hughes Hollow (Montgomery), Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary (Anne Arundel), Lake Elkhom (Howard), Little Seneca Lake (Montgomery), Mason Dixon Farm (Frederick), Meadowbrook (Howard), Merkle WS (Prince George’s), Myrtle Grove WMA (Charles), Mt. Nebo WMA (Garrett), Mt. Pleasant (Howard), Northwest Branch Park (Montgomery), Pickering Creek Environmental Center (Talbot), Piney Run Park (Carroll), Rockbum Branch Park (Howard), Rock Creek Park (DC), Sandy Point SP (Anne Arundel), Schooley Mill Park (Howard), Table Rock (Garrett), Terrapin Point Park (Queen Anne’s), Triadelphia Reservoir (Howard unless noted otherwise), Tuckahoe SP (Caroline), Turkey Point (Cecil), Washington Monument SP (Washington). Loons, Grebes, Shearwaters, Gannets, Pelicans. A Red-throated Loon was spotted in- land at Conowingo Lake, Oct. 29-Nov. 3 (Blom, Scarpulla+), and 307 were tallied at Ocean City on Nov. 23 (Hoffman). A Common Loon, which summered at Piney Run, was still present on Aug. 15 (Ringler), and the one that summered at Greenbrier SP was still there on Sept. 1 (N. & F. Saunders). Another was at Little Seneca Lake on Aug. 25 (Lola & Ted Oberman). At least 200 Common Loons were at Clements on Nov. 1 2 (Bob Zook), and over 500 were sighted at Tilghman Island on Nov. 15 (Reese). Pied-billed Grebes included 31 at Havre de Grace on Sept. 19 (Blom), 36 on the Potomac off Jones Point, Virginia on Oct. 27 (Gaskill), and 63 at Loch Raven on Nov. 27 (Simon, Terry). Bob Ringler found an early Homed Grebe inland at Piney Run on Oct. 10. Later in the season, on Nov. 29th, 30 were counted at Tilghman Island (Reese), and 34 at Point Lookout SP (Craig). Armas Hill and party reported 2 Cory’s Shearwaters and 2 Audubon’s Shearwaters off shore at Baltimore Canyon on Sept. 13, and Patty Craig spied an unidentified shearwater at Pt. Lookout SP on Aug. 28. Marty Cribb turned in a nice count of 270 Northern Gannets on Nov. 1 8 from Pt. Lookout, and Norm and Fran Saunders tallied 30 Brown Pelicans on Sept. 19 at Smith Island, Somerset County. Among the numerous Brown Pelican sightings were 2 south of Blackwalnut Point, Talbot County on Oct. 7 (Charles Roe), and 38 at Pt. Lookout on Nov. 27 (Cribb). Cormorants, Herons, Ibises, Wood Storks. Great Cormorants included 3 at Pt. Lookout on Nov. 29 (Craig), and 7 on the Sharpe’s Island Light, Talbot County on the same day (Reese). Double-crested Cormorants were bountiful and widespread, including 525 at Blackwater NWR on Sept. 19 (H. Armistead+) and 500 at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 4 (Craig). A late inland Double- crested Cormorant was found at Little Seneca Lake on Nov. 30 (Dan Eberly). Matt O’Donnell discovered an American Bittern at Pt. Lookout on Aug. 30, and another turned up at Lake Elkhom on Sept. 19 (Don Wave). Single Least Bitterns were nice finds at Lilypons on Aug. 15 (Andy Rabin) and at North Beach on Aug. 23 (Stasz). Great Blue Heron reports were numerous, including 45 at Havre de Grace on Sept. 1 1 and 200 at Conowingo Dam on Oct. 29 (Blom). A late inland Great Egret was located in Howard County in the Middle Patuxent area on Nov. 27 (Ecker), and 9 were near Williamsport on Sept. 25 (Weesner). Jim Stasz listed 69 Snowy Egrets at North Beach on Aug. 10, and Harry Armistead and party tallied 50 at Blackwater NWR on Sept. 19. Little Blue Herons included 5 adults and 10 juveniles at Courthouse Point WMA, Cecil County on Aug. 10 (Fisher, McCandless) and 30 at West Ocean City on Aug. 27 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). George and Harry Armistead checked off 94 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 24 THcolored Herons at Deal Island WMA on Aug. 5. Highs for Cattle Egrets were 75 at West Ocean City on Aug. 27 (lliff, Lesh, Stasz), 73 at Scotland on Sept. 4 (Rambo), and 40 at Ruthsburg on Sept. 1 7 (Jim & Trish Gruber), and a single late bird was discovered at Park Hall on Nov. 2 (Craig). An adult and two immature Black-crowned Night-Herons were at Lake Elkhom on Aug. 28 (Ecker), and a late inland one was at Hughes Hollow on Oct. 16 (Wood- ward). Lee Curry had a nice count of 12 late Yellow-crowned Night-Herons at Smith Island on Nov. 13. An immature White Ibis was found at Liberty Reservoir, Carroll County on Aug. 8 and was seen by many observers through at least Aug. 1 1 (Ringler, Terry+). There was also a report of 4 immature White Ibis at Tydings Park, Havre de Grace on Aug. 1 3 (Kermit Updegrove+). Glossy Ibis included 28 at Deal Island WMA on Aug. 5 (G. & H. Armistead) and 14 at Chestertown on Sept. 1 1 (Gruber). An immature Wood Stork found at Pt. Lookout on Aug. 19 (Sigrid Stiles) was seen by many observers through Oct. 23 (Cribb+). Vultures, Swans, Geese. Jan Reese tallied 115 I\ir key Vultures at Tilghman Island on Oct. 27. A Tundra Swan, which summered at Myrtle Grove WMA, was seen on Aug. 22 and Sept. 5 (Jett); 8 early migrants were checked off at Columbia on Oct. 3 (Coskrens), 9 were flying over Table Rock on Oct. 22 (Felton), and over 3000 were estimated at Chestertown on Nov. 12 (Gruber). Jan Reese found large concentrations of Mute Swans in Talbot County with 103 at Claiborne on Aug. 30, and 250 at Neavitt on Oct. 21. An exotic, immature Black Swan was present at a pond in Upper Marlboro from Aug. 20 through Nov. 17 (Stasz). Snow Geese began with 2 at Browns Bridge on Sept. 7 (Daryl Olson), 1 at Triadelphia on Sept. 12 (Solem), and 1 at Glenelg Manor pond, also in Howard County, on Sept. 16 (Linnea Pett). Highs were 3000 at Chino