ISSN Oli+7-9T25 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE U3>u[[stui oj- ifis G'lnLtlioljDCjLcat cSoaLsiy, JlJflc. MARCH 1981 VOLUME 37 NUMBER 1 MARYLAND ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. Cylburn Mansion, A 9 1 5 Greenspring Ave. , Baltimore, Maryland 21209 STATE OFFICERS FOR MAY 4, L980 TO MAY 2, 1981 President: Mr. John. Cullora, 437 Paradise Rd. , Baltimore 21228 747-5870 First V.P.: Miss Martha Chestem, 10850 Faulkner Ridge Cir., Columbia 730-1527 Second V.P. : Dr. Benjamin Poscover, 302-A Garden Rd. Baltimore 21204 823-2548 Treasurer: Mr. W. Gordon MacGregor, 5009 Greenleaf Rd., Balto 2 1 2 L0 435-3044 Secretary; Mrs. Helen Ford, 408 Beach Drive, Annapolis 21403 267-8417 E xec. Secy: Mrs. Lettie Cullom, 437 Parad i se Rd., Baltimore 21228 7 47-5870 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Mr. Samuel Droege 6710 W. Park Drive, Hyattsville MD 20782 422-2316 Mr. John Heim III 7813 Spout Springs Road, Frederick MD 21701 663-6428 Mrs. Emily Joyce 1550 Ellsworth Ave., Crofton MD 21114 721-2239 Mr. Ellis Porter 415 Roberts Way, Aberdeen MD 21001 272-6585 Mrs. David Spain "Westerly", Bozman MD 21612 745-2894 Mrs. Joy Wheeler 531 Hampton Lane, Baltimore MD 21204 825-1204 Dr. Frank Witebsky 9912 Brixton Lane, Bethesda MD 20034 365-2944 STATE DIRECTORS Allegany: *Mrs. Dorothea Malec Mr. Robert Hiegel Anne Arundel: *Mr. James W. Cheevers Mr. Tad Eareckson Miss Dorothy Mumford Harford: *Mr. Ellis Porter Miss Roenna Fahrney Mr. Eldred Johnson Howard: *Mr. Michael McClure Ms. Eileen McCormack-Clegg Baltimore : *Mrs. Daniel B. Wheeler Kent : *Mr. Joseph Blair Mr. Frank J. Bien Mr. Floyd Parks Mrs. C. Lockard Conley Dr. Philip Creighton Montgomery : *Dr. Frank G. Witebsky Mrs. Raymond Geddes Mrs. Margaret Donnald Dr. Roger Herriott Mr. Philip A. DuMont Mrs. Martin G. Larrabee M. Kathleen Klimkiewicz Dr. Alan Ross Patuxent : *Mr. Samuel Droege Caroline: *Mr. Oliver Smith Mr. Paul Bystrak Mr. V. Edwin Unger Talbot : *Mrs. David S. Spain Carroll: *Mrs. Geraldine Newton Mr. G. Curtis Engel Mr. William D. Ellis Dr. Robert Trever Frederick: *Mr. John Helm III Mr. Kennedy Maize Washington: *Mr. Cameron Lewis Mr. Truman Doyle *Denotes Chapter President Wicomico: *Mr. Hugh Hanson Mr. Karl Zickrick Active Membership (adults) Student Membership (full-time students) Junior Membership (under 18 years) Family Membership (Mr. & Mrs.) Sustaining Membership Life Membership Member-at -Large $ 5.00 plus local chapter dues 2.00 plus local chapter dues 1.00 plus local chapter dues 6.00 plus local chapter dues 10.00 plus local chapter dues 200.00 (payable in 4 annual installments) 5.00 Cover: Nashville Warbler nest in Garrett County. Photo by D. Daniel Boone. MARYLAND BIRDLIFE III! I ’. ,11111 Volume 37 March 1981 Number 1 NASHVILLE WARBLER NEST IN GARRETT COUNTY D. Daniel Boone The bogs of Garrett County are fascinating for ornithologists and botanists alike. In a 1980 survey, I attempted to visit the sixteen or so major bogs found there. On June 15 I found my way into a small bog near Sang Run, Maryland, bordering Swallow Falls State Forest. The ground cover was a carpet of sphagnum moss interrupted by blueberry ’hedges,’ chokeberry and serviceberry shrub stands, with a few small black spruce adding a more northern flavor. Hemlock with a dense rhododendron understory bordered the bog. The breeding birds present were typical of this northern habitat. Northern Waterthrush, Canada, and Chestnut-sided Warblers were common in the heath. Solitary Vireo, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, and Magnolia Warblers sang from the rhododendron and hemlock border while Hermit Thrushes serenaded from the surrounding hills. I was taking this all in when I heard an unfamiliar song. It was similar in pattern to an abbreviated Swamp Sparrow song, but the pitch and quality were wrong. Proceeding closer to the source (no easy task in a bog ! ) I mentally reviewed the possibilities. Given the habitat I was sure the bird sing- ing was a Nashville Warbler (Vermivora rufiaapilla) singing only the first half of his normally two-part song. After some 'spishing' the bird popped up, sang, and confirmed my hunch — a Nashville, an uncommon and local breeding bird of Garrett County. Pleased with the find I proceeded to explore the remainder of the area. I had not travelled far when I heard the typical two-part song of a Nashville Warbler. "That's better," I thought. Then, singing from a different spot, the Nashville with the unusual song called again. Both songs were repeated and they increased in frequency, enabling me to walk close enough to see that there were indeed two males. Content with this 1 continued on my way. I enjoyed studying the abundant Round-leaved Sundews, sparkling from their dewy exudate against the sphagnum background. There were a couple of Pitch Pine sand islands interspersed through the bog. On these islands I found hundreds of Pink Lady ’ s-Slippers in full bloom. After 4 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 37 , No. 1 exploring for about an hour I decided to return to my car by way of a well-used deer path. The path was free of shrubs, though fully covered with the spongy sphagnum moss. As I was walking, a small yellowish bird flew up from the ground right at my feet. It "twittered" and fluttered about while I stood motionless, and my 'spishing' increased its distrac- tion activities, allowing identification of another Nashville Warbler. Without moving my feet, I surveyed the ground nearby. A suspicious clump a few inches from my foot warranted closer scruntiny. Leaning over and pushing aside some herbaceous vegetation with my clipboard revealed a nest with five brown spotted eggs sunken in the moss. I hurriedly photographed the X nest and proceeded out of the bog. My slide is almost identical to the photograph of a Nashville nest found in Hal Harrison's Field Guide to Birds' Nests (east), page 181. I returned to this bog on June 24 but did not attempt to relocate the nest. However, one singing male Nashville Warbler was still present. This nesting record represents a new breeding locality for Nashville Warbler and is only the second nest ever found in Maryland. The other record was of a nest with eggs found by Chan Robbins on May 30, 1951 in Wolf Swamp. Historically, summering (and probably breeding) individuals in Maryland have been recorded in Cranberry (Flnzel), Cunningham (4-H Center), and Cranesville (Maryland portion) Swamps. Reports of summering Nashvilles in Garrett County are historically scarce, because of the limited amount of appropriate habitat and its remoteness. Recent records include a singing male that I heard In late June of 1979 in Cranesville Bog near the church on Cranesville Road, and birds that Mark Hoffman reported hearing and seeing in 1980 in Cunningham Swamp. 4011 Woodhaven Lane, Bowie, MD 20715 ☆ BROWN PELICAN IN MARYLAND IN WINTER Gary J. Taylor and Steven A. Dawson On January 16, 1981 at 9:05 a.m., while traveling east on U.S. Route 50, 0.2 mile west of the intersection of Maryland Route 346 (ESE of St. Martin) in Worcester County, Maryland (about 10 miles west of Ocean City) we observed a Brown Pelican (Pelecanus ocaidentalvs ) « believed to be an immature. We stopped the vehicle and got out to confirm the identity of the bird with 8 X 50 field glasses. The pelican was 35-50 yards above the ground and was principally soaring, with little wing flap observed. We watched the bird for 3-5 minutes before it flew off in a WNW direction. There was a high fog and a light rain was falling. The temperature was about 35°F, and there was no perceptible wind. We confirmed with the nearest zoo (Salisbury) that no pelicans were missing from their collection. This is the first winter record of a Brown Pelican in Maryland. Maryland Wildlife Administration, Tawes State Office Bldg., Annapolis 21401 March iffil MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 5 THE 1980-81 MARYLAND CHRISTMAS COUNT Eirik A. T. Blcm Seven hundred and eighty-nine hardy observers participated in 21 Maryland Christmas Counts this winter. The Baltimore Canyon Pelagic Count was weathered out on both tries and was the only count not repeated from last year. For the first time in many years, the number of party-hours in the State dropped, fran 3262.5 to 2969-75- The drop can probably be attributed to two factors; weather, and the increased cost of transporta- tion. Higher gas prices certainly kept some counters fran travelling back and forth across the State to participate in half-a-dozen or more counts each. Equally daunting was the weather. Two hard freezes hit the region before count period, and the first day of the counts found tanper- atures around the State in the teens and below. Rain, sleet, snow, high winds, and continued sub-normal temperatures persisted throughout the period. Almost all counts faced frozen water. As expected, many counts had very low species totals, though a few approached previous high records. Ocean City, in the wind and the rain and the fog, staggered heme with 13^ species, well below their normal level. Bowie was under ninety species, a rarity for than. Seneca, Point Lookout and Triadelphia, on the other hand, did well. A quick reading of the count totals give the following impressions. Diving ducks were way down, not just the result of frozen water. Inland counts had few, but where were they in the Bay? Point Lookout, Cr.is- field and St. Michaels are traditional gathering spots for scoters. Old- squaw and other divers, yet they were found in almost record low numbers. Loons and grebes were also hard to find, and Ocean City observers missed C omm on Loon for the first time since counting became a sport. They had the State's only Red-throated Loon. Herons were also hard to cane by. Maryland missed Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, and Cattle Egret, all three being regular in recent years. Gulls, both rare and canmon, were found in well above average numbers. Several counts shattered the previous State records for Her- rings