Chincoteague, Virginia and Eastern Worcester County, Maryland4/28/07

Photos: Chincoteague Fishing Shack. Common Yellowthroat -- E.A. Vaughn WMA. Black Swallowtail -- E.A. Vaughn WMA.


I decided to head to Chincoteague, Virginia last Saturday with the goal of photographing American Oystercatchers and Whimbrels. In Maryland it is difficult to get close to these two species of shorebirds without some luck but at Chincoteague there are a few oyster beds close to the road where Oystercatchers are regular and Whimbrels are often observed in the marshes close to the road in the refuge. I arrived at the oysterbeds around 7:30 in the morning and to my chagrin they were completely under water. Getting out of my car I did a quick scan along a small beach by the road and about twenty feet away was a single Oystercatcher! I took many photos and finally was able to get a pic of the Oystercatcher with an oyster in its beak. I then headed into the refuge where I drove straight to the marshes where I had seen Whimbrel on previous visits. Once again I was in luck, but the birds were farther away than I had hoped. Still I got one decent photo to use on the website. Whimbrels are the only curlews that are regular migrants along the east coast. They are very skittish birds, so I was glad to get this bird photographed. I took a walk through the low pine woods on one of the refuge trails where I ran into a flock of Myrtle Warblers and Blue-headed Vireos. Blue-headed Vireos are one of the early migrants songbirds on Delmarva. When I was almost back to the parking lot I noticed something move behind a big pine tree. It turned out to be a fat "Delmarva" Fox Squirrel. "Delmarva" Fox Squirrels are an endangered sub-species of Fox Squirrel that live only on the Delmarva Peninsula. Fox Squirrels need clear forests to live and with the destruction of this habitat across most of their range they have become rare. Blue Grosbeaks and Little Blue Herons were also added to the photo list. On the way out of the refuge I photographed a large Red-bellied Turtle basking on a log in the ditch alongside the road. From Chincoteague I traveled up into Maryland and hit E.A. Vaughn WMA in eastern Worcester County. E.A. Vaughn WMA is an area of marshes, pine woods, and mixed woodland that borders on the bay which separates the mainland from the barrier islands. Along a small pond I found a pair of Solitary Sandpipers that were very cooperative for my camera. I also was able to get photos of Common Yellowthroats and White-eyed Vireos. Yellowthroats are pretty little warblers that live in marsh habitats and White-eyed Vireos are commonly found in scrubby areas across Delmarva. A good find was a very fresh Black Swallowtail nectoring on a flowering bush. On the way back home from Worcester County I made a brief stop along the Nassawango where I was able to photograph a female American Redstart. April 28th was the best photo day I have had all year with 14 species added to my photo list.

Warblers, Elfins, and Shorebirds 4/22/07

Flooded Field where the Ruff and many other shore birds were seen -- Covey's landing Road, Talbot County, Maryland. Eastern Fence Lizard -- Old Bradley Road, Wicomico County, Maryland. Brown Elfin -- Old Bradley Road, Wicomico County, Maryland.