Farms on Oct. 26 (Gruber), 5000 at Blackwater on Nov. 14 (Jim Green), and 6000 at Hurlock on Nov. 25 (Stasz); and 1500 blues were sorted out at Blackwa- ter on Nov. 22 (H. Armistead+). Jim Stasz reported a flyover Ross’s Goose from Queen Anne’s County into Talbot County near Queen Anne on Nov. 25, as well.as ten early Atlantic Brants at Ocean City on Oct. 3. The many resident Canada Geese included 240 at Triadelphia Lake Road, Montgomery County on Aug. 15 (Lesh, Stasz) and 785 at Blackwater on Aug. 15 (H. & M. Armistead). Rick Blom estimated about five hundred flocks of Canada Geese totalling about 1 8,400 birds at Belcamp on Oct. 7. Some small race Canada Geese, most likely hutchinsii, were noted with 1 at Hart-Miller on Oct. 3rd, 2 at Belcamp on Oct. 7 (Blom), 1 at Chino Farms on Oct. 10 (Gruber), 1 in Westminster on Oct. 31 (Ringler), 2 at Upper Marlboro on Nov. 12 (Stasz) and 1 there on Nov. 23 (Harten), and 2 near Centreville on Nov. 25 (Stasz). Dabbling Ducks. Some highs for Wood Ducks were 75 at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary on Aug. 27 (Quinlan, Swarth), 389 at Nanticoke Marshes, Wicomico County on Sept. 15 (Stasz), 353 on the Choptank River, Caroline County on Sept. 19 (L. T. Short, D. Callahan), and over 300 at Chino Farms on Oct. 25 (Gruber). The eight Wood Ducks found at Deep Creek Lake on Nov. 21 (Felton) were late for Garrett County. Green-winged Teal began with single birds at Triadelphia Lake Road, Montgomery County on Aug. 15 (Lesh, Stasz), and at Mason Dixon Farm on Aug. 16 (Ringler). Six hundred Green- wings were totaled at Blackwa- ter on Sept. 19 (H. Armistead+), and 159 were at Deep Creek Lake on Nov. 24 (Skipper). Highs for Mallards included 800 at Blackwater on Nov. 22 (H. Armistead+) and 300 at West Ocean City on Nov. 23 (Hoffman). An American Black Duck x Mallard hybrid was identi- fied at Havre de Grace on Sept. 12 (Miller, Stasz). Ott and Schwarz turned up a Ruddy Shelduck, at Centennial Park on Aug. 28, and this likely escapee of unknown origin was seen by several observers through Sept. 6 (Kerwin, Ecker+). Highs for Northern Pintails were 350 at Blackwater on Nov. 22 (H. Armistead+) and 900 at Eastern Neck NWR on Nov. 28 (Ecker). Twenty-one eclipse-plumaged Blue- winged Teal were gathered at Cecilton on Sept. 12 (Miller, Stasz), and the high count was 175 at Blackwater on Sept. 19 (H. Armistead+). The Deccember 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 95 pair of Cinnamon Teal at Eastern Neck NWR from Nov. 8 (Paul DuMont+) through the end of the period was pretty exciting; several Cinnamon Teal were reported in Virginia this fall. The first Northern Shoveler was noted at Centennial Park on Aug. 21 (Richard Orr). Gad- walls began with 2 at Havre de Grace on Sept. 1 1 (Blom), and the high was 73 at Piney Run on Nov. 26 (Ringler). George Jett listed the first American Wigeon at Allens Fresh on Aug. 22, 2 were at Turkey Point on Sept. 3 (Fisher, McCandless), and the highs were 336 at Loch Raven on Oct. 20 (Simon, Terry), and 500 at Eastern Neck NWR on Nov. 27 (Sanford). Diving Ducks. A Ring-necked Duck summered at Piney Run and was seen on Aug. 15 (Ringler); tbe first migrants were 2 at Hurlock on Oct. 4 (Stasz), and 1 at Beauvue on Oct. 6 (Rambo). Ring-necked highs were 300 at Ocean Pines on Nov. 23 (Hoffman) and 300 at Loch Raven on Nov. 27 (Simon, Terry). Mark Hoffman spied a Common Eider at Ocean City on Nov. 23, and a pair of flightless King Eiders was reported at Poplar Island, Talbot County, on Sept. 20 (Norman Haddaway). Nine Harlequin Ducks, 7 adult males, 1 immature male, and 1 female, were at Ocean City on Nov. 23 (Hoffman). The Oldsquaw found by Patty Craig at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 25 was early; she tallied 500 there on Nov. 24. Black Scoters began with 4 at Ocean City on Oct. 3 (Stasz), and 32 were inland on Conowingo Lake on Nov. 1 (Blom, Scarpulla). The first Surf Scoter was near Sandy Point SP on July 30 (A1 Haury). About 1120 Surf Scoters were near Bellevue on Oct. 26 (H. Armistead), an estimated 1 200 were at Tilghman Island on Oct. 27 (Reese), and around 1000 Surfs and 16 White- winged Scoters were at Pt. Lookout on Nov. 24 (Craig). The 7 Common Goldeneyes at Choptank on Oct. 8 (D. Ford) were exceptionally early, as were the 2 Buffleheads at PRNAS on Sept. 4 (Rambo). Over 150 Buffleheads were congregated at Perry ville on Nov. 15 (Fisher), 300 at Sandy Point SP on Nov. 28 (Ecker), and 300 at Pt. Lookout on Nov. 29 (Craig). Stephen Simon discovered a Hooded Merganser at Loch Raven on Aug. 1 ; it was still present on Sept. 7. Another was at Browns Bridge on Aug. 30 (Ecker), and one was at Pickering Creek on Sept. 8 (Les Roslund), all possible breeders. A very early Common Merganser was reported in DC on Sept. 26 (David Cohen). A1 Haury listed a Ruddy Duck at Sandy Point on July 27, and it is believed Ruddies bred at Scotland where 4 were found on Aug. 3 (Craig, Cribb). Two were also found at Hurlock on Aug. 27 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). Early migrant Ruddies were 2 at Wilde Lake on Sept. 8 (Zeichner), and 1 at Cecilton on Sept. 12 (Miller, Stasz). Ruddy Duck highs were very modest with 140 at Ocean City on Nov. 23 (Hoffman), 288 at Hurlock on Nov. 25 (Stasz), and 153 at Piney Run on Nov. 26 (Ringler). Eagles, Hawks, Falcons. Harry Armistead and party checked off 21 Bald Eagles at Blackwater NWR on Sept. 19, and 2 Northern Harriers were noted at Hart-Miller on Aug. 1. Sharp-shinned Hawks began with