#149: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

After a painful month of work commitments I finally made it back to the Mash. Nice to see that water levels on the big pond are almost back to normal and we should see waterfowl making a comeback in the near-future. Today only Black Duck and Mallard graced me with their presence on the pond. Best bird of the day was undoubtedly a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, one of my winter nemesis birds. A single American Tree Sparrow also showed, let's see if they are going to be as numerous as last winter. Here are the stats: Total: 149 Year: 126

Creeper & Siskin

The Mash has been all about catching about with some of the more or less difficult winter birds needed for my patch list. Good thing I ran into Mike who helped with finding Pine Siskin and Brown Creeper, that I was after . Fox Sparrows are around in good numbers now and reliably found as are Purple Finches. Northern Harriers are easily seen over the landfill these days. Sharp-shinned Hawks are more difficult and this one appeared right out of the blue and then launched an attack on some titmouse. Total number of patch species now: 148.

Possible OCW

After a night out I went to the Mash this Sunday morning with only a couple of hours sleep in my bag so God only knows how many Tropical Kingbirds were around without getting noticed. Waterfowl is slowly arriving in good numbers although the low water levels surely do not help. Green-winged Teal, Mallard and Black Duck were on the large pond (puddle). Early on I picked up a female Purple Finch and shortly later the first of three White-crowned Sparrows. Bald Eagles are regularly seen over the maintenance yard this fall, let's hope they will stay to nest nearby this winter/spring. I only caught a short glimpse of what I am 90% sure was a Orange-crowned Warbler. Unfortunately the bird was on the other side of the fence so I was forced to stay at a distance, but the sharp bill and overall drab appearance of the bird would be in favor of OCW.

Year: 122 or 84%
Total: 146

Chincoteague

A dream finally came to true when I was able to see the wild horses at Chincoteague. Just kidding, of course I could not care less about the horses. I am all about the birds, the birds... Both beach and wildlife drive were very busy over the Columbus day weekend but still made for great birding. Along the canal on the way in, several juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons hid out in the brush. At the beach I encountered a mixed assembly of waders, gulls and terns including Royal and Caspian Terns. The wildlife drive was busy with egrets, herons and ibises. Among them several Tricolored Herons and a single Glossy Ibis. Best bird though was a Clay-colored Sparrow that I got some documentation shots of.

Connecticut Warbler

Chilly morning at the Mash: Highlight was a relatively drab-looking Connecticut Warbler. Beginning of October is traditionally the best time to see them here. Black-throated Blue Warblers were still around and they may stay until the end of the month. My second-for-the site Kestrel was hunting over the landfill site and a Kingfisher was hovering over the small pond. I will expect more sparrows to be pushing in over the next few weeks. Today only small numbers of White-throats, Swamp, Field and Song Sparrows.

Total: 146 species
Year: 118 or 80.1%

Fall birding at Blue Mash

Not a bad morning at Blue Mash with lots of new arrivals and birds moving through. Highlight was a patch tick in the shape of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Warbler variety as has been this fall was rather low but still spectacular to see as many as 4 Black-throated Blue Warblers in one tree. Other warblers were Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green and Black and White Warbler. Sparrows clearly pushed into the area and I found Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow and even a single Lincoln's. What the heck is wrong with me that I just cannot sniff out a single Savannah Sparrow. An early Northern Harrier was in a tree by the fence line and a Broad-winged Hawk paid visit to the site, my second for the Mash. Plenty of Scarlet Tanagers around as well, I counted at least four of them. A quick spy across the pond yielded a high count of 12 Pec Sandpipers and the lingering Yellowlegs.

115 species for the year, 146 total.

Miscellaneous at Blue Mash

It's end of September - prime time for fall migration and high expectations. Migration was well under way and all in all a good day at Blue Mash with a decent variety of warblers as well as shorebirds. Before the fog began to lift, a substantial flock of warblers crossed my path and disappeared way to quickly for my taste. I was able to pick out several Magnolias, Black-throated Green and Black-throated Blue but had to kiss goodbye to several unidentified ones. Later I added Parula, Redstart and Western Palm Warbler to the list of neotropical migrants. Water levels on the pond are favorable now and shore bird numbers are on the rise: Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Pec Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs were probing the mud. A group of Teal made their arrival into winter territory. These will be interesting days for the pond if only I had more time to bird. A Great Egret let me come ridiculously close for pics. Zero new birds. I know we can do better than this...