After spending Saturday driving around the dry sandy upland areas of Caroline County, I decide to head back towards the swampy lowlands of the Nassawango to try to photograph Yellow-throated Warblers and other bird species that had arrived over the past week. Yellow-throated Warblers are one of the first neo-migrants to arrive on their breeding grounds on Delmarva. They breed in lowland and coastal pine forests and are easiest to locate in the early Spring because their calls are distinctive and are not drowned out by the songs of later migrants. The Nassawango area has one of the largest populations of Yellow-throated Warblers on Maryland's eastern shore. As soon as I arrived on Bear Swamp Rd in Wicomico County I heard the Yellow-throated Warblers calling in the pine trees. By using a screech owl tape I was able to get one bird to come down from the tree top and get a photo. Prairie Warblers unlike Yellow-throateds live in scrubby cut-over areas. They had arrived over the past week and were calling incessently. American Redstarts, White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos, Northern Parulas, and Ovenbirds had also migrated into the Nassawango. After the Nassawngo I headed to Old Bradley Rd. Old Bradley is a small sand road that parallels the Nanticoke River. The road is surrounded by sandy pine forest. There are trails where you can walk through the pines towards the river and eventually run into a white cedar/cypress swamp. I have always had good luck on these trails and today was no different. I saw four Brown Elfins! They were a new state butterfly for me and it was only the second time I had ever seen this species. I was super excited and got a couple great photographs. Eastern Fence Lizards are the most common lizard on Delmarva in sandy pine enviroments. These lizards are a mix of browns and grays on top but if you catch one and turn it upside down they have the most beautiful blue , black, and white undersides. The photo I took shows some of the blue underneath the lizards chin. While leaving Old Bradley Matt Hafner called me on my cell and told me that a Ruff had been spotted in a flooded field in northern Talbot County. This was exciting news. Ruffs are very rare in Maryland but annual along the Delaware coast and it was going to be new for my Talbot County bird list. In a field along Covey's Landing Road was a large depression that had filled with water from the rains earlier in the week. The depression was full of shorebirds and gulls. Pectoral and Least Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson's Snipe, and Dunlin were all observed. With the help of my spotting scope I soon located the Ruff at the far end of the depression, approximently 100 yards from my closest vantage point. My lense was not good enough to get a identifiable photograph, so I took a picture through my spotting scope by setting the end of my camera lense to the eyepiece of the spotting scope and used the scope as a lense extension. After about one hundred photos I was finally able to get a shot that I thought was exceptable. Ruffs are awesome birds. During breeding season they can come in many different colors from pure black, buffy brown, and white. They are an old world breeder which annually strays to the east coast of North America.

Caroline County 4/21/07

Turkey Footprint -- Idlewilde WMA. Field Pansy -- the fields are turning white with these pretty little flowers. Eastern Kingsnake -- Idlewilde WMA just plain AWESOME!


Once again I decided to hit lower Caroline County to see what was emerging and check out what migrant birds had arrived in the past week. Line Road was the first stop and I was a little disapointed with the lack of butterflies and dragonflies. Azures and a few Henry's Elfins were seen along the road. Springtime Darner numbers had dropped drastically although the Lancet Clubtail numbers seemed about the same. Surprisingly I was able to get a photograph of a Red-breasted Nuthatch which dropped down from the top of a pine tree to investigate my terrible Screech Owl impersonation. Red-breasted Nuthatches were real slim this winter in the mid-atlantic so I was pretty amazed to stir one up this Spring. With the lack of activity along Line Road I decided to head down to Smithville Lake and see if there were any dragons or damsels flying around the lake edges. There wasn't. In fact I couldn't find anything until a pair of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies landed a few feet away from the car. In my opinion Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are Delmarva's showiest butterfly. It always nice to see their large yellow wings flying by in the early Spring. Heading towards one of my favorite spots in Idlewilde WMA I caught a glimpse of a swallow sitting on a telephone wire. It turned out to be a Northern Rough-winged Swallow. It sat there and allowed me to get a couple great shots. A short time later while flipping an old piece of ply wood near an abandoned chicken house in an area that is now part of Idlewilde WMA I found one of my greatest finds so far this year -- a beautiful Eastern Kingsnake! Kingsnakes are super rare. You just don't see that many of these elusive snakes. I got some great shots, put him back underneath the plywood, and headed for home.

Elfins, Darners, and Clubtails 4/14/07

Photos: Line Road, Caroline County, Maryland. Springtime Darner. Six-spotted Tiger Beetle -- these beautiful beetles were very common along the road. Common Green Darner.