and Ring-bills. The early cold weather may have been the major contributing factor, but gulls have been increasing in the region for the last decade. The rare and unusual warblers that graced the counts last year were not around this time. Only the traditional parulids were found, and they were generally in low numbers. A couple of species were up, and at least one gives us cause for op- timism. Bluebirds were found in excellent numbers. Look at the number of counts that boldfaced then to indicate they were exceptionally high. Many counts broke recent high records by a analler margin and did not boldface the result. Other factors may contribute to a one-year increase, but bluebirds have been going up in the State for three years in a row. It appears as if we are seeing a true caneback, or at least the beginning of one. Table 1. Christmas Bird Count Summary, 1980-1981 ON Species Garr Alle Wash ^ato LibL Tria Sene Bowl PtTb PtLk Anap Balt RRun Elkt Kent Dent StMi Dorc Sals Cris OCty Common Loon 1 4 3 2 3 Red-throated Loon 1 Red-necked Crebe 1 2 4 Horned Grebe 2 2 121 10 10 CW 5 21 2 1 12 Pied-billed Grebe 2 1 7 18 4 12 2 2 8 1 5 2 6 Great Cormorant 14 Dbl-cr. Cormorant 1 1 2 Great Blue Heron 2 9 8 8 5 5 39 14 26 26 19 13 19 3 46 8 16 37 30 50 80 Green Heron 1 1 Louisiana Heron 1 Blk-cr. Nt . Heron 46 13 2 American Bittern cw 2 Glossy Ibis 1 Mute Swan 1 1 7 146 Whistling Swan 15 cw 36 408 234 371 5 9 19M 8482 2283 468 350 133 99 Canada Goose 66 42 128 4 1419 5101 1678 929 2147 1231 2214 5 7372 4000 221M 3874 53M 26M 10M 7980 9870 Brant 75 450 White-front Goose cw 1 Snow Goose (white) 1 4 30 901 65 1350 203 56 10M Snow Goose (blue) 1 2 2 1800 17 6 Mallard 10 366 1086 310 1739 739 716 296 59 188 1363 801 1794 283 21M 750 1140 8125 375 476 1030 Am. Black Duck 32 18 84 10 318 1024 245 39 16 5 193 330 185 9 7377 341 317 2185 85 443 525 Mallard X Black 1 Gadwali 1 1 2 2 2 7 5 16 1 2 2 Common Pintail 2 1 4 1 1 4174 1 3 850 16 3 17 Green-winged Teal 3 1 10 1 1 2 3 1 13 8 Blue-winged Teal 2 American Wigeon 5 24 8 4 18 9 cw 60 6 16 9 Shoveler 1 1 6 2 1 Wood Duck 2 2 1 5 2 2 1 24 7 7 1 Redhead 6 1 8 2 3 17 1 9 2 3 2 1 2 Ring-necked Duck 4 25 8 1 99 30 1 1 2 1 49 15 2 2 14 Canvasback 8 15 3 2 453 238 9457 1449 2 385 2 2746 1475 37 776 43 Greater Scaup 27 2 428 145 131 6 Lesser Scaup 2 1 1 133 600 130 54 1 15 scaup sp. i 1 9 36 2 4 9 Common Goldeneye 2 2 21 l 3 21 28 1169 607 604 cw 414 1 273 74 32 13 Buf fie he ad 1 2 2 2 120 45 549 280 252 8 8 33 573 208 2 416 309 Oldsquaw 5486 31 31 62 249 23 288 102 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Table 1. Christmas Bird Count Summary, 1980-1981 (cont.) Species Carr Alle Wash Cato LibL Tria Sene Bowl PtTb PtLk Anap Balt RRun Elkt Kent Dent StMi Dorc Sals Crls OCty King Elder 16 White-winged Scotei 1 1 3 43 20 10 22 1 7 1 Surf Scoter 63 2 1 6 Black Scoter 42 6 2 6 scoter sp. 150 80 Ruddy Duck 2 13 62 137 1165 813 4 56 17 1 10 11 Hooded Merganser cw 66 20 23 2 8 11 4 CW 11 21 6 13 1 Common Merganser 34 83 7 17 7 4 93 2 6 5 43 44 3 14 Red-br. Merganser 14 24 10 3 7 5 113 4 5 34 merganser sp. 3 Turkey Vulture 1 103 18 104 91 143 25 3 121 3 21 73 231 454 72 158 251 376 307 Black Vulture 70 2 81 10 25 5 3 16 1 cw 68 15 3 48 71 11 Northern Goshawk 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 3 9 2 5 15 11 10 4 2 6 3 3 6 9 4 8 10 5 17 10 Cooper's Hawk 1 3 2 2 1 1 6 3 6 1 4 1 4 2 Red-tailed Hawk 3 11 51 41 42 53 87 38 11 14 22 42 21 25 57 38 48 25 25 40 13 Red-shoulder Hawk 2 3 16 27 62 28 86 14 9 16 14 5 2 4 14 CW 10 4 9 2 Rough-legged Hawk 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 9 7 CW Golden Eagle 2 2 Bald Eagle 2 1 2 2 3 12 1 1 30 6 4 2 Northern Harrier 6 8 2 4 5 12 3 4 9 1 8 3 11 24 19 9 116 13 67 13 Peregrine Falcon cw Merlin 1 American Kestrel 2 L7 40 43 33 46 55 60 11 23 22 55 46 26 45 101 50 36 26 47 40 Ruffed Grouse 2 3 2 Common Bobwhlte 12 17 1 53 32 72 5 47 121 186 19 35 88 129 330 78 38 64 102 Ring-neck Pheasant 32 27 46 14 3 1 9 1 2 2 5 Turkey 10 3 7 9 4 1 King Rail 1 7 Clapper Rail 1 4 3 Virginia Rail 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 22 3 large rail sp. 1 American Coot 11 2 41 227 42 CW 1 6 25 15 Am. Oystercatche r 6 Killdeer 8 20 8 2 4 24 23 10 33 10 51 1 2 10 17 16 5 2 15 8 Black-bell. Plover 58 84 Ruddy Turnstone 104 American Woodcock 4 1 6 2 1 7 1 3 5 5 7 6 Common Snipe 2 16 1 5 7 9 4 2 1 2 1 5 5 12 7 15 9 March l?8l MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Table 1. Christmas Bird Count Summary, 1980-81 (cont.) Oo Species Garr Alle Wash Cato LibL Tria Sene Bowl PtTb PtLk Anap Balt RRun Elkt Kent Dent StMi Dorc Sals Crls OCty Greater Yellowlegs 5 7 Lesser Yellowlegs 1 10 2 Red Knot 12 Purple Sandpiper 4_ no Least Sandpiper 2 Dunlin 1 12 15 28 557 379 shorebird sp. 5 Western Sandpiper 5 Marbled Godwit 3 Sanderling 14 1 2 27 138 Glaucous Gull 1 1 1 2 Iceland Gull 1 2 1 white-wg . gull sp 1 Gr. Black-back G. 3 1 45 141 630 769 189 232 174 9 17 60 6 26 405 Lr. Black-back G. 2 1 4 cw Herring Gull 1231 5 20 244 116 418 14M 13M 11M 295 361 61 382 468 556 1073 3505 Thayer's Gull 1 Ring-billed Gull 1 304 10 152 658 113 2563 10M 12M 25M 1905 1167 2813 860 822 490 621 2479 Black-headed Gull 2 1 Laughing Gull 1 Bonaparte's Gull 8 204 821 22 63 gull sp. 5060 16 Rock Dove 51 244 961 580 694 981 588 1107 4 404 5414 238 194 74 426 126 27 76 136 35 Mourning Dove 34 143 1047 545 1498 1721 2094 1121 185 235 527 640 335 177 549 1017 1031 309 332 241 357 Ringed Turtle Dove 2 Lilac-cr. Parrot 1 Barn Owl 1 4 4 6 1 1 2 Common Screech Owl 1 1 3 1 28 6 1 1 7 1 1 7 1 28 3 68 17 2 8 29 Great Horned Owl 15 12 4 2 2 2 6 4 7 38 10 28 22 1 32 3 Snowy Owl 1 Barred Owl 1 4 5 11 9 5 6 2 2 1 3 1 2 Long-eared Owl 1 3 2 1 Short-eared Owl 1 2 3 1 1 11 5 Saw-whet Owl 1 1 cw Belted Kingfisher 2 6 14 24 27 21 48 21 10 9 14 14 8 3 20 18 20 22 10 23 16 Common Flicker 26 55 38 108 148 353 345 97 60 131 55 36 40 152 225 199 102 40 155 93 Pileated Woodpecker 1 27 23 8 14 18 63 43 9 1 13 1 3 27 4 10 18 Red-bell. Woodpkr 2 39 98 145 171 262 397 361 76 76 217 33 69 45 125 147 131 44 14 41 45 Red-headed Woodpkr 1 41 3 1 44 14 40 1 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol . 37, Mo Table 1. Christmas Bird Count Summary, 1980-1981 (cont.) Species Garr Alle Wash Cato LibL Trla Sene Bowl PtTb PtLk Anap Balt RRun Elkt Kent Dent StMi Dorc Sals Cris OCty Yell-bell Sapsuckr 4 17 1 11 55 40 5 2 17 1 2 2 17 6 5 2 9 18 3 Hairy Woodpecker 9 26 14 27 35 46 52 71 11 14 40 7 3 12 46 26 33 32 4 18 18 Downy Woodpecker 33 86 171 187 216 332 719 392 88 79 330 129 71 65 177 193 147 171 78 94 68 Eastern Phoebe 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 1 2 Horned Lark 45 9 583 766 104 16 229 1 18 60 4 21 16 109 69 35 15 Blue Jay 52 297 283 386 890 1163 1444 1527 296 98 531 222 188 233 661 396 605 19 46 107 67 Northern Raven 1 15 1 American Crow 271 701 1926 3504 5435 6116 5402 2638 205 702 959 4306 364 344 105 434 4775 825 978 813 107 Fish Crow 27 20 7 344 223 90 36 43 174 3 1 1 171 207 30 634 cw Blk-cap Chickadee 273 192 65 77 12 8 6 5 31 4 16 Carolina Chickadee 312 436 786 1017 1618 1459 208 272 1459 340 126 298 467 415 747 368 184 249 235 Tufted Titmouse 24 158 145 202 237 394 696 810 80 69 503 103 95 108 124 227 244 65 87 64 76 Whlte-br. Nuthatch 51 71 88 117 138 102 231 88 13 3 41 12 13 22 17 25 24 2 11 3 9 Red-br. Nuthatch 1 3 7 5 46 19 16 275 22 2 19 8 2 9 32 23 20 5 2 1 Brown-hd. Nuthatch 17 11 29 3 28 Brown Creeper 5 17 48 82 73 55 139 113 11 17 65 17 7 11 14 29 19 28 19 21 12 House Wren 1 cw 4 1 Winter Wren 3 7 9 14 15 32 41 10 3 13 6 2 1 4 11 1- 9 2 13 8 Carolina Wren 16 93 81 74 154 2 LI 315 59 158 228 134 18 15 122 66 163 63 42 146 76 Marsh Wren 1 2 15 8 2 Sedge Wren 6 1 2 1 marsh wren sp. 1 No. Mockingbird 51 266 152 236 382 443 414 50 103 534 170 113 85 185 98 299 47 75 65 82 Gray Catbird 2 6 2 1 3 3 8 1 3 3 4 7 1 3 4 2 Brown Thrasher 1 4 5 2 8 16 6 6 2 cw 2 6 7 2 1 4 18 8 American Robin 13 28 .103 32 141 37 287 186 590 391 338 27 1 36 121 300 266 494 470 1960 481 Hermit Thrush 2 8 1 39 23 10 44 13 63 76 20 6 14 19 22 16 47 21 37 15 Eastern Bluebird 110 45 97 110 236 167 166 41 40 24 12 18 64 65 37 9 13 Golden-cr. Kinglet 63 16 40 40 174 179 147 266 6 12 168 15 1 4 42 48 9 33 20 29 32 Ruby-cr. Kinglet 3 10 2 11 15 61 8 6 7 14 4 CW 1 13 9 8 4 6 3 Water Pipit 74 51 120 127 18 196 5 81 1 162 2 3 46 Cedar Waxwing 3 38 33 291 524 882 773 409 399 486 67 13 61 281 3 18 29 6 Loggerhead Shrike 2 1 1 4 1 Starling 144 6539 14 M 3815 2289 4265 36M 5101 404 1204 3646 32M 4076 1366 1519 3984 3837 1230 6504 10M 6770 Black-&-white W. 1 Yellow-rumped W. 6 4 33 21 15 191 126 332 609 37 8 13 314 51 588 1715 82 1928 730 Pine Warbler 1 6 2 3 4 9 10 13 2 Palm Warbler 1 1 2 1 Com. Yellowthroat 3 1 1 1 4 2 1 Yellow-br . Chat 2 1 M«rch 1981 MARYLAND B1RDL1FE Table 1. Christmas Bird Count Summary, 1980-1981 (concluded) O Species Garr Alle Wash Cato LibL Tria Sene Bowl PtTb PtLk Anap Balt RRun Elkt Kent Dent StMi Do re Sals Cris OCty House Sparrow 196 225 2250 1671 584 627 1500 976 152 302 1773 1041 281 272 329 761 899 240 363 475 763 Eastern Meadowlark 35 3 15 5 66 87 14 96 19 256 58 5 40 34 243 283 215 398 262 700 425 Red-wing Blackbird 103 2 1494 5 835 4150 31M 1021 962 4038 1590 6819 932 27M 341M 2908 8841 20M 15M 211M 1375 Northern Oriole 1 1 cw CW 1 Rusty Blackbird 47 7 2 22 50 102 133 14 49 9 32 7 1 6 7 Boat-tall Grackle 430 775 4 Common Grackle 2 1 1823 1 3170 26M 19 3M 206 5 4334 4118 25M 8207 61M 557m 1055 98 6070 25M 508M 236 Brown-hd Cowblrd 17 12 3318 344 368 906 35M 644 161 1858 6212 285 977 331 705 145 2 554 202 256 blackbird sp. 250M 1055 20M Northern Cardinal 59 245 587 689 1034 1401 1902 1384 155 494 1638 547 317 207 605 400 803 133 266 290 291 Evening Grosbeak 176 194 4 43 8 11 42 37 2 3 2 15 1 14 12 15 26 1 8 10 15 Purple Finch 11 88 139 74 97 144 538 232 32 22 216 10 20 23 20 61 32 8 11 19 13 House Finch 13 142 706 72 345 270 682 513 1 108 43 107 248 175 409 682 7 214 74 233 Common Redpoll cw 4 Pine Siskin 15 7 2 12 1 1 127 2 3 2 34 3 3 22 American Goldfinch 8 176 295 177 271 451 695 952 74 42 411 178 38 207 125 152 304 55 52 154 158 