Date: 4/30/25 10:17 am From: Harry Armistead <harryarmistead...> Subject: [MDBirding] April 15-21, 2025 + Blackwater N.W.R.2025.
FERRY NECK, APRIL 15 - 21, 2025 & BLACKWATER N.W.R.
Wisteria and dogwoods in bloom. Seems a little early. “candles” starting to appear on loblolly pines. A time of coatings of pine pollen. Lots of common wintercress with its yellow flower clusters, in some areas, what I have for years mistakenly called mustard grass. NO gannets seen this spring; how disappointing.
Guests: Mary & her boys David & Lucas and their friends Mason & Johnny, George & Kristin Klein and her daughter Kayla. Some of the sightings below not seen by me but seen by other family members, as usual, but without attribution.
BLUEBIRDS: CONTENTS of our 3 nestboxes: lawn 3 young, Lucy Point 5 eggs, Field 4 five eggs. Good!
APRIL 15, TUESDAY. Route 481 just south of Ruthsburg a woodchuck, unusual in that its pelage is dark brown, plus a Wilson’s snipe and an American Kestrel. I’ve seen dark woodchucks previously in Massachusetts. A dozen wild turkeys in their favorite field south of Route 33 (across from Town ’n’ Country). Deer (all does), 3 at John Swaine’s, 6 at Camper’s, and 5 in our Big Field.
Clear, sunny, winds 20-30 NW, 61 degrees F., arrive at 6:15. Ground is quite damp and the drive across the Big Field to Lucy Point goes O.K., but with some slithering and increased velocity at 3 areas with standing water.
APRIL 16, WEDNESDAY: bald eagle 4, mockingbird 1, chipping sparrow 1, turkey vulture 2, purple martin 5, tree swallow 1, cormorant 11, bluebird 7, Carolina wren 1, American crow 2, cowbird 3, black vulture 8, ring-billed gull 4, wild turkey 1, barn swallow 2, red-winged blackbird 1, pileated woodpecker 1, fish crow 4, red-tailed hawk 1, osprey only 2 (one doing the full sky dance, screaming away, but w/o a fish), sharp-shinned hawk 1, Canada goose 1 (semi-injured, awkward in flight).
fair, cool, W or NW 20-30, 50-62. Non-avian taxa: spring azure 1, cabbage white 2, red fox 1, deer (does) 13, gray squirrel 2.
Our mockingbird is not nearly as much of a virtuoso as the one at Blackwater. But heard today are its imitations anyway: cardinal, blue jay, Carolina wren, ruby-crowned kinglet (its double note), great crested flycatcher, bluebird, titmouse, and purple martin.
2 exciting fighter jets, loaded for bear, go over, low. The Big Field, not plowed for two years, has countless thousands of young eastern redcedars, 3-6” high.
APRIL 17, THURSDAY. A day of perfect clarity, high 40s to high 50s, cool, NW 10-15 becoming SW 10. 11 deer (does) Field 4. pileated woodpecker 1. One spotted turtle. surf scoter 45. red fox 1.
BELLEVUE: 12:30 P.M. Bonaparte’s gull 1, same waterfowl as yesterday.
At sunset all of us go to Lucy Point, it is dead calm but late clouds obscure the sunset. bald eagle 1 immature, diamondback terrapin 7.
APRIL 18, FRIDAY. clear becoming mostly overcast, 48-68, SW 5 rising through the day to 15 and 20, water clarity excellent. One muskrat. bald eagle 2 immatures. brown-headed nuthatch 1. pileated woodpecker 1 (for the 1st time I think PIWO is resident, possible breeding in our woods). brown thrasher at the feeders. greater yellow legs 1 (thankfully they are so vocal). 11 deer (does) in Field 4. 2 spotted turtles, 1 painted turtle.
APRIL 19, Saturday, WESTERN TANAGER 1 (see below). new “yard bird”; reported by Liz. ! George sees a yellow palm warbler in the Big Field, much less likely to be seen in spring than fall.
After a delicious but expensive dinner at Doc’s Sunset Grille in Oxford well after sunset we exit the restaurant and on the left going out only a few feet from the entrance and right next to the path is a female mallard incubating on her nest, discovered by Sully, Kristin & George’s golden retriever, who sniffed her out, but she did not flush. At least 2 purple martin colonies at the restaurant.
BLACKWATER N.W.R. TURTLES: red-bellied cooter 16, painted turtle 14, Tom Miller saw a mud turtle here today and Ron Ketter a snapping turtle. And later today I counted 10 spotted turtles and 22 diamondback terrapin at Rigby’s Folly. Also at R.F. Kayla sees and photographs 2 box turtles on April 20. This totals 7 turtle species seen recently in the general area.
BNWR. George & Harry Armistead, Wildlife Drive & Rt. 365 bridge, 41 species, mid-morning-early afternoon. Selected sightings:
Canada goose 11, green-winged teal 7, American white pelican 14, killdeer 1, lesser yellowlegs 6, greater yellowlegs 6, dunlin 130, least tern 3 (at Sewards “Christmas tree reef”; a little early), Forster’s tern 14, cormorant 2, glossy ibis 7, osprey 6, great egret 8, bald eagle 21, eastern kingbird 1 purple martin 12, barn swallow 13, house wren 1, brown thrasher 1, eastern bluebird 4, chipping sparrow 9, common yellowthroat 6.
A garrulous mockingbird here today gave these imitations: cardinal, orchard oriole, kingbird, blue jay, bluebird, Virginia rail, flicker, catbird, thrasher, red-bellied woodpecker, great crested flycatcher, and purple martin.