solo birds at Friendship, Anne Arundel County on Aug. 8 (Stasz) and at Lake Elkhom on Aug. 25 (Ecker). Ray Kiddy reported 64 Sharpies at Town Hill, Allegany County on Oct. 10, and Leslie Fisher counted 65 at Turkey Point on Oct. 18. Summering Cooper’s Hawks included singles at PRNAS on Aug. 1 (Rambo), and at Deal Island WMA on Aug. 5 (G. & H. Armistead). Single Northern Goshawks were reported at Mt. Nebo WMA on Oct. 7 (Skipper, Pope), at Baltimore City on Oct. 22 (Graff), at Table Rock on the same day (Felton), and at PWRC on Oct. 28 (Marshall Howe). Red-shouldered Hawks included 21 at Turkey Point on Oct. 3 1 (Charlie Gant) and 29 at Bellevue on the same day (H. Armistead). In Baltimore City, Kevin Graff tallied 2407 Broad- winged Hawks on Sept. 1 3, and 3201 on Sept. 25. The high counts for Red-tailed Hawks were 56 at Table Rock on Oct. 22 (Felton) and 56 at Baltimore on Nov. 9 (Graff). Golden Eagles at Town Hill were 1 on Oct. 10, 1 on Oct. 17, and 4 on Oct. 27 (Kiddy, Norris, Paulus). Others were 1 at Balti- more on Oct. 12 (Graff), 2 at Chino Farms on Oct. 15 (Gruber), 1 at Table Rock on Oct. 22 (Felton), 1 at Bellevue on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 (H. Armistead), and 1 at Schooley Mill Park on 96 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 Nov. 1 (Magnusson). Merlins got started on Sept. 6 with singles at Little Bennett Regional Park, Montgomery County (Cynthia Loeper), Chino Farms (Gruber), and Bozman (Reese). Gallinaceous Birds, Rails, Coots. Eastern Shore Wild TVirkeys included 4 at Neavitt on Sept. 4 (Reese), and 17 at Blackwater on Sept. 19 (H. Armistead+). Carol and Don Broderick spotted 17 Northern Bobwhites at E. A. Vaughn WMA on Oct. 29, and Connie Skipper found one near Oakland on Aug. 16. Greg Kearns caught a nice Yellow Rail at Jug Bay on Oct. 22. Helped by the wet spring conditions in the Northeast, Greg Kearns and his team captured over 1200 Soras and 200 Virginia Rails this year as part of their ongoing studies in the wild rice marshes of the greater Jug Bay area, an extremely important East Coast stopover area for these species. Jan Reese checked off a Clapper Rail at Chestertown on Sept. 5, and Ethel Engle notched a King Rail at Tanyard on Sept. 19. A cooperative Virginia Rail, seen by many birders, remained at Enid Haupt Garden, The Mall, DC from late July through at least Oct. 30 (Jim Felley+), 5 were checked off at Elliott Island on Sept. 19 (H. Armistead+), and 2 were at the Bosley Conservancy, Harford County on Oct. 17 (Blom). A Sora visited Centen- nial Park, Aug. 28-31 (Kerwin, Schwarz, Ott, Zeichner); another was at Mason Dixon Farm on Aug. 28 (Roger Stone). Harry Armistead found a very nice count of 1 8 Common Moorhens at Elliott Island on Sept. 19, one was in DC on Oct. 24 (Sherman Suter), and another was at Deal Island WMA on Oct. 24 (Lawler). American Coots were early with 1 at Centennial on Sept. 19 (Mike Leumas), 7 at Havre de Grace on the same day (Blom), and 5 at Solomons on Sept. 20 (N. & F. Saunders). Coot highs were 1380 at Deep Creek Lake on Nov. 2 (Skipper), 2120 at Loch Raven on Nov. 8 (Simon, Terry), 900 at Havre de Grace on Nov. 21 (Blom, Ringler), and 540 at Piney Run on Nov. 26 (Ringler). Plovers, Oystercatchers, Stilts, Avocets. Reports of American Golden-Plovers were up this fall, and between 4 and 8 birds were seen by many birders atCentral Sod Farms from Aug. 27 (Cooper) to Sept. 4 (Poet). Others included 2 at PWRC/N on Sept. 5 (Stan Arnold), 2 in DC on Sept. 13 (Pisano), 1 at Salisbury on Sept. 13 (Iliff), at least 25 at Mason Dixon Farm on Sept. 19 (Hershberger), 4 at Beltsville on Sept. 23 (Fred Fallon), 2 at Eden on Oct. 1 (C. & D. Broderick), 34 near Lilypons on Oct. 1 8 (Hershberger), 205 at the Ridgely WWTP on Oct. 26 (Iliff), and 1 at Beltsville on Oct. 28 (George Myers). The high for Semipalmated Plovers was 400 at Assateague on Aug. 27, where two endangered Piping Plovers were spotted on the same day (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). The higher counts of Killdeer were 120 at Central Sod Farms on Sept. 7 (Mark & Amy Hoffman), 135 at Matthews on Sept. 13 (Iliff), 104 at Salisbury on Sept. 15 (Stasz), and 174 at Ridgely on Nov. 25 (Stasz). Fifteen American Oystercatchers were in Ocean City on Nov. 23 (Hoffman). A Black-necked Stilt was discovered at North Beach on Aug. 29 (Stasz+), where an American Avocet was found on Sept. 5 (Ringler+). Other Avocets were 1 at Cecilton on Aug. 12 (Mudds), 2 there on Aug. 27 (Gary Griffith), and 1 at Ocean City on Oct. 1 1 (Ecker). Tringine Sandpipers, Godwits. Paul Pisano found about 135 Lesser Yellowlegs in DC on Sept. 18, and 120+ were at Beltsville on Sept. 22 (Stasz). The last Solitary Sandpiper was at Vantage Point, Columbia on Oct. 29 (Chestem), and the last Spotted Sandpiper was at Scot- land on Oct. 15 (Craig). Bell and Rambo totaled up 28 Upland Sandpipers at PRNAS on Aug. 1. Others included 3 at the Ocean City Airport on Aug. 27 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and 20 at PRNAS on Aug. 27 and 5 there on Sept. 5 (Rambo+). Solo Whimbrels were reported at Pt. Lookout on Sept. 1 (Craig, Cribb), at PRNAS on Sept. 5 (Rambo+), and at Blackwater on Sept. 12 (H. Armistead) and Sept. 19 (Clive Harris). A Marbled Godwit was located at Cen- tral Sod Farms on Sept. 2 (Mackiernan, Cooper), and another was discovered at Assateague on Sept. 12 (Iliff). Deccember 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 97 Calidridine Sandpipers. Red Knots are scarce migrants