Red Crossbill cw Rufous-Bide Towhee 3 1 3 85 57 28 191 75 19 41 17 17 6 52 34 21 7 18 31 32 Savannah Sparrow 1 1 18 29 12 21 32 10 10 29 19 12 120 15 78 77 Sharp-tail Sparrow 1 2 Seaside Sparrow 1 2 Vesper Sparrow 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 Northern Junco 320 1486 1039 1181 1723 1953 4468 3752 293 471 2409 586 648 1300 1075 1318 2088 265 1354 334 403 Am. Tree Sparrow 54 98 195 148 168 111 161 62 12 16 37 2 62 8 7 3 6 1 Chipping Sparrow 1 1 5 1 1 1 5 2 6 23 14 Field Sparrow 2 43 11 49 266 355 495 507 26 126 344 188 124 89 183 348 183 63 146 101 178 White-cr. Sparrow 2 145 90 15 146 70 6 1 2 7 79 20 87 59 12 2 2 60 White-thrt. Spar. 6 169 859 685 1716 3520 4961 6139 803 1084 4018 1315 674 900 3018 1526 3988 678 1505 1289 1572 Fox Sparrow 24 15 15 8 3 1 4 1 3 3 8 4 7 3 5 cw Lincoln's Sparrow 1 Swamp Sparrow 3 3 13 4 33 54 131 188 41 43 57 128 2 16 176 54 20 460 51 412 126 Song Sparrow 19 118 217 272 751 1068 1481 1872 212 431 786 794 124 223 512 288 1132 965 272 669 642 Lapland Longspur 1 Snow Bunting 1 3 1 1 1 Total species 53 82 82 76 94 97 106 88 88 106 109 109 69 72 120 91 98 118 93 123 134 Individuals 2293 285018 31179 332150 9910 96438 63312 1188119 96098 67272 47168 12472 17570 67377 39552 31001 119997 102650 37208 80559 756215 Observers 12 23 40 25 31 59 115 72 15 24 69 38 20 26 35 24 41 27 35 25 33 Party-hours 70 77 118 107 158 217 317 317 48 85 300 147 54 69 122 95 114 146 103 162 146 Party-miles 442 438 441 330 445 491 759 633 125 242 910 378 354 400 415 469 783 519 406 230 531 LO BIRDLIFE March 1981 MARYLAND BIRDLIF E 11 The explosion of Red-headed Woodpeckers has, sadly, another likely explanation. A good local acorn crop contributed to record numbers win- tering in the area, though why they should be found in clumps (note es- pecially Catoctin and Bowie) is hard to understand. In general, more counts got than than in most years. House Finches are not cause for optimism exactly, but they are cer- tainly increasing. Numbers were way up, and there is no likely end in sight. The explosive growth of this western introduction to the eastern avifauna has been well noted 5 in American Birds. Two quick c omm ents before running down the counts. Table 1 gives a s umm ary of the edited counts sutmitted to American Birds. As usual, sane of the details in support of rarities were extraordinary, sane mere- ly ordinary, sane pathetic, same non-existent. The uneven quality is sanething we should strive to eliminate by providing the best possible documentation for rarities. More specific comments and details will ap- pear in the American Birds Christmas Count issue (July 1981). Duplication is another problem. On most counts it is not too great, but on the counts with many observers, the obvious duplication of raptors, and other large easily seen birds should be addressed. It is impossible to eliminate all duplication, but compilers should attack the problan. It is the cloud that canes with the silver lining of actually having e- nough people for a count. A couple of notes about the chart. Underlined numbers represent either an exceptional number, or an exceptional bird. The constraint of space makes it impossible to write out large numbers, so 25,000 is repre- sented as 25M. Large numbers were rounded off to the closest thousand. The chart is in geographic order, starting in the mountains, in the hope it will make certain trends and distributions easier to discern. It will not always work. Garrett County held its tenth anniversary this year, and maybe its last for sane time. Only 22 observers braved a starting temperature of -3°F. With frozen water and frozen counters, the totals were among the lowest yet. The future of the count is in doubt. Next door Allegany County had a starting temperature of 7 F. and a good total of 82 species. A White-winged Scoter and a Northern (Baltimore) Oriole were the high- lights, plus the State highs for many of the "mountain" species usually topped by Garrett. Washington County had tonperatures of 5-2 5°F. A Green Heron, one of two in the State, and the only one with details, was found holding on at a fish hatchery. A Mute Swan, showing no evidence of being a recent cap- tive, was found on the Potanac River. All Mute Swans in the region, ex- cept those in the Bay, should be regarded as probable escapes. Both Carolina Wrens and Eastern Bluebirds were noted as increasing. 12 MARYLAM) BIRDLIFE Vol . 37, No. 1 Catoctin turned up nine sets of fresh Turkey tracks (but no birds), and an amazing 1+1 Red-headed Woodpeckers. Tanperatures were 9-26 F. For the second year in a row they managed only a single Bobwhite, testament to the deprivation of several hard winters in a row and the slow recovery rate of this bird. Liberty Lake, tanperatures 7-22 F. , found most water frozen, but managed to locate their usual waterfowl, plus an unexpected Blue Goose. The big finds were rare gulls at a local landfill, including a well documented and photographed Thayer's. The problan with Thayer’s Gull is that we know little about their distribution and abundance, or even identification in their various plumages. Just to the south, Triadelphia had one of their best years for both observers and species. The hot it an was a Goshawk, adequately but not exhaustively documented. Temperatures of 10-30°F. did not stop counters frcm running up many record count highs, particularly in pedestrian spe- cies. Seneca, as always, had the most observers in the State, and many of the highs on landbirds. Their count of Downy Woodpeckers breaks their own previous national high for the species, and they had the State high in every woodpecker except Hairy. A well described White-winged Scoter was a first for the count, and a State high 1+ Canmon Loons is certainly unprecedented. Temperatures ranged from 0-2h F. Bowie had one of its low species counts in recent years, almost com- pletely attributable to missing waterfowl. Despite that, a stunning 6,139 White-throated Sparrows shatters all previous national Christmas Count records. On the rare side was a well-described Virginia Rail, and 1^ Red- headed Woodpeckers, causing the compiler to speculate they might be col- onizing in the area. Tanperatures were 28-39°F. but water was not open. Port Tobacco ran into an ice storm that kept observers from getting afield until mid-morning or later. Tanperatures ranged upward from 30 to U5°F. making the day a pleasant one once the ice melted. A Dunlin, 1+0 Red- headed Woodpeckers, and 133 Rusty Blackbirds rewarded the persistent. Point Lookout had a morning blizzard that all but eliminated the boat party, but ended up with one of their better counts. Most startling were 1+ Purple Sandpipers, a first county record, and only the second lo- cation they have been reported from the Bay. Great Cormorant (lh ) shows a slight increase in this regionally rare northern visitor, reliable only at St. George Island. Tanperatures, 2l+-35°F. Annapolis had a staggering count of gulls, including an all-time State record for Herrings. The most controversial bird in the State was in the Annapolis Harbor, and was identified and subnitted as a Tufted Duck. Careful details and photos resulted in re- identification later. Unfortunately, it is not certain what the bird really is. Best evidence indicates a hybrid, probably be- tween a Ring-neck and a Wood Duck! Whether it escaped from a private collection or occurred naturally will almost certainly never be known. Tanperatures were 6-l8°F. , with winds of 10-25 m.p.h. The Baltimore Harbor Count had the most observed and photographed rare bird in the State this year, the Snowy Owl at Fort McHenry. They also had the now expected bonanza of gulls, including 2 Black-headed (photographed), and h_ Lesser Black-backs, a new national record, but Marchl98l MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 13 probably not for long. The Ringed Turtle Doves were also at Fort McHenry, having bred there last summer. Temperatures , 20-35°F. Rock Run had the most remarkable gull count in the State, and in the history of Maryland counts. Thirty thousand gulls, mostly Ring -billed concentrated at Cono- wingo Dam, presented observers with a major counting problem. Compiler John Wortman, who believes the figure is "in the right order of magnitude" says the gathering was caused by a massive fish kill of "gizzard shad," stacking up at the dam. It must have been a sight. Temperatures were 15- 30°F. The Elkton count had good numbers of sane individuals, despite ter- rible weather. Temperatures were 5-12 F. and winds 5-^0m.p.h. The com- piler attributed near average numbers to truly intrepid observers, and increased use of Screech Owl tapes, a phenomenon growing throughout the region. Lower Kent, as usual, led the State in many waterfowl counts, but with a difference this time. Almost a quarter of a million Canada Geese, and 21,000 Mallards! Bystrak described the evening flight of geese and swans as awescme. On the ground, the 4 well-described Carnnon Redpolls were unique in the State, as was the Black-and-white Warbler. Tonperatures, 19-3 1 * F. Denton, well compiled and well documented, had good counts of swans, geese, and 1+ Loggerhead Shrikes. It is one of the last coastal plain holdouts for this rapidly declining species. Temperatures, 10-25°F. Traditional diving duck hotspot, St. Michaels, rounded up same of their best counts ever of landbirds, including U Eastern Phoebes and a Northern Oriole. They remain the Mute Swan capitol of the Bay with 1 1+6. Observers spent a fantastic 1£ hours owling, with predictable results. Temperature, 16- 27°F. Southern Dorchester had pretty good weather, but the duck situation can be best illustrated by having missed American Wigeon, a first. Sane excellent raptor counts, a Snow Bunting, and a Lincoln's Sparrow were outstanding. Note the lack of herons though. Tonperatures, 20-32°F. Salisbury, the urban count of the lower shore, did their usual thorough job, highlighted by a Glaucous Gull and a Yellow-breasted Chat, though they missed sane semi-hardy lingerers found most