Worcester and Somerset Counties 8/11 - 8/12

Photos: Palamedes Swallowtail, Willet, Royal Tern, Tern Flock, Abandoned House on Assateague Island.


Last Saturday I was supposed to go out on a pelagic trip out of Lewes, Delaware. Unfortunately the seas were running too high and the leaders decided to cancel the trip. So a group of Maryland birders and myself headed to Assateague Island to see what we could find. We started at the Bayside Campground parking lot. This is one of the premier sites in Maryland to witness Fall bird migration. It was a little early for migrants but we did see a few Yellow Warblers and a Baltimore Oriole. We then loaded into two vehicals and headed to the ORV Zone. Along the beach Sanderlings were by far the most numerous shorebirds. Also seen were Whimbrel, Western Willets, Ruddy Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers, Semipalmated Plovers, Piping Plovers, and Oystercatchers. At Foxhill Flats on the bay side of the island we added Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers along with both Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitchers. There was a gull/tern flock that included Sandwich, Royal, and Caspian Terns. A Pintail flew over while we were scoping the shorebirds. While walking out to get better views of the terns I noticed a Salt Marsh Skipper. I was afraid I might have missed this butterfly so getting this photo was a major relief. Back out on the beach I managed photos of Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, and Caspian Tern, all new for the year. Also resting on the beach were many Lesser Black-backed Gulls of various ages. At the state line I photographed a young Brown Pelican sitting on a piling. Add another tick! From Assateague we moved south to check out the pond at E.A. Vaughn (north) WMA. There are usually shorebirds and waders present and if we were going to find a rare wader like a White or White-faced Ibis it would probably be here. When we arrived at the pond it was apparent that the were no unusual waders but Jim Stasz spotted a Long-billed Dowitcher. Another shorebird tick that could have been tricky. We then went to Deal Island WMA in Somerset County. Jim spotted a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron flying over which was a county bird for me. Yellow-crowns are really rare on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. They only nest on the bay islands and are very difficult to find. This was only the second Yellow-crowned Night-Heron I have ever seen on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
On Sunday Tom Field, Jim Stasz, Ed Boyd, and myself went to Hickory Point in Worcester County to try to photograph Palamedes Swallowtails. Palamedes are rare in Maryland and Hickory Point in August is the best place to find them. While waiting for the swallowtails I photgraphed a beat up Great Blue Skimmer and a Seaside Dragonlet. Ed finally caught a Palamedes and carefully took it out of the net so we could get photographs. From Hickory Point we went to some ponds around Pocomoke City where we observed some really cool dragons and damsels. Since it is getting late in the season for damsels we were delighted to see Southern Sprites and Swamp Spreadwings still flying. Ed caught a Banded Pennent which was another bug I was afraid I might miss since it was getting late in the season. Then came a huge miss. Jim Stasz calls out he just saw a Martha's Pennent fly by. I have never seen a Martha's Pennent and while I know that they are rare breeders in Maryland never thought that they were even possible for the big year. With nets primed we waited for the bug to fly past again so we could capture it for photos. The pennent flew by one more time but too far out for our nets and was never seen again. So I probably missed my Martha's chance but that is OK because it was a great weekend with a lot of major photos taken so there are not any long faces.