away from the coast, but one visited Cecilton on Aug. 12 ( Watson- Whitmy re), and another was at North Beach on Aug. 29 (Elliot & Nancy Kirshbaum). Gene Scarpulla and party tallied 924 Semipalmated Sandpip- ers at Hart-Miller on the first of August, 122 were concentrated at North Beach on Aug. 10 (Stasz), and 40 were at Havre de Grace on Sept. 12 (Miller, Stasz). Western Sandpipers started off with 12 at North Beach on Aug. 1 (Lesh, Stasz) and 86 at Hart-Miller on the same day. Others included 3 at Browns Bridge on Aug. 30 (Ecker), 10 at Havre de Grace on Sept. 1 1 (Blom), and 1 1 at Bullfrog and Harvey Roads, Washington County on Sept. 21 . Numerous Least Sandpipers included 147 at Hart-Miller on Aug. 15, 27 at Dameron on Aug. 22 (Craig, Bishop), 60 at Hurlock on Aug. 27 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), 80 at North Beach on Sept. 1 (Stasz), 20 at Havre de Grace on Sept. 12 (Miller, Stasz), 4 at Scotland on Oct. 28 (Craig, Cribb), and 2 late birds at Ridgely on Nov. 25 (Stasz). North Beach hosted 5 White-rumped Sandpipers on Aug. 30 (Matt O’Donnell), 2 were at Beauvue on Sept. 1 1 (Rambo), and 2 were at Havre de Grace on the same day (Blom). Ottavio Janni checked off 2 Baird’s Sandpipers at Mason Dixon Farm on Aug. 23, 2 were at Ridgely on Aug. 27 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), and singles were at Pt. Lookout on Sept. 5 (Stasz), at Beauvue on Sept. 1 1 (Rambo), Salisbury on Sept. 15 (Stasz) and Sept. 22 (Dyke), Mason Dixon Farm on Sept. 27 (Dan Eberly), and at E. A. Vaughn WMA on Oct. 4 (Stasz). The high for Pectoral Sandpipers was 20 at Mason Dixon Farm on Sept. 27 (Eberly), and later single Pectorals were at Havre de Grace on Nov. 2 (Brian Monk) and at Scotland on Nov. 17 (Cribb). The Purple Sandpiper at Ocean City on Oct. 1 1 was early; 20 were there on Nov. 23 (Hoffman). Dunlins also began early with 1 in DC on Sept. 11 (Pisano), 1 at Hart- Miller on Sept. 19, and 1 at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 3 (Craig, Bishop). Some of the interesting Stilt Sandpipers were 1 at Myrtle Grove WMA on Aug. 26 (Eric Gofrey, Ron Kalgarise), 7 at West Ocean City on Aug. 27 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz), 3 at Scotland on Sept. 5 (Craig), 67 at Cecilton on Sept. 12 (Miller, Stasz), 1 in DC on Sept. 20 (Sherman Suter), 4 at Belts ville on Sept. 22 (Stasz), and 1 at Scotland on Oct. 15 (Craig). It was a good fall for Buff-breasted Sandpipers including 1 at Hart-Miller on Aug. 22, and 1 to 2 at Central Sod Farms from Aug. 27 (Lesh, Stasz) through Sept. 13 (N. & F. Saunders), 2 at PRNAS on Sept. 4 and Sept. 7 (Rambo, Craig), 1 at Havre de Grace on Sept. 11-12 (Blom, Miller, Stasz), 2 at Hart-Miller on Sept. 12, 2 at Blackwater the same day (H. Armistead+), 5 at Matthews on Sept. 13 (Iliff) and Sept. 16 (Mudds), 2 at Mason Dixon Farm on Sept. 19 (Hershberger), 1 at Beltsville on Sept. 22 (Stasz), 2 at Salisbury on the same day (Dyke), and 1 at Rum Point Golf Course, Wicomico County on Oct. 4 (Stasz). Dowitchers, Snipe, Woodcock, Phalaropes. Jim Stasz noted 21 flyover Short-billed Dow- itchers at North Beach on Aug. 21,2 were nearby at Mattawoman NEA, Charles County on Aug. 22 (Jett), and 8 were at Scotland on the same day (Bishop, Craig). Long-billed Dow- itchers began with 3 at West Ocean City on Oct. 3 (Stasz), 1 was in DC on Oct. 10 (Janni), and 7 unidentified dowitchers were noted at Havre de Grace on Oct. 9 (Blom). August reports of early Common Snipe were 8 at Cecilton on Aug. 17 (Fisher) and 2 at Easton WWTP on Aug. 27 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). Twenty snipe were at Hughes Hollow on Nov. 29 (Woodward), and a migrant American Woodcock appeared at the Department of Commerce Building in DC on Oct. 7 (Kim Shedd). A Wilson’s Phalarope turned up at Horsehead Wetlands Center on Aug. 4 (Graff), 2 visited Hurlock WWTP on Sept. 25-26 (Don Burggraf), and another was at Conowingo on Nov. 13 (Blom, Monk). Some Red-necked Phalaropes were also around with singles at Hart-Miller on Aug. 22, and at Beltsville on Sept. 22, 27, and 28 (Stasz, Helen Meleney). 98 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 Jaegers , Gulls. An unidentified jaeger was spotted off Ocean City on Aug. 28 (Hoffman), and a Pomarine Jaeger was there on Oct. 3 (Stasz). Laughing Gull numbers were high again in Howard County with 1500 at Alpha Ridge Landfill on Aug. 22 (Magnusson, Solems). Other highs were 6000 at Brown Station Landfill, Prince George’s County on Nov. 7 (Jett, Stasz), and 1000 at Upper Marlboro on Nov. 23 (Stasz). Stasz and Iliff were able to photo- graph a juvenile Franklin’s Gull for the first Calvert County record at Chesapeake Beach on Aug. 30. Solitary Franklin’s were seen at Havre de Grace on Oct. 9-10 (Blom+), at Sandy Point SP on Nov. 14 (Wierenga), and at Conowingo on the same day (Blom, Scarpulla). At Upper Marlboro, a first-winterFranklin’s was identified on Nov. 16 and an adult on Nov. 23 (Stasz). Steve Simon found a very early Bonaparte’s Gull at Loch Raven on Sept. 2, and highs for this species were 300 at Conowingo on Nov. 1 (Blom, Scarpulla) and 900 tallied during a boat trip on the Miles River (Talbot/Queen Anne’s) on Nov. 14 (Reese). The high for Ring-billed Gulls was 3500 at Conowingo on Nov. 1 (Blom, Scarpulla), and Gene Scarpulla and company notched Hart-Miller Island’s third California Gull, an adult, on Aug. 15. Lesser Black-backed Gulls included a first-summer bird at Ocean City on Aug. 21 (Czaplak, Todd); a second- summer/third