years, possibly a result of the 5-30 m.p.h. winds and the lU-30 F. tenperatures. Crisfield (30-l+8°F. ) had sane of the nicest weather and best results in the State, including the only Louisiana Heron, Glossy Ibis and good counts of rails. The Lilac-crowned Parrot, undoubtedly an escape, makes one wonder when counts will begin scavenging at zoos and parks. Such discoveries are fun, but probably best left at the tally. Ocean City had same of the State's worst weather, and one of their lowest counts in recent years. Tanperatur es were 1+0-50 F. , but a birder's two worst enemies, wind and rain, kept the figures way down. Literally dozens of species were recorded in the lowest numbers in more than a decade, and several were missed for the first time in 10-30 years. Good gull counts (including both white-wings), 3 Marbled Godwits, and an incredible 1 6 King Eiders kept the day fran being a canplete washout. The eiders are more remarkable when canpared to the counts of other diving ducks. lU MARYLAND BIRD LIFE Vol. 37, Ho. 1 One problen with doing a Christmas Count summary this year is that none was done in the State in the two previous years. One cannot compare figures without going back and compiling data for all the counts for these years, a prohibitive task. So many of the figures here represent raw data, not "birds per party-hour" and other common extrapolations. As such their meaning is open to debate. I have tried not to draw too many critical conclusions. The general impressions will, I think, hold up. It was a season with fewer rarities than most, and worse weather. Both facts, along with the number of participants who braved the elanents, say some- thing positive about the quality and dedication of observers and compilers in the region. And what about the birds? As they used to say in Philly, "Wait until next year." 3 Riverview Ct. , Apt. 202, Laurel, MD 20810 ☆ AMERICAN FLAMINGO AT BROADWATER POINT K. Friel Sanders October 7, 1980, was a red-letter day for me because it brought an unexpected and exciting visitor, an American Flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber. I was having lunch on my porch, which has a sweeping view of the Chesapeake Bay. Over the years, I have developed the habit of ever so often checking channel markers, mud flats, marsh and docks to see if any- thing unusual is about. On this eventful day, when I first saw the fla- mingo, I thought it was a very early Whistling Swan, Olor columbianus. A closer look showed a curved neck, which suggested a Mute Swan, Cygnus olor . It was then that I noticed pink showing. I thought that the bird might have been color dyed for sight identification. It was not until I used the telescope that I saw the thick, hooked bill; then I knew the bird's identity. The bill was tucked close to the body. The reason the bird had the appearance of a swan was because it was standing belly deep in water and seemed to be floating. I had learned long ago one gets a witness when one finds an unusual bird. I had my telescope set up on the Hancock's (next door neighbor) dock. I dashed over to their next door neighbors. Jack and Dilly Ingle- due. I found only Dilly at home, but she went willingly with me to the dock. I asked her to get Jack and another neighbor, George Christman, to try to take some pictures while I telephoned people whom I thought might be interested in seeing the bird. Of all those I called,. only Laddie Flyger and Harold Wierenga were able to come before the bird flew away. We had beautiful views of the flamingo from the dock, which, runs across the marsh to the water's edge. The bird stretched its wings and neck and even flew a short distance, showing brighter pink and the black primaries and secondaries. We also saw the long, long legs and neck. March 1981 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 11 We had an assortment of "binoculars, my telescope and cameras on hand. The accompanying picture was taken hy George Christman. The flamingo was under observation for at least two hours before it flew off down the Ray. From my reading, I under- stand that captive flamingos tend to be very pale. Birds that feed in less saline water are also paler according to studies. If the foregoing is true, I wonder if my bird was an escaped captive, or suffer- ing from lack of food produced in water with sufficient sa- linity. As the flamingo flew away, I could only hope it would be able to avoid the gunners and find safety in a refuge somewhere. 1088 Broadwater Point Drive, Churchton, MD 20733 ☆ YELLOW RAIL COLLECTED IN MARYLAND Elwood M. Martin and Matthew C . Perry On October U, 1980 , M. C. Perry shot a Yellow Rail ( Cotumicops noveboracensis) in Reed Marsh Just below Jug Bay on the Patuxent River, Anne Arundel Co., Md. We also took sixteen Soras (Porzana Carolina) on this rail collecting trip, part of a long-term study. The Yellow Rail was flushed at high tide from a Polygonum-Bidens dominated marsh used regularly in fall by migrating Soras, sometimes in large numbers. The Yellow Rail flushed closer than most Soras (about 5 feet versus 10 feet) and had a more deliberate flight pattern. The bird was an immature male as determined by internal observation of testes and bursa of Fab- ricius. The study skin is currently at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Md. Stewart and Robbins (1958) classify the Yellow Rail as a rare spring and fall migrant in tidewater areas of Chesapeake Bay and list an early fall record of October 2, 1929 » for the Patuxent River marsh. Prince Georges County. Biologists fi*m the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center have studied and collected rails below Jug Bay almost every fall since 1959 and this is the first Yellow Rail recorded. The more detailed records kept since 19&5 indicate that slightly over 3,000 rails have 1 6 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol . 37. No. 1 been seen on about 120 visits to this marsh during the September-October period. However, all but 9 of 1,485 rails unselect ively collected have been Soras. The others were 4 Virginias (Rallus limicola ) , 3 Kings (R. elegans ), 1 Clapper (R. longivostvis ) , and this year, 1 Yellow. Even though these other species, especially the Yellow Rail, are more secre- tive and harder to observe than the Sora, it is apparent that this fresh water tidal marsh is a special habitat much more attractive to migrating Soras than to other rails. In most marshes the Virginia Rail is more comparable to the Sora than to the King Rail in numbers. The Clapper Rail is considered accidental this far up the Patuxent River, and the Yellow Rail is very rarely observed anywhere in the State. Obviously, it is inappropriate to claim that the species composition found here is typical of marshes elsewhere in Maryland. Notes on the food habits of the Yellow Rail are very sketchy in the literature. Pough {1951: 202) stated that "The only food they have been recorded as eating is small snails." In his monumental review, Ripley (1977: 187) summarized their food 'habits saying "The Yellow Rail forages for snails and other small invertebrates...” The gizzard contents of our bird were examined by F. M. Uhler who identified the following, esti- mating approximate percentages by volume: TETTIGONI IDAE long-horned grasshoppers 4o^ Setaria glauca pigeongrass seeds 35% AMNIC0LIDAE snails 25% Polygonum sp. smartweed seeds trace CURCULIONIDAE weevil fragment trace Dystiscus sp. diving beetle fragment trace ARANEAE spider fragment trace Apparently more typical was the diet of an adult Yellow Rail re- ceived in a collection of rails taken in Massachusetts in September 1979 (Vickery 1980). Mr. Uhler found that snails made up over 9 0% of the gizzard contents of the Massachusetts bird. Also present were fragments of several other invertebrates and one seed of Scirpus acutus. Appar- ently our Maryland specimen is the first one examined in which food other than snails (or small invertebrates generally) formed a signifi- cant proportion. LITERATURE CITED Pough, R. H. 1951. Audubon water bird guide. Doubleday, Garden City, N. Y. 352 p. Ripley, S. D. 1977- Rails of the world. D. R. Godine, Boston. 4o6 p. Stewart, R. E. , and C. S. Robbins. 1958. Birds of Maryland and the District of Columbia. USFWS N. Am. Fauna 62. 401 p. Vickery, P. D. 1980. Northeastern Maritime Region. Am. Birds 34 ( 5 ): 754-757. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Laurel , MD 20811 March 1981 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 17 FALL MIGRATION, AUGUST 1 - NOVEMBER 30, 1980 Robert F. Ringler Never before have so many observers throughout the State contributed field notes for the season report of Maryland Birdlife. The list below of 100 names is the largest we have ever compiled for one season. Never before have we .been able to present such a complete picture of the fall migration across the State. My thanks to everyone who made it possible by sending me their field notes, even if it was only a few items jotted down on a post card. Every little bit helps. Evidence of the thoroughness of the reporting can be seen by looking at the median arrival and departure dates in the migration tables, partic- ularly among the warblers. One can find 1980 median arrival dates that are a week to ten days ahead of the 10-year medians. In most if not all cases, the 1980 dates are more representative of the true migratory period of the species than the 10-year median simply because of the widespread coverage and superb reporting by many MOS menbers. In this simple way ve as amateurs can contribute to the ornithological knowledge of North Amer- ica and live up to the name of our organization. I want to anphasize the word amateurs. Though there are professionals among us, most of the ob- servers named below are just plain birdwatchers. I urge everyone to help us in the future by sending me their bird notes, but be prepared to back up with details any sightings of rarities or unseasonal species. Here are the people who made this report possible. In several