Philly Vireo

I decided spontaneously to drop Blue Mash this weekend and try Meadowside instead, given its history to attract neotropical migrants, or rather considering the shit-poor fall I have had at Blue Mash so far. But no worries I will be back. I limited 90% of my birding to the Meadowside parking lot. Warblers were pretty thin with only Common Yellowthroat, Black and White, and Black-throated Green making an appearance. Nonetheless migration was obvious in the shape of Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, lots of Peewees and gobs of vireos. Best bird of the day was clearly a Philadelphia Vireo that I picked out high up in the trees. Fortunately I got some doc shots. This was my first Philadelphia Vireo for Maryland and also for Meadowside. The Meadowside list stands now at 137 species.

Common Nighthawk

This one's been avoiding me like the pest: Common Nighthawk, long overdue patch bird. I expected more in terms of warblers this morning. Only 5 species were seen Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Prairie Warbler, Magnolia Warbler and Chestnut-sided Warbler. Shorebirds were pretty thin in appearance since water levels are just too high at the moment: Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper and Killdeer were around.

Lewes Pelagic

Had this trip planned for a long time coming. Thought I was gonna get this as a birthday or christmas gift from the missus at some point. Nope never happened, got a pair of socks instead! So when the alert came out that only a couple of spots for the Lewes pelagic were left I seized the opportunity by its neck and signed up. Friday evening I packed my stuff, drove to Delaware and boarded the boat by 10pm . The sea was fairly choppy that night which made taking a piss fun but trying to sleep or not puke not so much. By 5am we reached a sea depth of around 6000ft past the continental shelf and it was time to get cracking with the knacking. The light wasn't great at the crack of dawn, but the first birds we spotted were Wilson's Storm Petrel, Leach's Storm Petrel and later Band-rumped Storm Petrels. We dipped on White-faced Storm Petrel on this trip. Cory's Shearwaters were the second most common bird on the trip and easily seen as were Audubon's Shearwaters. Bonus bird was a single Greater Shearwater, which only provided short views. When Paul yelled Jaeger, Jaeger I knew it might be time for another lifer and sure enough, Long-tailed Jaeger. Good views for everybody. Oohs and aahs were soon heard on board when someone spotted the spray of a whale. A beautiful fin whale breached the water and gave great views, a real crowd pleaser. Now forget about that petty dolphin shit - this was a real Cetacean spectacle.

OK, it's already Wednesday and I can't wait to head out to Blue Mash this weekend. Warblers are moving through, they better make stop at the Mash!

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Yellow-throated Vireo - but not Philly Vireo...

Three quarters into walking the trail, I ran into Karl, who showed us crystal clear pictures of a Philadelphia Vireo on his camera screen. I tried 45 more minutes to relocate the bird but in vain. Clearly plenty of vireos were moving through the area though, and I got a consolation prize in the shape of a bright Yellow-throated Vireo, patch bird number 144. The fresh buck kill from last weekend was entirely reduced to bones and skull - nice job done by the Turkey and Black Vultures that feasted on the carcass. The outing ended up pretty disappointingly in terms of warblers, only Common Yellowthroats, two Prairie Warblers and a potential Magnolia Warbler were about. A vocal Yellow-billed Cuckoo posed for photographs. Next week I will embark on my first-ever pelagics boat trip, if the weather cooperates. I will report as soon as I get back off the boat.

Patcher #143 - Greater Yellowlegs

Birdy Sunday morning at the Mash! I had to get my act together pretty quickly because the oppressive heat moved in rapidly and by 9am I was covered in sweat and the birds stopped singing altogether. The action started right from the get-go though when I exited the car and found American Redstart and a  Scarlet Tanager that was undergoing molt into winter plumage. On the loop I added one Magnolia Warbler and then moved on the mudflats where I spent way too much time. Amidst the Lesser Yellowlegs I picked out one Greater Yellowlegs. Apparently all my Yellowlegs in the past here were Lesser so this was a welcome patch bird. Metallic 'chip' notes alerted me to the presence of a Blue Grosbeak. Great Egrets are still hanging out with the one in the photo close on the small pond. Since my interest in Turtles was sparked last week, I kept an eye out for various Terps as well. I found this obliging Northern Red- bellied Cooter on the small pond. Walking along the trail I stepped over 2 grizzly looking deer carcasses. One of them was still pretty fresh, probably from the previous night. Whatever killed it I hope it's gone.
Here are the stats: Total: 143 Year: 107 or 75%

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