winter on Sept. 1 1 and 6 at Havre de Grace on Oct. 10 (Blom); a single bird at the Charles County landfill on Oct. 17 (Jett); and an adult at Westminster on Nov. 11 (Ringler). Concentrations of Great Black-backed Gulls included 1071 at Hart-Miller on Aug. 29, 220 at PRNAS on Sept. 4 (Rambo), and 209 at Havre de Grace on Sept. 19 (Blom). Terns, Skimmers. Stasz and Lesh found one juvenile and three adult Gull-billed Terns at Hurlock on Aug. 27. Another was reported at Ocean City on Aug. 28 (Linda Baker). The high for Caspian Terns was 165 at Hart-Miller on Aug. 15; 145 were at Havre de Grace on Sept. 19 (Blom). Lola and Ted Oberman reported a Royal Tern flying downriver at Great Falls, Montgomery County on Aug. 25. Sam Dyke spotted a juvenile Sandwich Tern at Ocean City on Aug. 10, where 12 were counted on Aug. 21-22 (Czaplak, Todd). Jim Wilkinson spotted one that was calling in Ocean City on Aug. 29, another was noted the same day at Pt. Lookout (Day, Gaskill+), and one was at Assateague on Sept. 13 (Iliff). Another species was added to the Hart-Miller list when an adult Roseate Tern was checked off on Aug. 15. Havre de Grace was a somewhat unusual location for the 3 Common Terns discovered there on Sept. 12 (Miller, Stasz); 3 were seen there on Oct. 9 as well (Blom). The high for this species was 700 at Pt. Lookout on Aug. 3 (Craig, Cribb), and 13 late Common Terns were there on Nov. 12 (Cribb). Highs for Forster’s Terns included 400 at Havre de Grace on Sept. 19 (Blom), 300 at Ridge on Oct. 15 (Craig), 145 at Blackwater on Oct. 25 (H. Armistead+), and 407 at Ocean City on Nov. 23 (Hoffman). Norm and Fran Saunders checked off a late Least Tern at Scot- land on Sept. 19, making the Least listed by Darius Ecker at Ocean City on Oct. 11 extraordinarily late. Black Terns were very much in evidence this fall, including 1 at Fulton on Aug. 10 (Jim & Carol Wilkinson), 14 at Hurlock WWTP on Aug. 26 (Lesh, Stasz), and 10 at Ocean City on Aug. 28 (Hoffman). No really high counts of Black Skimmers were turned in from Ocean City this fall; 5 were there on Aug. 28 (Hoffman), and 45 were there on Oct. 3 (Stasz). Two were at Pt. Lookout on Sept. 1 (Craig, Cribb), and 3 at Kent Narrows, Queen Anne’s County on Nov. 26 (Gail & Charles Vaughn) were running late and far up the bay. Doves, Monk Parakeet, Cuckoos, Owls, Caprimulgids. The White-winged Dove found dead in Georgetown, DC on Oct. 30 (Nannete Herrick) was quite a surprise, as was no doubt, the escaped Monk Parakeet at Havre de Grace on Sept. 19 (Blom) and Sept. 21 (Webb). The Black-billed Cuckoo, a bit late on Sept. 24, was a nice find for Helen Zeichner at Wilde Lake, and the Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Hollywood on Nov. 1 (Lister) was very late. Jan Reese encountered a Great Horned Owl feeding nearly fledged young at Neavitt on Sept. 4, some- what late breeding for this species. Short-eared Owls arrived in November with 1 at Smoot Deccember 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 99 Bay, Prince George’s County on the 3rd (Smith), another at Turkey Point on the 7th (Fisher, Watson-Whitmyre), and one at Hart-Miller on the 16th. Three Northern Saw-whet Owls were banded on the very first night of banding, Oct. 8, at Casselman Banding Station in Garrett County (Kevin Dodge), and 16 were banded at Lamb’s Knoll in Washington County on Oct. 29 (Steve Huy). By far, the high for Common Nighthawks this season was 1139 over Rockville on Sept. 2 (Bob Augustine). The only October report was of 1 at Piney Run on Oct. 10 (Ringler, Bill Kulp, Jr.). Marshall Iliff found a Chuck-wilPs-widow at Assateague on Sept. 13, and Roger Eastman reported one from Kent Island on Sept. 1 8. Inez Glime heard a Whip- poor-will calling at Federalsburg on Sept. 19. An even grand was the number for Chimney Swift highs this fall with 1000 at Wyman, Baltimore on Sept. 14 (Elliot Kirshbaum), 1000 at Laurel on Sept. 17 (Kathy Klimkiewicz), 1000 at Greensboro on Sept. 19 (Scudder), and 1000 at Lexington Park on Oct. 5 (Craig). The last report received was for 28 in Baltimore on Oct. 22 (Graff). Hummingbirds, Woodpeckers, Flycatchers. The last Ruby-throated Hummingbird re- port was of 1 at Salisbury on Nov. 2 (Brodericks). Interesting single Selasphorus hummingbirds were reported at Rockville on Sept. 17 (Nancy & Lucy MacClintock), in DC on Nov. 21 (Pisano, Janni), and at Point of Rocks on Nov. 23 (James Woods). John Hays reported a Rufous Hummingbird in DC on Nov. 21 and Nov. 23. At Tilghman Island, Jan Reese ob- served an adult Red-headed Woodpecker feeding three fledglings on Aug. 2, and an adult Red-bellied Woodpecker feeding two fledglings on Aug. 20. The first Yellow-bellied Sap- sucker was checked off near Union Bridge on Sept. 12 (Ringler, Don Jewell), and Fran Pope observed one eating honeysuckle berries in her yard in Garrett County on Sept. 26. There was a nice showing of Olive-sided Flycatchers: 1 at Pennyfield on Aug. 12 (Todd), 1 at PRNAS on Aug. 18 (Rambo), 1 at Daniels on Sept. 5 (D. & L. Southworth), 2 at Ellicott City on Sept. 12 (Ott+), and 1 at Pt. Lookout on Sept. 19 (N. & F. Saunders). Patty Craig watched 2 adult Eastern Wood-Pewees feeding 2 young at Pt. Lookout on Aug. 15, and the last report was 1 banded at Chino Farms on Oct. 10, where 3 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were banded on both Sept. 9 and Sept. 1 1 . Two Least Flycatchers were banded at Mt. Nebo, one on Sept. 10 and one on Sept. 28. Pt. Lookout is a great spot for migrating Eastern