cases one person does the reporting for many, thus making my job a little eas- ier; these include Jo Solon in Howard County, the Fletchers in Caroline, Jan Reese in Talbot, and several people who reported for two or three others. Thanks to all. Garrett - Dorothea Malec, Fran Pope, Sallie Thayer. Allegany - C. Ludwig , Jim Paulus, Mary Twigg, Jim Wilkinson, J. Willetts. Washington - Truman & Leontine Doyle, Bob & Mary Needy, Alice Mallonee, Denny & Harold Winger. Frederick - Dan Boone, David Wallace. Carroll - Rick Blom, Betsy Reeder. Baltimore - Warren Bielenberg , Peggy Bohanan, Gladys Cole, Bob Jarboe, Hank & Peter Kaestner, David & Alice Nelson, Paul Noell, Bruce Reid, Bob Ringler, Jim Stasz, Peter Webb. Table 1. Fall Arrival DateB, I960 00 Median 10-yr i960 Garr Al/Wa Fred Carr Balt Ha/Ce Howa Mont Pr.G Anne ScMd Ke/QA Caro Talb Pore So/Wi Wore Common Loon 10/ 6 10/ 8 10/26 9/10 10/13 11/10 10/ 1) _ 10/20 10/20 11/ 1) 9/16 10/ Its 9/20 0 9/26 _ _ _ Horned Grebe 11/ 1 10/29 0 10/21 0 11/ 8 10/19 0 11/ 8 11/ 2 11/ 2 10/25 10/25 10/ 8 0 11/ 7 _ _ _ Pled -billed Grebe 9/21 9/ 5 - 6/16 0/15 10/ 5 9/12 0 9/ 1) 9/ 6 9/ 5 - * 0 9/12 _ _ - Double-crested Cormorant 9/ 7 8/18 0 - 0 0 8/2U 9/12 - 7/ 3 &/23b 7/llq 9/19 7/12 - - 8/13 Little Blue Heron 8/ 5 7/16 0 0 7/16 0 7/17 8/ 9c V 5 7/ 7 7/31 - 0 0 0 7/ 9 - - - Cattle Egret - '“HT/ji 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/ 1 9/ 1 S/31 - 8/ 3 _ _ - Creat Egret 8/ 8 7/27 7/30 8/10v 7/21) 8/ 1> 7/ 6 8/ 9c 7/30 7/19 6/30 9/11 6/29b 7/20 - - - Snowy Egret 7/27 7/30 7/30 0 7/27 7/ 5 7/ 6 9/ 9 0 8/lU 7/31 9/ l 9/ 1 7/ 6 - _ 7/18 _ American Bittern - 10/ T 0 0 10/ 7 0 9/18 0 0 0 9/28 0 0 11/ 9 0 0 _ _ 10/12 Glossy Ibis - 7/21 0 0 T/16 0 7/27 0 0 0 0 0 8/11* 0 0 7/12 _ _ Whistling Swan U/ 9 11/10 11/23 11/10 11/2 - 11/16 11/13 11/17 11/ 8 11/23 11/ 8 11/ 8 10/21* ” mr 11/ 1 - 12/ 7v - Canada Goose 9/26 9/23 10/ 1 - 9/2U 10/ 5 9/23 - - 9/20 - 9/23 9/27 a 9/ 7 9/16 9/ 9 - - 9/28 Snow Goose 10/12 10/ 9 0 0 10/26 0 0 0 10/ 1* 0 10/21) 0 9/15 n/ 3 10/15 10/ 2 9/21 Gadwall 9/20 10/15 0 10/22 10/29 11/ 0 11/15 0 10/18 - 9/21 9/29 0 9/21* 0 8/26 10/13 - Caranon Pintail 10/ 1 9/29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 q/n 11/ 2 9/29 0 9/2!) 0 6/26 10/13 _ 12/ 7 Green-winged Teal 972ff 9/ u - 9/16 8720 ' 0 9/12 0 9/ u 8/19 8/21. 0 8/ 5 c 11/ 2 10/13 Blue-winged Teal 0/29 8/16 0 0/16 7/25 0/ 2 8/17 0 9/ 6 8/ 5 9/ 5 7/20 9/ 1 9/ 1 9/30 0 _ _ 8/ 8 American Wig eon 9/20 10/ 2 11/23 10/ 1 0 11/ 2 10/ 1) 0 9/ 6 9/23 9/11 - 0 9/21* 0 11/ 9 12/ 7 Northern Shoveler 10/ 5 10/28 0 0 0 0 10/ U 0 10/27 0 11/ 0 0 0 9/15 0 10/30 _ 12/ 7 Redhead 11/ 3 11/ 2 n/23 0 0 11/ 2 11/ 8 0 11/12 0 0 10/25 10/25 10/19 0 0 0 0 Ring-necked Duck 11/ 9 10/26 0 10/22 0 11/ 2 ll/30 0 10/15 - 10/26 - 10/26 11/ l 10/15 11/ 2 10/ 2 0 10/12 Canva aback 11/ 7 10/31 12/ i) 11/ 1) 0 11/ 2 10/17 0 10/21* 0 11/ 6 10/31 10/31 10/19 10/23 10/ 9 _ Greater Scaup - 11/ 1 0 0 0 0 - 0 11/28 0 0 10/31 10/31 11/ 3 0 0 0 0 _ LeBBer Scaup 10/21 10/26 10/26 10/21 0 11/ 2 11/ 1 0 10/11 0 10/21 10/31 10/31 10/20 11/10 9/28 - - * Ccnunon Goldeneye n/ 5 11/ 5 0 11/ 7 0 11/16 _ 0 12/11 12/11 11/ 1 10/31 10/31 11/ 3 11/10 11/ 2 0 0 _ Buf flehead 11/ f* 10/31 11/ 7 10/22 11/16 11/ 2 10/26 0 10/22 11/11 10/26 10/31 10/31 10/26 0 11/ 2 . Old squaw n/ l 11/ 9 0 0 0 11/16 11/16 0 12/11 12/11 11/ 2 11/ 9 11/ 1) 10/20 0 10/11 0 0 - White-winged Scoter 10/16 10/21) 10/21) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10/25 10/ 1)9 11/ 3 0 9/28 0 0 - Surf Scoter - 10/19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11/1) 10/19 10/ 1)5 11/ 3 0 10/19 0 0 10/18 Black Scoter - 10/2U 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10/21. 10/31 12/21 0 10/19 0 0 9/28 Ruddy Duck 10/20 10/10 11/20 10/10 0" 0 9/12 10/19 10/ 3 0 9/26 10/31 10/12C 9/ 2 1 - 9/30 10/30 - Hooded Merganser - 11/ 3 11/23 10/21) 0 11/12 10/23 0 10/21) 10/20 11/ 1) 11/ 3 11/ 9 11/ 1) 0 0 0 0 0 Canmon Merganser - 11/18 0 11/lSu 0 - 11/30 0 11/19 11/ 9 11/23 0 11/20S 10/31 0 0 0 0 0 Red-breaated Merganser - 10/25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10/25 10/119 11/ 3 0 11/ 2 _ - 9/21 Turkey Vulture * - 9/20 ?/ 6 9/28 Sharp-shinnedtlavK “ " was 9711 - S/29w 97 8" - ~n b - 9/15 9/ 9 9/11 9/206 9/11* - 9/12 - - - Cooper’s Hawk - 9/20 - a/25 5726V - - 9/20 - 8/23 9/20 9/20 8/16 9/20S 9/20 - 9/28 - - - Red-tailed Hawk - 9/ 1 - 0/31 - 8/21) - - - 9/ 7 9/ 1 9/ 1 - 9/11 - - - Red -shouldered Hawk - 9/27 10/ 1 9/llv - - 9/6 - - _ 9/22 9/27 10/ 1 10/11 _ _ * Broad-winged Hawk - 9/ 1 - 8/26 w 2 L 7. - 8/21) _ 9/ 8 9/ 0 _2/__T_ 9/ 1 8/16 _ 8/25 _ _ Rough-legged Hawk 11/ 9 12/21 1Q/23v 127 0 0 LL/10 0 0 0 0 10/27 10/12 11/ 9 0 0 _ Bald Eagle - 9/12 0 9/18 0 0 9/12 8/ 9c 0 9/28 _ - _ 8/16 - _ _ _ Northern Harrier - 9/19 - 9/llw 8/27 - 0/21) - 10/31 9/ li - 9/ 1 10/12 9/19 9/2 6 9/21 _ 9/28 Osprey - 9/ l - 9/ 3 8/10 - 0/23 - 8/19 9/23 9/ 1 9/ 1 - 9/21* 9/28 _ Peregrine Falcon - 9/16 0 0 0 0 - 0 8/12 9/27 0 9/15 B /1I1 0 0 10/ 5 0 0 9/21 uo -9 BIRDLIFE Median 10-yr 1980 Carr Al/Wn Fred Carr Balt Ha/Ce Kowa Mont Pr.O Anne Scrtd Ke/QA Caro Talb Pore So/Wj Wprc Merlin 9/22 0 9/10 0 0 8/23 0 _ 0 0 9/23 10/11 10/ 6 0 0 0 9/21 Anerican Kestrel - 8/30 - 9/10V 8/15 _ 8/17 _ 9/ U 8/30 9/2lt 9/ 3 6/30 _ 8/21* 7/ 5 - 9/ 5 American Coot 10/19 10/ 9 11/20 9/16 10/26 - 9/12 10/19 9/12 10/ 3 10 / 9 - * 9/21. 10/15 11/ 2 - - - Sanipalmated Plover 0/ h 8/ 2 0 9/13 8/15 7/19 - 0 0 7/21 0 0 9/ is 0 0 - 0 0 7/16 Lesser Golden Plover _ 9/11 0 0 0 0 9/12 0 0 0/16 0 9/10 0 0 0 0 0 0 ?/21 Black-bellied Plover 9/10 9/21 0 0 0 0 9/18 0 10/11 0 9/22 9/10 9/27 11/ 3 0 9/20 0 0 7/16 Upland Sandpiper - 8/ 1* 0 0 7/27 0 0 0 0 0 0 8/12 0 0 7/ 6 0 0 0 e /13 Greater Yellovlegs 8/10 0/ 2 - 0 8/ 2 - - 0 - 9/11 - - 9/1 Is 7/13 9/20 8/ 3 7/18 7/ 2 7/ 9 Lesser Yellovlegs 0/ 6 7/17 0 - 7/ 6 - 7/ 8 8/ 9c 8/27 7/17 9/ 3 7/10 9/ Is 7/13q 0 8/27 7/18 7/ 3 7/ 5 Solitary Sandpiper 7/20 7/17 7/15 7/ 9 7/11 7/19 T/17 0 - 7/17 8 / 2 U 7/10 - 0 0 8/27 0 0 O Spotted Sandpiper 7/26 7/12 H/i6 7/ 9 7/19 6/ 6 - 7/12 7/10 - 7/13 - 7/12 7/18 - 7/ 6 Canmon Snipe 9/17 9/26 10 / 2 I 4 - 9/13 0 9/12 0 - 9/ 8 9/28 9/25 9/27c - 0 10/22 - - - Short -billed Dovitcher 7/31 9/ 1 0 0 0 9/12 9/ 5 0 0 9/ e 0 0 9/ Is 0 0 0 7/ 5 6/29 7/ it Sanderling 8/10 9/15 0 0 0 0 0 Q 0 0 0 9/29 9/ Is 12/21 0 0 0 0 7/16 Sanipalmated Sandpiper 0/ 1 7/25 0 7/25 - 0 8/31 0 - 3/30 0 0 - 7/20 0 0/13 7/18 - 7/ 6 Western Sandpiper - 7/18 " — 5 — B ' 7/31 0 7/15 0 0 0 0 0 0 7/21* 0 0 7/18 0 7/16 Least Sandpiper 7/25 7/11* 0 6/28 7/n 7/19 7/19 0 6/ 6 8/ 9 - 7/ 9 7/12 0 8/27 7/ 5 7/ 3 7/l6 Pectoral Sandpiper 8/10 7/18 0 7/17 7/11 7/19 7/17 0 9/15 7/21 - - 9/ la 7/20 c 8/27 7/18 7/18 7/l6 Dunlin 10/ 1 10/18 0 10/18 10/26 _ 10/ It 0 11/ 6 10/18 - - 9/27s 10/20 0 9/28 0 0 9/21 Stilt Sandpiper - 8/10 0 0 0 0 _ 0 0 9/10 0 0 0 0 0 8/27 7/18 0 7/21* Bonaparte's Gull - 10/30 0 0 0 0 11/ 2 0 11/ l> 11/15 11/23 10 / 5 10/ 5 10/21 0 10/27 0 0 - Forster' a Tern - 6/29 0 0 0 0 6/20 8/ 9c 0 0 - 6/27 6/29b 7/ 9q 0 - 6/25 7/l3v - Cannon Tern - 8/ 9 0 0 0 0 0 8/ 9c 0 0 - 9/27 9/27 6/ 9 0 7/ 7 - - - Royal Tern - 7/17 0 0 0 0 7/17 0 0 0 - 10/13 10/13 7/llq 0 6/2 6 - - - Caspian Tern - 7/21* 0 0 0 0 6/28 0 0 0 e /31 . ll 3 - 0 0 8/23 -7/ 5_ 0 8/13 Black Tern - 7/56" “5 T/ 1* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9/25 0 0 0 8/ 2 0 0 7/19 Short-eared Ovl - 12 /lb 0 0 0 0 12/13 0 0 0 0 0 12/31 12/21 12/16 11/28 - - 12/ 7 Sav-vhet Ovl - 10/31 10/28 0 0 0 11/15 0 0 10/31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Cannon Nighthawk 8/23 0/llt - - 8/17 _ 8/15 - e/iu 15/iF 8/22 8/13 8 / 30 c 8/ 5 - - - - - Canmon Flicker - 9/17 - - - - 9/13 * 9/Ut 9/17 9/19 - 9/27 - - - - - - Red-headed 'Woodpecker 9/20 10/16 - - 11/ 7 - 9/ 1 - 10/30 9/2 it 10/12 0 0 0 10/21 0 0 0 Yellov-bellled Sapsucker 9/29 9/28 9/2k 9/2 5v 9/18 10/ 5 9/1 9 10 / 5 10/ 9 10/10 10 / it 10/31 9/27cs 9/21* 10/18 9/28 - - - Y el lov- bellied Flycatcher 9/ i 8/20 8/30 0/25 e /18 8/23 8/16 0 6/31 0/22 8/17 8/17 0 8/16 0 - 0 0 0 Traill’s Flycatcher - 8/21 ~~z B73F - 8/21 _ - 3717 STio 3751 0 371? 0 6/23 0 0 0 Least Flycatcher 9/31 8/214 8/30 8/2* 0 0 5/21 0 0 5721" 8/ 9 8/30 0 B 7 I 3 0 3721 0 0 0 Tree Swallov 0/12 _ T/20“ - - 7/20 _ 7/ 8 - - 97 6 8/16 7/10 9/ 1 - - - - - 7 AS Bank Swallov - 7/214 - - 7/21 _ _ _ 7/30 7/26 - 7/ 2 - - - 7/18 6/29 7/21* Blue Jay 9/20 9/22 - 9/llv - - 9/20 - 9/2lt 9/21* 9/2lt - - - - 9/21 - - Black-capped Chickadee - 11/10 - - 1 C/ 2 B II /16 11/10 11 / 8 12/20 10/2lt 0 0 0 n /12 0 0 0 0 0 Red-breasted Nuthatch 9/15 9/21 9/27 9/15 9/21 - - 10/ It 9/28 9/21* 9/ 2 9/21 9/27s 8/25 10 / 5 9/ 7 - - 9/ 8 Broun Creeper 10/ 2 9/30 - 9/28 9/26 - 10/16 10/ It 10 / 3 9/22 10/ 2 10/13 9/27 c s 9/2L 10/10 - - - 9/29 Winter Wren 10/ u 10/ 14 - 10/15 10/27 - 9/28 - 10/19 sM. 9/27 10/ It - 9753 - 10/15 - - - Hermit Thrush 10/11 10/ 7 9/2*4 9/30 10/26 _ 9719 10/23 10/ 7 io/iit _ 10/12 - 10/11* - - 9/21 Svainson’s Thrush 9/10 9/ 6 9/ 9 2Z_L 9/18 - 9/ 6 - 9/ t 8/2? 