On Saturday Colleen and I spent a few hours walking along Line Road in Caroline County, Maryland. My main targets were Henry's Elfins and Juvenal's Duskywing. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of insects that were flying. Line Road is a dirt road that is not heavily traveled and I have always had good luck with insects along the roadsides. The first butterfly I spotted was a Henry's Elfin. Elfin's are small mostly brown butterflies that are very habitat specific. I have only seen Henry's Elfins on forested dirt roads on Delmarva. Their main foodplant on Delmarva is American Holly and their fight time is very short from early April to May. While we were walking down the road medium sized dragonflies kept zooming past. I knew they were probably Springtime Darners but I could not get a good look because their flight was so rapid. So I decided to run back to the car and grab my butterfly net and try to catch one. After a couple minutes of running, jumping, and swinging (much to Colleen's amusement), I was finally able to snag one of the dragonflies. I was right in my assumption of the dragons being Springtime Darners. Springtime Darners are one of Delmarva's earliest dragonflies. They also have a short flight time so I was real happy to be able to get a shot of this insect. Spring Azures were very common along the road. These small bright blue butterflies are very common in the spring on Delmarva. The Azure complex is very confusing with many subspecies and possibly full species all lumped under the named Spring Azure. Depending on whose taxonomic status the reader decides to follow, there may be as many as four full species in the complex. The 'Atlantic Holly' Azure is also found on Delmarva but I do not feel that I can safely discern between the species and for now I am sticking with Spring Azure. While taking photos of the azure a Juvenal's Duskywing landed a few feet away. Duskywings are another confusing butterfly family with many species that are extremely variable in their wing patterns. Fortunately on Delmarva we only have a few species and with a little field practice can be separated fairly easily. Juvenal's is the first Duskywing species to fly and can be quite common on Delmarva in wooded areas. While walking back to the car we spooked up a small dark butterfly off the road that landed in the grass along the road side. I was surprised to see that it was another species of Elfin. Eastern Pine Elfins are small brightly patterned brown butterflies. I was elated because I have only seen Eastern Pine Elfins twice on Delmarva. I consider them very uncommon. Colleen and I then took a side trail that led down to a small creek. The trail sides were weedy with waist high grasses. Amazingly hundreds of Springtime Darners would take off from the grasses as we walked past. I have never seen so many individuals of this species in such a small area. Walking back on the path towards tha car a Common Green Darner flew past. Common Green Darners are one of Delmarva's largest dragonflies and one of the prettiest. I was able to catch one in the net and get some really great photos. Driving home I told Colleen that this was just the beginning, that in a month it was going to get really crazy!

The Little Egret that wasn't there 4/7/07

Photos: Great Horned Owl -- Little Creek WMA. Black-crowned Night-Heron -- Bombay Hook NWR. Common Loon eating a crab -- Indian River Inlet. Red-throated Loon -- Indian River Inlet.


So while perusing the rare bird alerts on the 6th I noticed that a Little Egret had been spotted at Bombay Hook NWR outside Dover, Delaware. Little Egrets are super rare in North America. They are an Old World Heron and any sighting on the East Coast is real exciting. I called Bill Hubick and Hans Holbrook and we set up a time to meet and chase the bird early the next morning.
I woke early Saturday morning to almost an inch of snow and it was still coming down. An hour later Bill, Hans, and myself were rolling down the back roads of Delmarva watching the snow covered fields zoom by while wondering if this was really April. Upon reaching Bombay Hook we drove straight to Bear Swamp where the Little Egret had been seen the day before. There were egrets present but we could not pick out anything other than Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets both of which are common warm weather birds on Delmarva. We decided to criuse the wildlife loop of the refuge slowly just to make sure we had not missed the bird. Along this slow cruise I was able to score some new photos of fairly common species like Red-winged Blackbird, Tree Swallow, and Black-crowned Night-Heron. After three hours spent on the refuge we decided that we had looked long enough for the Little Egret and decided to head south. Port Mahon was strangely slow with only a Snowy Egret photographed. We then headed to Little Creek where we had our star bird of the day. While driving back out to the main road, Bill and Hans simultaneously yelled stop. After backing up a couple feet, along side the road sitting on a small limb was a newly fledged Great Horned Owl. It puffed out its feathers and tried to look as mean as possible. It then started bill clacking and soon an adult Owl flew in and landed in the trees behind the young bird. It was spectacular watching the young owl's behavior. Being satisfied with our photos we left the owl and headed towards the ocean inlets. The wind was howling on the coast and it was really cold even though the sun had come out and the morning snow had long ago disapeared. Gannets were diving off shore and both species of loons were active inside the inlets along with Bonaparte's Gulls, Scoters, and Red-breasted Mergansers. Common Loons were almost entirely in breeding plumage while the Red-throateds were still in transition. Eventhough we did not see the Little Egret it was still an awesome day on Delmarva.