Phoebes; 34 were tallied there on Oct. 1 1 (Day, Gaskill). Nearby, at PRNAS, Kyle Rambo found a Western Kingbird on Sept. 2. The high for Eastern Kingbirds was an impressive 75 at Chino Farms on Aug. 1 9 (Gruber), and 2 late Easterns were noted at Bloodsworth Island, Dorchester County on Oct. 1 (Rambo). Vireos, Corvids, Swallows. A late White-eyed Vireo was present at Alpha Ridge on Oct. 24 (Ecker). The first Blue-headed Vireos were 2 at Hughes Hollow on Sept. 29 (Woodward); the last one was at Neavitt on Nov. 1 (Reese). The last Yellow-throated Vireo visited Rock Creek Park on Sept. 23 (Mackieman, Cooper). Warbling Vireos were running a bit late with 2 at Huntingtown NRMA on Sept. 27 (Stasz), 1 at Rock Creek Park on Sept. 29 (Robert Weiner), 1 at Lake Elkhom on Oct. 1 (Ecker), and 1 near Girdletree on Oct. 4 (Stasz). The Philadelphia Vireo at Turkey Point on Aug. 30 (Fisher, McCandless+) was very early. Gail Mackieman and Barry Cooper totaled over 30 Red-eyed Vireos at Rock Creek Park on Sept. 1 1 , Kye Jenkins listed 20 near Phoenix on Sept. 20, and the last 4 were noted at Turkey Point on Oct. 1 8 (McCandless). Reports of migrating Blue Jays were widespread, but the single day highs were modest with 80 at Tilghman Island on Sept. 24 (Reese) and 75 at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 1 1 (Day, Gaskill). George Jett estimated about 500 American Crows at a large roost at Waldorf on Nov. 15, and Ethel Engle tallied at least 1 10 migrating Fish Crows at Tanyard on Aug. 27. Common Ravens included 8 at Washington Monument SP on Oct. 1 8 (Kirshbaums), 1 at Conowingo on Oct. 29 (Blom), and 2 at Morgan Run NEA, Carroll County on Nov. 1 100 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 (Sanford). TVee Swallow highs were 400 at Havre de Grace on Oct. 9 (Blom), and 600 at Allens Fresh on Oct. 1 1 (Jett, Stasz). Over 200 Northern Rough-winged Swallows were tallied at Chino Farms on Aug. 11 (Gruber), and 130 were at Hughes Hollow on Sept. 25 (Woodward). Don Burggraf spied a late Cliff Swallow at Hurlock on Sept. 25, and the Bank Swallow found by Leslie Fisher at Turkey Point on Oct. 1 1 was very late. The high for Barn Swallows was 250 at Chino Farms on Aug. 19 (Gruber), and the latest were 3 on Oct. 22 at Baltimore (Graff). Chickadees, Nuthatches, Creepers, Wrens, Kinglets, Gnatcatchers. Jan Reese observed a Carolina Chickadee collecting lichens for nest material at Tilghman Island on the late date of Aug. 23 and checked off 15 Brown-headed Nuthatches at Neavitt on Sept. 7. Twenty Brown- headeds were tallied at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 24 (Bishop, Craig), and the first Brown Creeper was at Wilde Lake on Sept. 9 (Chestem). The last reports for House Wrens were 3 banded at Chino Farms on Oct. 26, and 1 at Pt. Lookout on Nov. 1 3 (Cribb). The single Winter Wren at Salisbury on Sept. 9 (Brodericks) was extraordinarily early, as the one at Blackwater on Sept. 19 was early enough (H. Armistead+). Paul Woodward reported 13 Winter Wrens at Hughes Hollow on Nov. 22. A few lucky birders located some Sedge Wrens this fall with 1 at the Belmont Conference Center, Howard County on Sept. 19 (Mary Jo Betts, Probst+), 1 near Patuxent Valley Middle School, Howard County on Sept. 19 (Richard Orr), 2 at Bethesda on Sept. 28 (David Cohen), and 1 at Assateague on Oct. 3 (Stasz). Golden-crowned Kinglets began with 1 at Font Hill Park on Sept. 23 (Ott, Solem, Zeichner), 1 at Phoenix on Sept. 24 (Simon, Terry), and 2 at Turkey Point on Sept. 25 (Fisher). Highs were 30 at Chino Farms on Oct. 9 (Gruber), and over 100 at Turkey Point on Oct. 1 1 (Fisher). The first Ruby-crowned Kinglets were 1 at Lake Elkhom on Sept. 3 (Ecker), and 1 at Gilbert Run Park, Charles County on Sept. 11 (Fred Burggraf). Highs were 75 at Chino Farms on Oct. 9 (Gruber), over 50 at Turkey Point on Oct. 1 1 (Fisher), 40 at Rock Creek Park on Oct. 12 (Mackieman+), and 40 at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 22 (Craig). The solo Blue-gray Gnatcatchers at Pt. Lookout on Aug. 3 (Craig, Cribb), and banded at Chino Farms on the same day were most likely migrants. The last Blue-gray was at Conowingo on Nov. 21 (Blom, Ringler). Thrushes . Jan Reese listed 135 Eastern Bluebirds at Tilghman Island on Nov. 15. The Veery at Chino Farms on Aug. 4 was very early, and Dave Harvey noted one at Hugg-Thomas WMA, Howard County on Oct. 4. The first Gray-cheeked Thrushes were singles at Lake Elkhom on Sept. 9 (Ecker), and at Pt. Lookout on Sept. 1 1 (Rambo), where the high of 4 was recorded on Oct. 4 (Craig). Jim Gruber banded single Bicknell’s Thrushes at Chino Farms on Sept. 24 and Oct. 5. The last Swainson’s Thrush was at Alpha Ridge Park on Oct. 24 (Ecker). October 17 was a big day for Hermit Thrushes; 26 were banded at Chino Farms, where the last Wood Thrush was banded on Oct. 15. American Robins were widespread and numer- ous, and Jan Reese tracked the concentrations at the Holiday Inn, Easton with 1500 on Aug. 13, 4200 on Sept. 3, 5700 on Sept. 21, 1 1,030 on Sept. 29, 12,020 on Oct. 7, 22,700 on Oct. 13, 18,285 on Oct. 20, 17,135 on Oct. 28, 5865 on Nov. 5, 600 on Nov. 10, and 50 on Nov. 17. Mimids, Pipits, Waxwings, Starlings. About 80 Gray Catbirds were at Assateague on Oct. 3 (Stasz) and 38 were at Layhill Park, Montgomery County on Oct. 7 (Howard Youth). Highs for Brown Thrashers were 1 8 at Huntington NRM A, Calvert County on Sept. 27 (Stasz), and 50 at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 3 (Bishop, Craig). The first 2 