8/17 - 'JTT 9/19 9/ 7 0 0 0 Gray-cheeked Thrush 9/2*1 9/19 - 0 0 •9M 0 0 9/ 8 ..ms. 0 0 9725 0 0 0 0 0 March 19 8l MARYLAND BTRDLIFE Veery Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Water Pipit Cedar Waxwing Solitary Vlreo Philadelphia Vireo Black-and-white Warbler Golden-winged Warbler Blu e-winged W ar bl er Howa Mont 9/29 97“5 8/16 9/ 2 Kim Pr.G 8/23 9/29 9/11 0 8/16 Anne ScMd IWQA Caro Talb Pore So/Wj Wore 8/17 ioT^T 0 8/17 0 8/24 0 0 9/ 8 9/27s 10/ 1 10/ 9 9/28 - - ~W1 9/27s 9/20 11/ 9 9/11 9/13 - - 11/29 11/ 4 ■ 0 11/ 9 0 0 0 9/ l - 10/ 2 8/14 0 0 8/23 0 0 9/ 7 0 9/ 8 0 Tennessee Warbler Nashville Warbler Magnolia Warbler Cape May Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warble Blackburnian Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Bay-b reasted Warbler 9/ 7 9/ 8 9/ 6 9/ 8 9/ 9 TIW 9/11 9 / 4 9/ 2 a/27 9/ 2 8/27 9/ 5 9/ 2 17FT 9/ 6 8/29 6/aii 20 sZIz F729 v 8/25 8 /2b 8/31 17TT- 20 8/25 8/31 9/ 9 W - 8/30 8/30 8/18 9/ 7 9/29 9/ 3 8/30 0/10 8/23 iC/ 5 8/23 8/23 8/17 0 0 9/26 9/27 0 0 9/ 4 9/ 7.. io/ " March 1981 MAKYLANP BIRDLIFE 2h MARYLAND BIRD LIFE Vol. 36, No. 1 Harford - Barbara Bilsborough, Vince McGrath, Joe Schreiber. Howard - Marty Chest an, John & Eileen Clegg, Chuck Dupree, Jane Farrell, David Holmes, Pat Jackson, Kris Krishnamoorthy , Mike & Grazina Mc- Clure, Marjorie Mountjoy, Rosamund Munro, Jay Sheppard, Jo Solan, Eva Sunell, Mark Wallace, Leroy & Cathy Williamson. Montgomery - Larry Bonham, Margaret Donnald, Paul, John & Michael O'Brien, Robert Warfield, John Weske, Erika Wilson, Paul Woodward, Audubon Naturalist Society. Prince Georges - Danny Bystrak, Ric Conn, Floyd & Bill Hayes, Chan & Eleanor Robbins. Anne Arundel - Wayne Klockner , Hal Wierenga. Charles - Paul Nistico. Calvert - Walter Kraus. St. Marys - Jim Clark, Ernie Willoughby. Kent - Jim Gruber, Dottie Mendinhall, Floyd Parks. Caroline - Ethel Engle, Jerry & Roberta Fletcher, Inez Glime, Marvin Hewitt, Alicia Knotts, Mariana Nuttle, Steve Westre. Talbot - Terry Allen, Lester Coble, Jeff Ef finger, Curtis Engle, Alice Jones, Dick Kleen , Jan Reese, Kathy & Robert Trever, Erica Woodman. Dorchester - Harry Armistead. Wicomico - Charles Vaughn. Worcester - Samuel Dyke, Mark Hoffman, Eddie Slaughter. Each person is listed for only one county but several were prolific in their visits to other counties and contributed greatly to the notes from locations with little coverage. Notes on the migration tables: A zero indicates that the species was not found in the county during the season. A dash indicates the species was found, but not at a date recognizable as an arrival or departure. Several counties were combined because of the lack of coverage. In order to identify the data for each county these notations were used following the dates: Allegany /Washing ton - a "w" for Washington, all other dates are Allegany; Harford/Cecil - a "c" for Cecil, all other dates are Har- ford; Southern Maryland - a "c" for Charles, an "s" for St. Marys, a "+" for Calvert and another county, (3) for all three counties, all others Calvert alone; Kent/Queen Annes - a "q" for Queen Annes, all others Kent; Scmerset/Wicomico - a "w" for Wicomico, others Sanerset. In the depar- tures there are no dates from Somerset, and Wicomico is similarly com- bined with Dorchester. Finally we come to the season itself. It was marked by a continu- ation of the s umm er drought, with seme relief in October. Temperatures continued mild, resulting in same extraordinary November records, espe- cially among the warblers. Loons , Grebes , Pelagics . On Aug. 2h Armistead observed a breeding plumage Common Loon flying north in strong flight near Bellevue, Talbot Co. , for which I can offer no explanation. The earliest migrant Common Loon was at Sandy Point, Anne Arundel Co.., Sept. 1 6 (Wierenga). In a season when loons sesned particularly scarce Armistead observed the highest concentration of Common Loons with 1*77 in the mouth of the Chop- March 1981 MARYLAND BIRD LIFE 25 tank River as seen from Lucy Pt. on Nov. 9. The first Red-throated Loons were noted in Chesapeake Bay with singles in St. Marys County, Nov. 8 ( Willoughby ) and Talbot County, Nov. 9 (Reese). These were followed by singles at Sandy Pt., Nov. 20 (Wierenga) and Deep Creek Lake, Garrett Co., Nov. 23 (Pope), the only inland record. On the latter date Bonham found the first Red -throat at Ocean City, Always rare in fall a Red-necked Grebe in Kent County waters, Oct. 31 (Gruber), was also exceptionally early. On a pelagic trip out of Ocean City on Aug. 24 the party counted 102 Cory's Shearwaters, 22 Greater Shearwaters, an Audubon's Shearwater and a record early Northern Gannet (Hoffman, et al. ) Two Brown Pelicans were flying south over Assateague, Aug. l6 (Hayes'), our first for that month. Most records are from September and October. Cormorants . An increase in sightings of Great Cormorants was notice- able this year. It began with a record-breaker flying into the mouth of the Patapsco River past Ft. Smallwood, Sept. 22 (Wierenga). Exactly one week later Blom found an immature, perhaps the same bird, in Baltimore harbor near Thoms Cove. At traditional locations an Immature was on the south jetty at Ocean City, Oct. 12 (Ringler , MOS Listers' Trip) and an adult was at St. George Island, Oct. 16 (Blom, Ringler, John Trochet). Blom added another immature at Cove Pt. on Nov. 12. The wanderings of Double-crested Cormorants are always interesting to relate. A wedge of 20 was flying down the Susquehanna River at Conowingo, Harford Co., Sept. 12 (Ringler, Blom). Hewitt observed single birds* at Denton, Sept. 19 and Oct. 2. Engle saw 30 at Tanyard on Sept. 20 and Wilson found 7 at Pope's Creek on the Potomac on Sept. 21. Single birds were far inland in Alle- gany County, Oct. 1 (Twigg), and at Triadelphia Reservoir, Oct. 11 (M. Wallace). A group of 8 was off Chalk Pt. on the Patuxent River, Prince Georges/Calvert Cos., Nov. 1+ (Ringler, Blom). Herons . At Lilypons , where herons can abound following post-breed- ing dispersal from coastal nesting sites, David Wallace found the follow- ing peak concentrations of each species: 21 Great Blue Herons, Oct. 29, suggesting a late influx of northern birds; 18 Green Herons, Aug. 3, prob- ably all local birds; 9 Little Blue Herons, Aug. l; 4o Great Egrets, Aug. 31; and 12 Snowy Egrets, Aug. 7* Wallace also found a very late Green Heron there on Nov. 23. There were 800 Cattle Egrets at Libertytown, Worcester Co., Aug. 25 (Dyke). The highest total outside Worcester was 45 near Bellevue, Talbot Co. , Sept. l4 (Armistead). The latest were 5 at Millington, Nov. 6 (Parks), and one at Denton, Nov. 13 (Westre). Other high counts of Great Egrets were 60+ in the Baltimore area. Sept. 12 (Ringler, Blom), and 15 at Hughes Hollow, Sept. 29 (Woodward). A late Great E£ret was at a pond on Crooms Station Rd. , Prince Georges Co. , Nov. 29 (Blom, Reeder). A Louisiana Heron that summered in Baltimore ranained- through Aug. 31 (Ringler, et al.). A late Louisiana for the western shore was at Patuxent NAS, St. Marys Co. , Sept. l4 (Clark). Approximately 100 B1 ack-crowned Night Herons were still in two roosts in Baltimore, Oct. 17 (Blom, Ringler). Others of note were 4 at Hughes Hollow, Aug. 18 (Woodward), and one in Howard Co., Oct. 12 (Sunell). An immature Yellow- crowned Night Heron was found standing on the roof of a garage near Half- way, Washington Co., Aug. 16 (Keedy). Another was at Pt. Lookout, Sept. 1 (Blom, et al.), and one at Pennyfield, near Seneca, Sept. 23 (Mike 26 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 36, No. 1 Bowen). The latest was at Woodlawn, Baltimore Co., Oct. IT (Ringler). Early American Bitterns were reported on Sept. 18 in Baltimore (Blom) and on Sept. 28 in Prince Georges County (Nistico). Ibises , Flamingo . The last Glossy Ibis at Lilypons was seen on Aug. 7 (D. Wallace!^ Hoffman counted lUo Glossies on Assateague, Aug. 13, and 5 were at Scientist Cliffs, Aug. l4 (Roger Anderson). Another impressive summer flight of White Ibis> the first since 1977, remained into the fall. At Lilypons 3 were still present on Aug. 3 and one stayed through Aug. 27 (D. Wallace). At Hughes Hollow above Seneca, 3 were seen on Aug. 2 (Bon- ham) and one remained on Aug. 11 (James Gibson). Wierenga reports that Friel Sanders found one at Broadwater Pt . , Anne Arundel Co. , in late Aug- ust. One was seen periodically in Columbia as noted by Ludwig on Aug. 13 and Solem on Sept. 6. Bob Augustine saw 2 fly past Sandy Pt., Sept. 25. Finally, one was at the West Ocean City pond, Oct. 5 (Hayes) and Oct. 11 (Warfield), the latest ever in the state. All were immatures. An Ameri- can Flamingo of unknown origin was photographed at Broadwater Pt., Oct. 7 (Sanders); see page lU. Swans , Geese . The severe drought at Chine oteague Refuge may have forced a few Mute Swans northward into Maryland during the summer, Hoff- man saw 3 flying north up Sinepuxent Bay from Assateague, Aug. 13. War- field noted U at the West Ocean City pond, Aug. 25 - Sept. 5, and one that landed on the ocean at 13th St. before flying south over the ocean a few minutes later. The only October arrival of Whistling Swans was at Eastern Neck on the 2Uth (Gruber). The major flight of Whistlers came in mid-Nov- anber. Unusual sightings of Brant were one at Denton on Oct. 10 (Nuttle) and 2 on the Potomac near Bellehaven, Oct. 22 (David Moulton); the first seen at Ocean City was Nov. 22 (Bonham). Once again the Greater White- fronted Goose that is mated with a Canada Goose returned to Blackwater Refuge. Bonham made the first sighting on Nov. 1. Blom noted 3 young with the pair on Nov. 9 and Ludwig saw the parent Nov. 28, the last report for this year. One could speculate on whether the Whit e-front observed by Reese, Coble and Jones in a field near Trappe with several thousand Canada Geese on Nov. 2 might be the same bird. This location is a scant 15 miles from Blackwater headquarters. Snow Geese seem to be arriving in the State earlier every year. This time the record was broken by four days when Gruber found a "Blue" and U white Snows in Kent County on Sept. 15. A Snow Goose was at the National Colonial Farm on the Potomac, Prince Georges Co., Oct. 2h (Debbie Pence), and a Blue Goose was there on Nov. 2 (Nisti- co). A Blue Goose was flying south over Lilypons, Oct. 26 (D. Wallace, Wilson). Three Blues were near Bellevue, Nov. 9 (Armistead), and 5 were at Denton, Nov. 22 (Westre). Parks estimated 5,000 Snow Geese in a corn- field in northern Queen Annes Co., Nov. 18. A thousand Snows were at Ridgely, Nov. 22 (Hewitt). Ducks . Effinger found both Gadwal 1 and Common Pintail in Talbot Co., Aug. 26, both extremely early. Early Green-winged Teal were at Eastern Neck on Aug. 5 (Reese), Hughes Hollow on Aug. 19 (Woodward), and Lilypons on Aug. 20 (D. Wallace). High counts of Green-wings were 150 at Easton, Nov. 2 (Reese), and 700 at Blackwater, Nov. 8 (Armistead). More Blue- winged Teal were reported in early August. Three were at Piney Run Res- ervoir, Carroll Co., Aug. 2 (Ringler, et al.), others at Hughes Hollow, March 1981 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 27 Aug. 5 {Woodward), and West