Date: 6/8/25 10:03 am From: Harry Armistead <harryarmistead...> Subject: [MDBirding] Ferry Neck & Dorchester County, May 1-11, 2025.
FERRY NECK & Dorchester county, MAY 1-11, 2025.
MAY 1, THURSDAY. arrive at Rigby’s Folly, 5:30, 78, fair, calm. has dried up a lot. black locusts are blooming, 2-3 weeks early. 1 deer in Field 4. coral bells w/ 12 stalks.
MAY 2, FRIDAY. clear, 68-85, SW 5-10, hot. pair of killdeer in the Big Field, no doubt breeding, several distraction displays but no broken wing act.
wild turkey 1, pine wabler 1, wood duck 2, cattle egret 2, least tern 1, great crested flycatcher 3, hummingbird 1 (seen from bed 9 times), indigo bunting 1, gray catbird 5, eastern bluebird 4, chipping sparrow 1, fish crow 3, chickadee 6, pileated woodpecker 1. 41 bird species today.
non-avian: red-spotted purple 1, spring azure 2, Cope’s gray tree frog 5, gray squirrel 3, 5 deer in Field 6, a red fox in the Big Field (= Field 1), diamondback terrapin 19.
MAY 3, SATURDAY. a segment of the Dorchester County bird count (count in full analyzed ad nauseam previously, q.v). Liz & Harry: Bestpitch, Drawbridge & environs. Maple Dam Rd. Bucktown. 9:45 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. 65 miles by car. 66 species. wild turkey 1, clapper rail 1, king rail 1, laughing gull 725, black vulture 21, bald eagle 16, pileated woodpecker 1, horned lark 1, eastern bluebird 14, marsh wren 1, seaside sparrow 1, prothonotary warbler 1, prairie warbler 3. also: Cope’s gray tree frog 1, sika deer 1, painted turtle 3.
My classmate Lars Egede-Nissen, a close friend since 1954, honored with St. Paul’s School distinguished alumni award today in Concord, NH for his career in hospice work.
MAY 4, SUNDAY. northern parula 1, brown-headed nuthatch 1, blue grosbeak 1 male, house finch singing. overcast becoming fair then overcast, 65-71, SW 5 then E 15-25. 4 gray squirrels at the feed.
MAY 5, MONDAY. 65-73, SE 3-12, overcast sometimes fair. A well-seen fox squirrel out front on the driveway. A diamondback terrapin in the front yard, hauled out and ready to deposit eggs. 5 deer in Field 1. The blackberries are in full, bright white, bloom. 1 red-spotted purple. A large, fat Fowler’s toad by the front porch steps, pudgy. 1 green heron. 1 greater yellowlegs. 3 black vultures. 1 pileated woodpecker. An imm. bald eagle right in the yard at treetop level. 1 Cope’s gray tree frog.
At Bellevue 7:30 P.M. 7 deer, 2 Forster’s terns.
MAY 6, TUESDAY. fair, 64-73, SW 10-20, windy. a male hummer at the coral bells. 5 gray squirrels at the feed simultaneously. tiger swallowtail 2. pine warbler sings just once in the yard. We go to the Blackwater N.W.R. dinner celebrating volunteers, beautifully organized. During the dinner a red-tailed hawk can be seen nearby.
MAY 7, WEDNESDAY. clear, N-NW 15, 60-73, cool. yellow warbler 1, Baltimore oriole 1. 3 American goldfinches at the feed. 1 red-spotted purple. 1 cattle egret, 1 ad. bald eagle, 3 black vultures. black locust blossoms are luxuriant, and early. 1 buckeye. a cedar waxwing.
At Bellevue, 6:30 P.M., a lovely, breeding plumage Bonaparte’s gull at real close range, 1 eastern cottontail, 3 gray squirrels, an eastern kingbird.
MAY 8, THURSDAY. 59-76, clear then mostly overcast, light winds 0-7. 1 snowy egret, 4 mourning doves, an ad. white-crowned sparrow, seldom seen here in spring. Liz sees a 9” male skink. 3 killdeer. cedar waxwing 1. 1 Swainson’s thrush. 4 brown thrashers. 1 Cope’s gray tree frog. 10 deer in Field 1. 1 tiger swallowtail.
MAY 9, FRIDAY. overcast, 15-25, cold, windy, 55-67. Mary leaves at 8:45 A.M. George arrives c. 6 P.M. 1 wild turkey. mostly rested today, and compiled the results of the May 3 Dorchester bird count. George hears a Swainson’s thrush singing by the garage.
MAY 10, SATURDAY. a segment of the Dorchester County bird count today, described in great detail previously. George & Harry Armistead, 8 A.M. - 7:30 P.M. Egypt Rd., Hooper’s I. & Elliott I. Rd. 131 miles by car. 88 species. Of some note:
clapper rail 12, common gallinule 3, black-necked stilt 3, black-bellied plover 138, American golden-plover 1 (photographed; Egypt Rd.). short-billed dowitcher 38 (incl. 1 hendersoni, photographed), dunlin 869, willet 1 (incredibly low), least tern 17, red-throated loon 1, brown pelican 1, bald eagle 58, marsh wren 43, seaside sparrow 19.
MAY 11, SUNDAY. MAY 11, 2025, SUNDAY, RIGBY’S FOLLY, a segment of the Talbot Bird Club statewide May bird count.
Canada goose 4. wild turkey 1. mourning dove 3. yellow-billed cuckoo 1. chimney swift 1. killdeer 3. least tern 1. Forster’s tern 3. cattle egret 1. green heron 1. osprey 3. bald eagle 1 imm. belted kingfisher 1. red-headed woodpecker 1. red-bellied woodpecker 1. northern flicker 1. pileated woodpecker 2. great crested flycatcher 1. eastern kingbird 1. red-eyed vireo 1. blue jay 1. American crow 1. fish crow 2. Carolina chickadee 2. tufted titmouse 2. tree swallow 1. purple martin 5. barn swallow 1. cedar waxwing 1. Carolina wren 3. gray catbird 3. brown thrasher 2. northern mockingbird 1. European starling 2. eastern bluebird 2. American robin 4. house finch 2. American goldfinch 2. chipping sparrow 2. Baltimore oriole 1. red-winged blackbird 2. brown-headed cowbird 2. common grackle 7. ovenbird 1. northern parula 1. magnolia warbler 1. yellow warbler 1. pine warbler 2. northern cardinal 4. blue grosbeak 1.
50 species. 7 - 11:30 A.M. foot hours 7. car hours 0.25. foot miles 2. car miles 1 (very slow, with stops). regular parties 1-2. George Armistead. Harry Armistead. calm or winds light & variable from the East. clear. 59-73.
George spent several hours planting and servicing various native plants, but with his ears and eyes open for birds. I sat out by the dock for a while. We worked separately part of the time. 2 red foxes. Leave for PA at 11:30.
Best to all. - Harry Armistead, Bellevue & Philadelphia.
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