American Pipits turned up at Mason Dixon Farm on Sept. 12 (Robert Hilton), 127 were at UMCF on Nov. 1 (Solem), and over 100 were at Ridgely on Nov. 25 (Stasz). About 500 Cedar Waxwings were at Chino Farms on Oct. 28 (Gruber) and at Turkey Point on Nov. 13 (Fisher+). Gene Scarpulla and Deccember 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 101 party added up 2000 European Starlings coming through Hart-Miller on Oct. 31, and Darius Ecker estimated 4000 at Eastern Neck NWR on Nov. 28. Vermivora and Parula Warblers. Four single Brewster’s Warblers were notched this fall: at Rockville on Aug. 23 (Paul O’Brien), at Turkey Point on Sept. 6 (Fisher, Watson- Whitmyre), off Route 108 in Montgomery County on the same day (Daryl Olson), and at Chino Farms on Sept. 10 (Gruber). The first and last Tennessee Warblers were banded at Chino Farms, on Aug. 21 and on Nov. 2; one was banded even earlier at Mt. Nebo on Aug. 19. Another was at Lake Elkhom on Oct. 29 (Ecker). At least 8 Orange-crowned Warblers were located, from the first at Mt. Nebo WMA on Sept. 12 (Skipper, Pope) to the last at Dameron on Oct. 29 (Craig). Nashville Warblers got started with 1 at Rock Creek Park on Aug. 28 (Mackieman, Cooper) and 2 at Turkey Point on Aug. 30 (Fisher, McCandless+), and the last one was at Meadowbrook on Oct. 17 (Ott). Running a bit late were the single Northern Parulas at Bosley Conservancy, Harford County on Oct. 17 (Blom), and at Turkey Point on Oct. 18 (McCandless). Dendroica Warblers. Over 40 Chestnut-sided Warblers went through Rock Creek Park on Sept. 1 1 (Mackieman, Cooper), and highs for Magnolia Warblers were 50 at Turkey Point on Sept. 8 (Fisher, McCandless), 30 at Chino Farms on Sept. 10 (Gruber), and 60 at Rockbum on Sept. 13 (Ott+). The last Magnolia report was of 1 at Hughes Hollow on Oct. 20 (Woodward). A Cape May Warbler was listed at Turkey Point on Aug. 30, and 15 were checked off there on Sept. 8 (Fisher, McCandless). A Cape May was also seen at Mt. Nebo WMA on Aug. 30 (Skipper, Pope). Black-throated Blue Warblers were off and flying with singles at Chino Farms on Aug. 4 (Gruber), banded at Mt. Nebo on Aug. 16, at Dameron on Aug. 20 (Craig), and at Rock Creek Park on Aug. 21 (Mackieman, Cooper). Twenty-five Black-throated Blues were tallied at Northwest Branch Park on Oct. 7 (Mackieman, Cooper), and the last were 3 at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 15 (Craig). Tina and Curtis Dew found a Yellow- rumped Warbler near Chingville on Aug. 25, and another was present at Elk Neck SP, Cecil County on Sept. 2 (Sue Levy). Highs were 500 at Chino Farms on Sept. 29 and 800 there on Oct. 9 (Gruber), and 150 at Cornfield Harbor on Oct. 20 (Craig). Black-throated Green Warblers commenced with 2 on Aug. 28 at Rock Creek Park, where over 30 were foundon Sept. 1 1 (Mackieman, Cooper); 20 were at Turkey Point on Oct. 7 (Fisher); and singles were checked off at Bellevue on Oct. 3 1 (H. Armistead), at Waldorf on Nov. 17 (Jett), and at Ellicott City on Nov. 22 (Robin Todd). Jan Reese found a Yellow- throated Warbler at Neavitt on Sept, 23. Palm Warblers turned up early in St. Mary’s County with 1 near Chingville on Aug. 25 (Dews), and 1 at Pt. Lookout on Aug. 29 (T. Day, Mike Day, Gaskill). The high was over 100 at Turkey Point on Oct. 7 (Fisher). At Hart-Miller, Scarpulla and party tallied 71 yellows on Oct. 18 and 51 westerns on Sept. 19, and Gruber counted 38 westerns at Chino Farms on Sept. 29. Early Blackpolls were singles at Tilghman Island on Aug. 20 (Reese) and at Denton on Aug. 23 (D. Bennett). The one banded at Mt. Nebo on Oct. 15 was late. Three nice-to-find Cerulean Warblers were notched this season: one at Dameron on Aug. 20 (Craig), one banded at Mt. Nebo on Aug. 23, and another at McKeldin, Carroll County on Aug. 30 (Ringler). Other Warblers. The Black-and-white Warbler banded at Chino Farms on Aug. 5 was probably the first migrant; the last Black-and-white was noted at Lake Elkhorn on Oct. 19 (Ecker). The high count for American Redstarts was about 30 at Turkey Point on Sept. 3, with about 30 there also on Sept. 8 (Fisher, McCandless). Mariana Nuttle discovered a Pro- 102 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 thonotary Warbler at Martinak SP, Caroline County on Oct. 3. Paul Zucker turned in the last report of a Worm-eating Warbler at Black Hill Park on Oct. 12. Ovenbirds finished up with one at Enid Haupt Gardens, DC from Oct. 16 (Jim Mathews) to Nov. 1 1 (Dex Hinckley); and the first Northern Waterthrush was banded at Chino Farms on Aug. 5. The Louisiana Wa- terthrush at Vantage Point, Howard County on Sept. 13 was late (Jo & Bob Solem), as was the Kentucky Warbler at Fair Hill, Cecil County on Sept. 27 (Watson-Whitmyre). More than two dozen Connecticut Warblers were reported, including 2 banded at Mt. Nebo on Sept. 1 1 (Skipper and Pope), 5 banded at Laurel, Sept. 8-12 (Robbins), and 2 immatures at Indian Creek WMA, Charles County on Sept. 19 and 2 birds at Smoky Road, Calvert County on Sept. 27 (Stasz). Mourning Warblers included 2 banded at Chino Farms on Sept. 10, and 2 at Rock Creek Park on Sept. 14 (Hilton). Jim Gruber was busy with Common Yellowthroats on Sept. 18, banding 26 that day at Chino Farms; 45 were tallied at Terrapin Point Park on Sept. 26 (Stasz). The Hooded Warbler banded at Mt. Nebo on Sept. 27 was late. The first Canada Warbler banded at Chino Farms was on Aug. 4, and Tyler Bell discovered a late Yellow- breasted Chat at Jefferson Patterson Park, Calvert County on Nov. 4. Cardinaline