Ocean City, Aug. 8 (Warfield). Forty Blue- wings were at Pt. Lookout, Sept. 1 (Ringler, Blom, Reeder). Early Ameri- can Wigeon were in Howard Co. (Wallace) and 2 at Beltsville, Sept. 11 (Ringler). Paul DuMont estimated 7,000 wigeon at Deal Island WMA, Oct. U. A high count of Northern Shovelers was 28 at Easton, Nov. 2 (Reese). The Ruddy Sheldudton the National Geographic pond in Gaithersburg was probably an escape. Among the early divers this fall were 2 Ring-necked Ducks at Berlin, Oct. 12, 5 Lesser Scaup at Tilghman Island, Sept. 28, 2 Oldsquaws there, Oct. 11 (Kleen), 18 White-winged Scoters in Talbot Co., Sept. 28 (Reese), 3 Ruddy Ducks at Back River, Baltimore Co., Sept. 12 (Ringler, Blom), and a Red-breasted Merganser Off Assateague, Sept. 21 (DuMont). Unusual inland were 5 Oldsquaws at Piney Run, Nov. l6 (Ring- ler). Bonham found 2 King Eiders at Ocean City, Nov. 22. Scoters tra- ditionally pass through Talbot Co. on their way south and Reese finds one day to count them. On Oct. 19 he estimated 2,000+ White-winged Scoters, 500 Surf Scoters, and 100 Black Scoters there. Two Surf Scoters off Chalk Pt. on the Patuxent, Nov. 1+ (Ringler, Blom), were a first for Prince Georges Co. At Piney Run, 63 Hooded Mergansers on Nov. 16 (Ringler) was a very high count . Diurnal Raptors . Take note of the four compilations of hawk watches in Table 3. Table 3A is a compilation from various observers by Truman Doyle. All data in Table 3B are from Hal Wierenga. Counts on Sept. 20 and 28 were made near the north end of Triadelphia Reservoir, approximate- ly 10 miles northeast of Rockville. The other totals came from the Mont- gomery County Landfill, one mile northeast of Rockville. Table 3G was compiled by Hal Wierenga, who made most of the observations; Rick Blom ob- served on Oct. 12 and 13 and 6 other days. All observations in Table 3D were by Hal Wierenga. I urge anyone interested in hawkwatching to visit one of these locations or another of their choice and contribute their ob- servations to the compilations. The combined totals of the four tables are: 276 Turkey Vul tures , 10 Black Vultures it Northern Goshawks, 3,687 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 9t Cooper's Hawks, 1,713 Red-tailed Hawks, 93 Red- shouldered Hawks, t,75i Broad-winged Hawks, h Rough-legged Hawks, 7 Golden Eagles, 13 Bald Eagles, 630 Northern Harriers, 20t Ospreys, 8 Peregrine Falcons, 30 Merlins, 826 American Kestrels, plus 222 unidentified birds for a grand total of 12,582 migrants. There was probably no duplication of birds in any of these observations. These were not the only raptor observations, nor the only migrants reported. On Sept, 28 Armistead counted 15 Turkey Vultures, 21 Sharp- shinned, 1 Cooper's, 1 Red -tailed, 55 Broad-winged Hawks, 2 harriers, 1 Osprey and 7 kestrels migrating near Bellevue. Reese added the following migrant observations from Talbot Co. : Turkey Vultures - l4 on Oct. 11, 60 on Oct. 20, 50 on Nov. 2, and l8 on Nov. 19; Black Vultures - 8 on Oct. 11, 8 on Nov. 5, and h on Nov. 9; Sharp-shins - 12 on Sept. 21, 33 on Oct. 11, and 3 on Nov. 2; Cooper's - 2 on Oct. 26, 3 on Oct. 31, and 1 on Nov. 30; Red-tails - 3 on Nov. 5 and 150+ on Nov. l6; Red-shoulders - l6 on Oct. 19, and 25 on Nov. l6; Broad-wings - 1 each on Aug. 25 and Sept. 7; harriers - 1 each on Sept. 28 and Nov. 9 with 5 on Oct. 23; Ospreys - 3 on Oct. 11, 2 on Oct. 26, and 1 on Nov. 2; and kestrels - 12 on Sept. 7, 5 on Oct. 11, 15 on Oct. 20, 10 on Nov. 2, and 3 on Nov. l6. 28 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol . 36, No. 1 At Eastern Neck on Nov. 9 Gruber counted the following: 25 Red-tails, 10 Red -shoulders, 1 Rough -1 eg , 1 immature Golden Eagle, plus an unspecified total of numerous Sharp-shins and harriers. At Blackwater on Oct. 13 the MOS Listers' Trip counted 50+ Sharp-shins, a Cooper's, and a Broad-wing, all flying north. DuMont counted 85 Sharp-shins passing Assateague on Oct. 4. Armistead added 13 late Sharpies at Bellevue, Nov. 7. Effinger sighted a single kettle of Broad-wings from Benoni Pt . , Talbot Co. on Sept. 19 that contained 2,000 birds! Caroline County is not known for its hawk migrations, but Nuttle watched 30 pass over Denton on Oct. 9- Some of the birds migrating along bayside locations on the Eastern Shore may have been seen at a later date at Sandy Pt . where most observations are of birds crossing the bay from the east, this may help explain the signifi- cant northbound flight at Blackwater Refuge. Table 3* Summary of Hawk Watches in Maryland - Fall 1980 Species Total First Last Highest Counts Table 3A. Monument Knob, Washington Monument State Park. Turkey Vulture 5 Black Vulture 2 Northern Goshawk l4 10/ 2 11/ 5 5 on Oct. 12 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1,224 8/29 11/ 6 246, Oct. 11; 73, Oct. 12 Cooper ' s -Hawk 59 9/10 11/10 13 on Oct. 11 & 12 Red -tailed Hawk 601 8/26 11/25 131, Nov. 5; 54, Nov. 8 Red -shouldered Hawk 36 9/11 11/ 8 4, Oct. 24; 3, Oct. 23 & 26 Broad -winged Hawk 2,984 8/26 10/21 498, Sept. 22; 324, Sept. 11 321, Sept. 13; 246, Sept. 12 Rough-legged Hawk 1 10/23 Golden Eagle 6 10/ 2 11/10 Bald Eagle 4 9/19 10/17 Northern Harrier 62 9/11 11/16 5 on Nov. 8 Osprey 67 9/10 11/ 3 10, Sept. 13; 7, Sept. 18 Merlin 9 9/26 11/ 5 3 on Sept. 26 American Kestrel 4l 9/10 10/19 10 on Sept. 26 Unidentified 158 Total 5,273 8/26 11/25 Table 3B. Northeast Montgomery County. Turkey Vulture 64 9/28 11/ 9 35, Oct. 23; 11, Nov. 9 Sharp-shinned Hawk 29 9/ 9 11/16 9, Oct. 23; 6, Sept. 20 Red-tailed Hawk 134 57, Nov. 9; 23, Nov. l6 22 on Oct. 23 Red -shouldered Hawk 1 10/23 273, Sept. 20; 29, Sept. 28 Broad -winged Hawk 307 9/ 9 9/28 Bald Eagle 1 10/23 Northern Harrier 13 9/ 9 11/16 3 on Sept. 20 Osprey 17 9/ 9 9/28 9, Sept. 20; 7, Sept. 9 American Kestrel 23 9/ 9 10/23 8, Sept. 20; 5, Sept. 28 Total 589 9/ 9 11/16 March 1981 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 29 Species Total First Last Highest Counts Table 3C, Ft . Smallwood Park, Anne Arundel County Turkey Vulture 116 9/ 7 11/16 19, Oct. 14 & 20; 16, Oct. 12 Black Vulture 8 9/15 10/31 4, Oct. 31; 2, Sept. 24 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2,394 9/11 11/20 540, Oct. 13; 407, Oct. 12; 316, Oct. 20; 229, Oct. l; Cooper 1 s Hawk ‘ 28 9/24 11/ 5 5 on Oct. 20 Red-tailed Hawk 122 9/23 11/16 19, Oct. 27; l4 , Oct. 29 & Nov. 5 Red -shouldered Hawk 10 9/22 11/11 2 on Oct. 27 Broad -winged Hawk 1,252 9/10 9/27 1,237 on Sept. 24 Rough-legged Hawk 2 10/27 11/ 1 Golden Eagle 1 10/ 6 Bald Eagle 4 10/12 10/31 1 also on Oct . 26 and 29 Northern Harrier 528 91 7 11/11 106, Oct. 13; 71, Oct. 12; 51, Nov. 1; 36, Nov. 5 Osprey 116 9/ 3 10/20 14 , Sept. 26 & Oct. 13; 12, Sept. 23 Peregrine Falcon 5 9/15 10/15 3, Sept. 15; 1, Sept. 24; Merlin 20 9/23 10/20 7, Sept. 26 American Kestrel 753 9/ 3 11/ 5 171, Oct. 12; 162, Oct. 13; 81, Sept. 26; 51, Oct. 20 Unid entif ied 64 40 on Oct. 13 Total 5,423 9/ 3 11/20 Table 3D. Sandy Pt. State Park Turkey Vulture 91 91 6 12/ 1 32, Oct. 17; 17, Nov. 13 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4o 9/21 11/21 9, Oct. 21; 6, Sept. 30 Cooper ' s Hawk 7 91 6 11/13 2 on Oct. 31 & Nov. 13 Red -tailed Hawk 856 9/21 12/ 1 512, Nov. 13; 202, Nov. 20 Red-shouldered Hawk 46 10/31 12/ 1 16, Nov. 13; 12, Nov. 20 Broad -winged Hawk 208 9/ 6 9/21 206 on Sept. 21 Rough-legged Hawk 1 11/20 Bald Eagle 4 10/31 12/ 1 2, Dec. 1; L also, Nov. 6 Northern Harrier 27 9/21 12/ 1 8, Sept. 25; 3, Nov. 7 & 13 Osprey 4 9/25 4 on Sept. 25 Peregrine Falcon 3 9/25 11/18 1 also on Oct. 31 Merlin 1 10/31 . American Kestrel 9 9/ 6 11/13 3 on Sept. 25, 2 on Sept. 30 Total 1,297 9/ 6 12/ 1 Bonham counted 394 vultures at Georgetown Reservoir, Nov. 9- An ear- ly Northern Goshawk was seen at Rockville, Oct, 5 (O'Briens), and others were at Back River, Oct. 26 (Stasz), and Dan’s Rock, Nov. 2 (Paulus), An unseasonal Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen in Prince Georges County, Aug. 1, "by Dave Abbott. Reese counted 12 Sharpies over Clinton, also PG Co., on Sept. 2l+, and several were flying north at Pt. Lookout, Sept. 27 (Blom, Reeder, Ringler ) . Weske captured a Sharp-shin at Sandy Spring, Montgomery Co. on Oct, 28 that had been banded 22 days earlier at Cape May Pt. , N.J. Unusu- 30 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol . 36, No. 1 ally early Cooper's Hawks were noted at Sandy Ft., Aug. l6 { Klockner ) , and at Columbia, Aug. 23 (Robert Bradford). Reid counted h2 Red-tailed Hawks over Ruxton, Baltimore Co. on Nov. 13. Wierenga's Red-tail counts from Sandy Pt. on Nov. 13 and 20 were done in 3.5 and 3 hours respectively (see Table 3D), or daily rates of lk6 and 67 birds per hour. On Sept. l8 the author noticed hawks over Catonsville and got out of the car to esti- mate 1,000 Broad-wings heading rapidly southwest in 10 minutes of watch- ing. Since I did not see the beginning of the flight I have no idea of the real size of the flock. Paulus counted 2l8 Broad-wings at Banner's Overlook, Allegany Co. on Sept. 19, and Wierenga's big Ft. Smallwood flight took place in one hour on Sept. 2h. Single Rough-legged Hawks were seen at Back River on Nov. 10 (Stasz, Ed Boyd) and at the northern Calvert County marshes from Oct. 12 on (Kraus). Single Golden Eagles were seen on Nov. 8 over Rose Haven (Kraus) and on Nov. 3° over Assateague (Dyke). Additional Bald Eagle sightings were an immature in southwestern Cecil County, Aug. 9, an immature over Balti- more harbor. Sept. 12 (both Blom, Ringler ) , an immature at the Green Ridge power line. Sept. l8 (Paulus), an adult at Allen's Fresh, Sept. 27 (Blom, Ringler, Reeder), one in Talbot County, Oct. 15 (Allen), an adult and immature at Pt. Lookout, Oct. l6 (Blom, Ringler, John Trochet), an immature at Monkton, Oct. 2h (Reid), an adult seen robbing an Osprey at Loch Raven, Oct. 25 (Joy Wheeler), one in Talbot County, Nov. 12 (Reese), and single birds in southern Anne Arundel County, Nov. 20, and northern Calvert County, Nov. 30 (both by Kraus). An early migrant Northern Har- rier was at Jug Bay, Sept. 1 (Blom, Reeder, Ringler). Additional