An adult male northern harrier (“gray ghost”) at Swaine’s. 6 deer across from Town ’n’ Country.
APRIL 20, SUNDAY. Easter Sunday. 57-71, mostly overcast, SW 15-20, then NW 15-20, warm. greater yellowlegs 4. Our fields get fertilized today. George & Kristin leave, see 2 spotted turtles and a black racer on the way out.
Bellevue: 6:30 P.M.: gray squirrel 2, 2 deer, ring-billed gull 2, common loon 4, lesser scaup 2, ruddy duck 4, osprey 1. See a red fox on the Winsome Farm driveway.
APRIL 21, MONDAY. 63 degrees F., mostly overcast, wind … I forget, leave for PA at 10:15 A.M. Single bald eagles seen at 5 places on the way home.
NAME CHANGES. Several I especially do not like are: for Atlantic (or sometimes Audubon) Naturalist (of the Middle Atlantic States), DC Naturalist, or whatever it has been called, to Nature Forward. Point Reyes Bird Observatory to Point Blue (Conservation Science). Wyncote (PA) Bird Club to Liberty Bird Alliance.
Also, Denali to Mt. McKinley (so then will the automobile model currently called the Denali now be called the McKinley?). Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge to Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. Then there’s the Gulf of … whatever.
SNOWY OWLS at Boston’s Logan Airport. Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, April 27, 2025, page A9 (the full page !) by Andrea Sachs: since 1981 Norman Smith has captured, banded, and released elsewhere more than 900, including 14 in one day and a grand total of 141 that same winter (2013-2014).
Best to all. Harry Armistead, Bellevue and Philadelphia.
WESTERN TANAGER, immature and/or female, RIGBY’S FOLLY, FERRY NECK, TALBOT COUNTY, MARYLAND, SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 2025, by my wife Liz (Mary E.) Armistead.
BACKGROUND: Son, George, and I were on a visit to Blackwater N.W.R. c. 8:45 - c. 2 P.M. On our return wife Liz mentioned she had seen a predominantly yellowish bird with wing bars and didn’t know what it was. In my exhaustion, in the midst of a very busy weekend with family and guests, I said and thought: “Probably ‘just’ a goldfinch” and let it go at that. The next day, after things had quieted down some, Liz started to fill me in more, leading me to consider she had seen something of interest. What follows is a description of the bird I recorded using her own words.
TIME: c. 11:30
OPTICS: Eagle brand, 8 X 35.
DISTANCE: less than 100 feet, had to focus down with the binoculars. less than 15 feet up in a black locust. Seen from the house’s back porch.
WINGS: blackish with white wingbars.
SIZE: 7”-8”
LENGTH OF OBSERVATION: c. 1 minute, then flew away, direct flight. [At such low altitude Orchard Orioles often have a herky jerky flight manner. - HTA] Although a short period of observation, because Liz suspected she might be onto something unusual she was able to double check most of the field marks reported here.
GENERAL PLUMAGE: overall yellowish but less brighter yellow on the back.
BILL: longer, but “fatter” (thicker than those of some other birds present), but not thick like a finch’s bill. [a good field mark to help eliminate any orioles, that have more spiky bills than tanagers.-HTA]
VOCALIZATIONS: none.
WEATHER: fair, bird not backlit, winds moderate. [Observer facing to the northeast long after sunrise. - HTA]
LEGS & FEET: not seen.
TAIL: unremarkable. normal, rather broad and not-very-long tail.
CONSULTED: Nat. Geog. guide soon afterwards.
AFTERWARDS: In that afternoon, all day the next (Sunday), and part of Monday morning: no evidence of the bird. Since the bird apparently flew away and was not subsequently seen I didn’t send out any notice for others who might have wanted to “chase” such a rarity, it being a presumed “one day wonder”.
RECENT STATUS OF WETA IN THE REGION: This is a new yard bird for our property and new for the”yard” proper as well. (In recent years there has been an increase of WETA reports in the region, esp. in winter. 3 of the 7 or so records in the Maryland “Yellow Book”, 3rd ed., 1996, are from late April. Only 5 spring records in the Virginia “Gold Book”, 4th ed. 2007, and I have seen 2 of its reports in winter - HTA).
A FLY IN THE OINTMENT is the close similarity of WETA to Orchard Oriole, immatures or females in either case. The bill seen by Liz was thicker than an OROR’s bill, which is rather spiky. Also the WETA tail was not as proportionately long and skinny as an OROR’s tail. Finally the flight manner of an OROR differs:
“At a distance, the jerky flight of Orchard Oriole will give away its presence … the small size and general colouration may also suggest a female Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) … However, the tanager has a shorter and stouter bill … “. p. 213, New World Blackbirds: the Icterids by Alvaro Jaramillo and Peter Burke (Princeton U. Pr., 1999).
It’s always a little dicey when someone, more experienced, helps report something unusual seen by one’s spouse. In this case I tried not to put words into Liz’s description. There’s also a tendency to, initially, be in denial when you or someone else sees something rare. This was the case with both of us here.
Respectfully submitted. - Henry (“Harry”) T. Armistead, Bellevue, MD and Philadelphia, PA.
date: April 22, 2025.
________________________________
________________________________
--
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Group 'Maryland & DC Birding'.
To view group guidelines or change email preferences, visit this group on the web at http://www.mdbirding.com Unfamiliar with a hotspot mentioned on this list? Quickly locate it here - http://www.mdbirding.com/hotspot.html ---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maryland & DC Birding" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to mdbirding+<unsubscribe...>
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/<LV8PR84MB388052975612AA4B6591752FCF832...>