Finches. Patty Craig observed a Northern Cardinal nest with young at Dameron on Aug. 8. The high for Rose-breasted Grosbeaks was 12 at Rock Creek Park on Sept. 23 (Mackieman, Cooper), and the last one was at Font Hill Park on Oct. 19 (Ott). The Blue Grosbeak high was 16 banded at Chino Farms on Sept. 24, where 21 Indigo Buntings were banded on Sept. 29. Jim Stasz identified an immature, male Dickcissel at Terrapin Point Park on Sept. 26. Sparrows. The high counts for Chipping Sparrows were over 100 at Chino Farms on Oct. 7 (Gruber), and about 150 at UMCF on Oct. 25 (Ott+). A Clay-colored Sparrow made an appearance at Rock Creek Park, Sept. 5 (Janni) through Sept. 7 (Welbom), and a Clay- colored banded at Chino Farms on Sept. 10 was recaptured on Oct. 5. Others were solo birds at Black Hill Park on Sept. 26 (Czaplak), and at Assateague on Oct. 3 (Stasz). Fifty Field Sparrows were listed at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 28 (Craig, Cribb), and a Vesper Sparrow was banded at Chino Farms on Aug. 23. Beauvue was an interesting location for the Vesper Spar- row found there on Oct. 6 (Rambo). A few single Lark Sparrows were at Assateague this fall: on Aug. 23 (Czaplak, Todd), Aug. 29 (Poet+), Sept. 13 (Iliff), and Oct. 3 (Stasz). Others were 1 at Pt. Lookout, Aug. 29-31 (Day, Gaskill+), and 1 along Dan’s Rock Road in Allegany County on Sept. 21 (Susan Sires). Savannah Sparrows included the high of 320 at UMCF on Oct. 12 (Ott, Solem+), and 73 at Hart-Miller on Oct. 18. The last Grasshopper Sparrows were 2 at Beauvue on Oct. 6 (Rambo), 1 at Allens Fresh on Oct. 1 1 (Jett, Stasz), 1 banded at Chino Farms on Oct. 16, and 1 at Mt. Pleasant on Oct. 23 (Ott+). Kyle Rambo had a nice tally of 18 Seaside Sparrows at Bloods worth Island on Oct. 1, and 480 Song Sparrows were added up at Mt. Pleasant on Oct. 22 (Ott, Chestem, Zeichner). Lincoln’s Sparrows were well represented, including an early one banded at Chino Farms on Sept. 5, and 10 banded at Jug Bay between Sept. 12 and Oct. 26 (Bystrak). The high count for Swamp Sparrows was 80 at UMCF on Oct. 12 (Ott+), and 250 White-throated Sparrows were tallied at Chino Farms on Oct. 9 (Gruber). Another 250 were at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 22 (Craig). The first White-crowned Sparrow was the one banded at Chino Farms on Sept. 26, and at least 40 were checked off at Meadowbrook on Nov. 16 (Zeichner), and 75 near Lilypons on Oct. 25 (N. & F. Saunders). Bonnie Ott found a nice Harris’s Sparrow at UMCF on Oct. 25, seen by several birders on Oct. 25-26. Deccember 1999 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 103 Juncos, Longspurs, Snow Buntings. Highs for Dark-eyed Juncos were 150 at Layhill Park, Montgomery County on Oct. 30 (Mackieman, Cooper) and 200 at Pt. Lookout on Oct. 31 (Craig). The one found by Dave Weesner at Washington Monument SP on Sept. 18 was pretty early. Paul O’Brien discovered a Lapland Longspur, a loner near reliable Lilypons on Oct. 18. Snow Buntings included 1 at Deal Island WMA on Oct. 24 (Lawler), 3 at Assateague on Oct. 26 (Fran & John Juriga), 2 at Cove Point, Calvert County on Oct. 3 1 (Arlene Ripley), 3 at Chino Farms on the same day (Gruber), and the highs of 54 at Hart-Miller on Nov. 16, and about 35 at PRNAS on Nov. 25 (Rambo). Icterines, Cardueline Finches. The high for Bobolinks was over 3000 at Choptank on Sept. 20 (E. & W. Engle). Other Bobolinks included over 600 at Chino Farms on Aug. 22 (Gruber), and 250 at Hurlock WWTP on Aug. 27 (Iliff, Lesh, Stasz). A Yellow-headed Black- bird was discovered at Herrington Harbor, Anne Arundel County on Sept. 10 (Paula Sullivan). Rusty Blackbirds were a little early with 1 at West Ocean City on Oct. 4 (Stasz) and 2 at Hughes Hollow on Oct. 7 (Gemma Radko). The high Rusty counts were 34 at Chino Farms on Oct. 23 (Gruber), 75 at Hughes Hollow on Oct. 31 (Woodward), and 43 at Centennial Park on Nov. 8 (Ecker). Jan Reese estimated about 50,000 migrating Common Grackles at Centreville on Oct. 8, and highs for Brown-headed Cowbirds were 900 at UMCF on Nov. 1 (Solem), and 400 at Allens Fresh on Nov. 7 (Jett, Stasz). Bishop and Craig ended up with 20 Orchard Orioles at Scotland on Aug. 22, and an amazing 3 1 were banded at Chino Farms on Aug. 3 1 . The Orchard Oriole at UMCF on Oct. 12 (Ott, Solem, Garza) was very late. Single Baltimore Orioles at Tilghman Island on Aug. 2 (Reese) and banded at Chino Farms on Aug. 4 were probably the first migrants. Jim Gruber had a very nice count of 75 Purple Finches at Chino Farms on the first of November, and also tallied 250 House Finches there on Oct. 3 1 . 9763 Early Spring Way, Columbia, Maryland 21046 104 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 55, No. 4 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Published Quarterly by the Maryland Ornithological Society, Inc. to Record and Encourage the Study of Birds in Maryland. Editor: Chandler S. Robbins, 7900 Brooklyn Bridge Rd., Laurel, MD 20707 Phone: 301-725-1176; fax: 301-497-5624; e-mail: Chan_Robbins@usgs.gov Assoc. Editor: Janet Millenson, 10500 Falls Rd., Potomac, MD 20854 Asst. Editor: Robert F. Ringler, 6272 Pinyon Pine Ct., Eldersburg, MD 21784 Mailing: Howard County Chapter Headings: Schneider Design Associates, Baltimore CONTENTS, DECEMBER 1999 Kelp Gull Visits St. Mary’s County, MD (Part II) Jane Kostenko 83 The Season: Fall Migration, Aug. 1-Nov. 30, 1998 Daniel R. Southworth 92 2 P CO PRINTED WITH SOY INK n-Profit Org. .S. Postage PAID lumbia, MD rmit No. 452 i