Bitterns and Cricket Frogs 4/1/07

Photos: Wild Turkey -- photgraphed in Millington WMA. Spring Beauty -- photgraphed in northern Caroline County. They are usually one of the first woodland wildflowers to bloom in April.


On Sunday Bill Hubick, Tom Field, Mike Parr, and myself birded Kent and Caroline Counties in Maryland. Even with temperatures in the 40's and a steady wind we were able to find some great birds. We started the day at Eastern Neck NWR just south of Rock Hall in Kent County. Eastern Neck has become known as the most northerly location for breeding Brown-headed Nuthatches. There has been at least one pair here for a couple seasons. Bill and Mike had not seen the nuthatches so they were are main target along with Yellow-throated Warblers. Yellow-throated Warblers are also very tricky to locate in Kent County and Eastern Neck is the only spot where they are observed with any regularity. After walking down one of the trails at the refuge we soon hit a flock which held all of our desired species. I was not able to get photographs of the nuthatches or warblers but I did get a pic of a Golden-crowned Kinglet. Golden-crowned Kinglets were moving through in sizable numbers and were observed at most of our stops throughout the day. We then headed towards the bay to search for Northern Gannets. The bay outlook at the butterfly garden didn't produce any Gannets. Northern Gannets come up the Chesapeake Bay in the Spring while migrating north but gannets have a major bridge phobia. On a Spring day you can sit at the Bay Bridge and watch gannets soar right up to the bridge and then turn around. They refuse to fly over the bridge. Because of this behavior Northern Gannets are very rare in the northern bay. One of the best times to observe gannets north of the Bay Bridge is on foggy days, wait for the fog to burn off, and hope a few birds happened to fly over the bridge during the limited visibilty. It wasn't foogy the morning we were there so our gannet search didn't turn up any birds but Mike picked out a Little Gull flying with a Bonaparte's Gull. Little Gulls are regular in very small numbers in Spring and Fall. They are normally viewed in Bonie flocks and it is always special to see one. Our bird was way too far away for any photos. We then headed to Millington WMA in eastern Kent County. Along the way I photographed a Cedar Waxwing. Once in Millington the birding was very slow. The cold temperatures and wind kept most of the birds hunkered down. Bill did find a brave Northern Cricket Frog that allowed all of the group to get great photos. After Millington we headed into northern Caroline County where we hit a few wetland areas. Tom braved one particular marsh and spooked an American Bittern that flew right over Bill and myself allowing us both to get great shots. The bittern was a major score. Because they are so secretive in often impassable habitat I was not expecting to get a bittern shot for the year. We ended the day fruitlessly searching through gull flocks for another Little Gull that would be close enough to photograph.

Nassawango on the last day of March

Photos: Festive Tiger Beetle -- one of the first Tiger Beetles on Delmarva. Falcate Oragnetip -- photographed near the Nassawango River. American Kestrel -- photographed sitting on the fence surrounding the Salisbury airport.


Saturday was my first outing since getting back from Costa Rica and I was excited. It was warm, butterflies were flying, and the first neotropical migrants had finally arrived. My main goal of the day was to photograph a Louisana Waterthrush. The Nassawango area of Worcester/Wicomico Counties in Maryland holds a large population of these birds so that was where I decided to concentrate my search. Colleen and I arrived in the swampy woodlands that surround the Nassawango River in northwest Worcester County and were immediately bombarded by the songs of the waterthrush. As we walked down the dirt road which runs through the middle of the swamp we were scolded by a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher which unfortunately would not come close enough for a photo. Yellow-throated Warblers were also throwing their songs around the forest, but like the gnatcatcher would not come down from their lofty perches to pose for my camera. A single Falcate Orangetip allowed a few photos while feeding alongside the road. Orangetips are one off the earliest flying butterflies on Delmarva. They are really beautiful creatures. Unfortunately their flight season is very short and only lasts until May. The waterthrushes were not very cooperative but I was able to get a decent shot of one bird. Even though I did not get that many shots it was nice to be out in the early Spring watching nature being reborn.