Photos: Gambel's sub-species of the White-crowned Sparrow photographed in Kent County, Maryland
Horned Lark outside of Rock Hall, Maryland
Muscovy Duck (I'm a sucker for a photogenic exotic) Choptank, Maryland
On Sunday Bill Hubick and decided to bird the Upper Shore. Since ducks were beginning to migrate we decided to start out in Caroline County and get Bill some good county birds. Caroline County is the only land locked Eastern Shore county so many duck species are harder to find, especially diving ducks. We hit the town of Choptank first. Choptank is located right on the Choptank River and is a really good place to look for ducks. Our first good bird of the day was a fly-by Canvasback. I know of only one reported Canvasback sighting for Caroline County in the past few years. Outside of Choptank Bill spotted a white bird in a large Canada Goose flock. Using a spotting scope we were excited to find that the bird was a Ross' Goose. Ross' Geese look like Snow Geese but they are half the size and have a really small bill. Normally they are found in Snow Goose flocks where they blend in so well they are terribly difficult to find. It was exciting to find one so easily. Unfortunately the bird was too far away for me to get a photograph. From there we went to the Denton sewage ponds where we found two more Canvasbacks! Since sewage ponds seemed to be treating us well we headed to the Ridgely ponds which held a drake Redhead which is another really good bird for Caroline County. From Ridgely we found two Snow Buntings in a Horned lark Flock on Sparks Road but once again I was unable to get identifiable photos. By the time we left Caroline County we had ticked 16 species of waterfowl. Upon reaching Chestertown, Maryland it was beginning to snow. The Chestertown sewage ponds surprisingly held zero waterfowl. We decided to head to Rock Hall to look for waterfowl. On the way we got great photos of Savannah Sparrows that were feeding on the side of the road. While rounding a corner on a back road east of Rock Hall, Bill yells out that he sees a fox. When I get on the animal all I see is the fox running up a hill and out of sight. Bill and I both realize simultaneously that the fox did not have a white tip on the tail. This meant it was a Gray Fox. The white tipped tail is a diagnostic feature of the Red Fox. Gray Foxes are much more rare than Red Foxes. I was really bummed out that I didn't get a photo. Bill suggested backing the car up and climbing up a small embankment to see if the fox had stopped running. I obliged and climbed the embankment and was amazed to see the fox staring right at me. He allowed me to get a couple photos before he ran away for good. Birding in the snow can be very exciting. Birds that normally feed in fields and are hard to locate become much easier to locate when there is snow on the ground. Bill and I were able to photograph Horned Larks and American Pipits. Both of these birds are really difficult to photograph but with the snow they became fairly easy. Our best bird of the day soon followed. Outside of Butertown in Kent County we located a flock of White-crowned Sparrows. Bill soon picked out a 'Gambel's' race of the White-crowned Sparrow. White-crowned's are not particulary rare on Delmarva but the 'Gambel's' race live in western North America. Rarely the 'Gambel's' race wanders to the east coast. Our photos are the first documented photographs of the sub-species for Maryland. We worked our way back towards Oxford in the snow driving back roads and searching for good birds. Outside of Easton, Maryland we finally hit the golden flock. We spotted a large flock of Horned Larks close to the road. After a couple minutes I spotted a Snow Bunting feeding with the larks. Then Bill found a Lapland Longspur. Longspur's are small brown sparrow size birds that blend really well in field habitats and they are almost impossible to find. Most of the time it is easier to identify longspurs by the flight calls then by actually seeing them. I knew that I was going to need a good snow if I was going to have a chance of getting a photo of a longspur. We watched the flock until it flew off across the field. It was a long exciting day with many good birds and photos.
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