Lower Shore Birding 3/3 -3/4/07

Photos: Sunset across the Elliot Island marshes.
The next three photos are of the gull we thought might be a Thayer's Gull but we finally decided it was just a light phase Herring Gull.
Flooded Swamp in the Nassawango area of Wicomico County, Maryland

Last weekend I birded the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland with a brief dip down into Virginia. Unfortunately I don't have enough time to go into details because I am leaving in a few hours for Costa Rica. The Big Year is going to be on hold for a couple weeks as myself and some of my Maryland birding friends go explore the back country of CR!!! A few highlights from last weekend were my first amphibian photos for the year. Saturday was very warm (in the 50's) so the Spring peepers were blasting away in the Nassawango. Under a rock at E.A. Vaughn WMA I caught a dark phase Red-backed Salamander. Also seen that day were five Mourning Cloak butterflies but I was not able to get a photo. Sunday I birded with Bill Hubick, Tom Feild, and Zach Baer. We spent most of our time south of Salisbury in Somerset County with a brief stop at the Wicomico dump where we thought we might have photographed a Thayer's Gull. But after reviewing the photos and asking for input from a few gull experts we decided that it was just a light-phased Herring Gull. Wood Ducks and Gadwall were finally captured as well as a big Turkey flock. But to be honest all I'm really thinking about now is Quetzals and Blue Morphos. Check back in a couple weeks and I post some photos of our trip. Hopefully when I get home the butterflies will be flying and the Yellow-throated Warblers will be singing!