Pere- grine sightings came from Columbia, Aug. 12 (Robert Tyree), Scientist Cliffs, Aug. l4 (Roger Anderson), Patuxent NAS, Sept. l8 (Clark), Penny- field, Sept. 27 (Adolph Hendrickson), Talbot County, Oct. 5 (Jones), and one at Chesapeake Beach, Oct. 11 to Nov. 11 (Kraus). With the increase in Per egrine .releases in the area this number of sightings may not be surprising. Willoughby noted a Merlin at St. George Island, Oct. 18, arid Kraus saw one in northern Calvert County, Oct. 11 to Nov. 27. Gallinaceous Birds , Rails . Pope reports that the Dept, of Natural Resources feels that Ruffed Grouse are doing very well and that it may even be a high year for them. Similarly, DNR feels optimistic about the Wild Turkey population in Western Maryland; they are doing well and are able to get enough food. A King Rail was at Hughes Hollow, Sept. 2h (Woodward). A Virginia Rail was in Talbot County, Oct. 22 and Nov. 2 (Reese, et al.). The only Soras reported were singles at Lilypons, Aug. 2^-31 (D. Wallace), northern Calvert County, Sept. 27 (Kraus), and found dead at Patuxent River Park, Oct. 17 (Nistico). A Yellow Rail was shot at Jug Bay, Oct. ^ (Mat Perry); see page l6 for details. The last Common Gallinule was at Sparrows Pt., Oct. U (Ringler). On Sept. 12, early Amer- can Coots were in Howard County (Chestem) and Baltimore harbor (Ringler, Blom). High counts of coots were 250 at Loch Raven on Nov. 8 (Blom, Ringler) and 390 near Turkey Neck on Deep Creek Lake on Nov. 23 (Pope). March 1981 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 31 Shor ebir ds . Five Anerican Avocets were seen on Assateague, Aug. 16 (Hayes ' ). Another was at Deal Island WMA, Nov. 1 (Vaughn), a rather late date. Concentrations of Kill deer were reported only from the central Eastern Shore. Allen counted in Talbot County, Oct. 20. There were 250 near Trappe, Nov. 2 (Reese, et al.), 225 at Denton, Nov. 8 (Westre), 200 at Federalsburg, Nov. 9 (dime), and 125 at Tanyard, Nov. 22 (Engle). Continuing a string of rare bayside records was a Piping Plover at Sandy Pt. on Sept. 10 (Wierenga). Lesser Golden Plovers made a good showing at Summit Hall Turf Farm over a period of 2 1/2 months with a peak of 22 on Oct. l8 (Tony White). In Baltimore another flock of golden plovers spent about two months at the Masonville impoundment during the day and on the lawn at Ft. McHenry during the night. The peak count at Masonville was b2 on Oct. L (Ringler, et al. ) and the last bird was seen at the fort on the very late date of Nov. 18 (Bielenberg) . Other golden plovers were seen as follows: at Sandy Pt., 3 on Sept. 10; at Ft. Smallwood, one on Sept. 27, another on Oct. 3 flying in formation with a flock of lL Canada Geese, and another on Oct. 20 (all Wierenga); and at Rose Haven one on Sept. 29 (Kraus). Interesting sightings of Black-bellied Plovers were 12 at Sandy Pt., Sept. 10 (Wierenga), 3 at Laurel, Sept. 22 (Blom), 1 at Triadelphia, Oct. 11 (M. Wallace), 1 at Ft. Smallwood, Oct. 19 (Wierenga) and 10 in Talbot County, Nov. 2 (Reese). One Marbled Godwit was on the flats at Ocean City, Oct. L (Hayes), and several were present by the end of the period. An Upland Sandpiper was at Sandy Pt., Aug. 12 (Wierenga), another was on Assateague, Aug. 13 (Hoffman), and a late one was at Ft. McHenry, Sept. 22 (Bielenberg). Late Greater Yell owl eg S were at Lilypons, Nov, 23 (D. Wallace), and at Tanyard, Nov. 27 (Engle). A very late Solitary Sandpiper was in northern Calvert County, Oct. 31 (Kraus). A Spotted Sandpiper was at Ft. Small- wood on Nov. 1 (Wierenga) and one was at Curtis Bay on Nov. 8 (Blom, et al.). A Ruddy Turnstone was in Talbot County, Aug. 13 (Reese). Roger Eastman reported 3 Northern Phalaropes at Blackwater on Aug. 23, and 8 were seen off Ocean City on the Aug. 2h pelagic trip (Hofftaan, et al.). Other phalarope observations have been written up in detail for separate publication. Weske banded an American Woodcock at Sandy Spring on Nov. h. There were 25 Common Snipe at N. Loch Raven, Nov. 11-13 (H. Kaestner), Short-billed Dowitchers are uncommon anywhere on the western shore. This year they appeared at Pt. Lookout, 2 on Sept. 1 (Blom, Reeder, Ringler), 1 on a sandbar in the Woodlawn Cemetery pond, Baltimore Co., Sept, 5 (Ringler), 1 at N. Liberty Reservoir, Sept. 12 for the first Carroll Co. record (Blom, Ringler), 1 at N. Loch Raven the same day (Noell), and 1 in Allegany County, Oct. 9 (Twigg). The only Long -billed Dowitcher reports were of single birds on Assateague, Aug. 16 (Hayes’), Blackwater, Aug. 22 (Bonham), Lake Montebello, Baltimore City, Oct. 1+ (H. Kaestner, et al.), and in Howard County, Oct. 2h (m. Wallace). Notable Red Knots were 1 in Baltimore, Aug. 31 (H. Kaestner, et al.), 1 at Pt. Lookout, Sept. 1 (Blom, Reeder, Ringler), and 8 at Ocean City, Oct. 1 (Slaughter). Hoffman estimated 1,500 Sanderlings on Assateague, Aug. 13. There were 8 at Pt. Lookout, Sept. 1 (Blom, Reeder, Ringler), and others at Patuxent NAS, Sept. lh (Clark), Ft. Smallwood, Sept. 29 (Blom), and 35 at Scientist Cliffs, Sept, 23 (Roger Eastman). Reese found 2 Semipalmated 32 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 36, No. 1 Sandpipers in Talbot County, Nov. 2, for the latest this year. A Western Sandpiper at Summit Hall on Nov. 15 (Warfield) was unusually late there. A Baird's Sandpiper was in Baltimore, Aug. 31 (Ringler , Stasz). Late Pectoral Sandpipers were 2 at N. Loch Raven, Nov. 11 (H. Kaestner ) , and at Hughes Hollow, Nov. l6 (Bonham). Ludwig reported the first Purple Sandpiper at Ocean City on Nov. 8. A Dunlin was at Pt . Lookout, Sept. 27 (Blom, Reeder, Ringler), 2 at Lilypons, Oct. 26 (Wilson), 50+ at Eastern Neck, Nov. 3 (Parks), 3 at Piney Run, Nov. 23 (Ringler), and 10-12 at Jug Bay, Nov. 29 (Blom, Reeder). There were 3 Stilt Sandpipers on Assateague, Aug. l6 (Hayes'), 2 at Blackwater, Aug. 23 (Roger Eastman), small numbers in a spoil area on the west bank of the Choptank River opposite Cambridge, Aug. 27 through Sept. 10 (Effinger), one at Hughes Hollow, Sept. 18 (Wood- ward), one at Lake Montebello, Oct. L (H. Kaestner, et al.), and a very late one at Blackwater, Nov. 22 (Bonham). Buff-breasted Sandpipers ap- peared again at Summit Hall from Aug. 30 through Sept. 13, with a peak of 7 on Sept. 1 (O'Briens). Single birds were in Baltimore, Aug. 31 (H. Kaestner) and Sept. 21 (Stasz, et al.). Jaeger , Gulls . An immature Pomarine Jaeger flew past Ft. Snallwood into the mouth of the Patapsco River on Sept. 29 and was found later in the outer part of Baltimore harbor (Wierenga, Blom). An early Glaucous Gull was at the Rockville landfill, Nov. 12 (O'Brien), and a record-early Iceland Gull was there, Nov. 19 (Wierenga). A Laughing Gull was at Ft. Washington on the Potomac on Nov. 29 (Blom). For the fourth consecutive fall a Franklin's Gull appeared in Baltimore; this year it was an adult at Lake Montebello, Oct. k (Blom, et al.). A Bonaparte's Gull was at Sen- eca on Nove. 15 (Warfield). The gull making the most news this fall was the Lesser Black-backed Gull. Never have so many shown up in Maryland. The parade began with two record-early birds in Curtis Bay on Sept. l8 (Blom). On Sept, 22 the Ft. McHenry bird returned to its familiar post for the third consecutive year. It was Joined by a second bird on Nov. 25 (Bielenberg ) . On Oct. h one appeared at Chesapeake Beach (Kraus), On Oct. 26 another made its first appearance in the District of Columbia at Potomac River Park (David Czap- lak). It was seen frequently thereafter at several locations along the river. One was at Eastern Neck, Nov, 3 (Claudia Wilds, Parks). Another bird back for its third year was at Ocean City where Ludwig found it Nov. 8, once again near Ocean Downs Raceway. Dick Kleen found one at Easton, Nov. 18. An adult at the Rockville landfill, Nov. 25, was joined by a sub-adult on Nov. 29 (Wierenga). It is quite possible that 11 different birds were involved in these sightings. Terns , Skimmers . The only Gull -billed Terns reported were 2 on Assateague, Aug. 13 (Hoffman), and 2 at West Ocean City, Aug. l6 (Hayes'), Reese estimated 1,000+ Forster's Terns at Tilghman Island, Oct. 11, a record fall count, and 2 at Jug Bay on Nov. 29 (Blom) were late that far upriver. Fewer Common Terns were reported, with 125 at Pt. Lookout, Sept, 1 (Ringler, Blom, Reeder), and 100 in Talbot County, Oct, 19 and Nov. 2 (Reese) being the most. One of the highlights of the Aug. 2h pelagic trip off Ocean City was a Bridled Tern (Hoffman, et al.), A Royal Tern at Jug Bay, Aug. 21 (Blom), was unusual upriver, as was one in Baltimore March 1981 MARYLAND BIRD LIFE 33 on Oct. 19 (Reid). Reese counted 35 Royals in Talbot County, Oct. 6. Hoffman found at least 3 Sandwfctl TemS on Assateague, Aug. 13, 2 adults and an immature, probably from a breeding colony in Virginia. Three Caspian Terns flying over Beltsville, Aug. 31 (F. Hayes), were unusual. Black Terns are always scarce, but the following were noted this fall: 6 in St. Michaels harbor, Aug. 2 (Reese), and singles off Assateague, Aug. 13, and on the pelagic trip the next day (Hofftnan), at Rocky Gap Lake, Sept. 22 (Paulus), and at Sandy Pt., Sept. 25 (Wierenga) . Also at Sandy Pt. were 3 immature Black Sktimers from Aug. 2 to 11. Black Skimmers (185) were at Ocean City on Oct. 12 (Ringler, et al.) and 3 late birds were there on Nov. 22 (Bonham). Parakeet , Doves , Cuckoos . Reese observed a Monk Parakeet flying a- round the southern tip of Tilghman Island with migrant landbirds on both Sept, lit and 21. Reese and Allen estimated 600+ Rock Doves on northern Kent Island where none had been seen the previous 10 days. From where had they migrated? Engle found a Mpurntllg Doye nest with 2 young at Tan- yard, Sept. lU. A Ringed Turtle Doye was reported in Silver Spring on Aug. 5 (Betty Collins). Armistead banded a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in & nest in a red cedar near Bellevue, Aug. 2k. Late Yellow-bills were found near Deep Creek Lake feeding in bushes at the base of an old quarry, Oct. 31 (Pope), and near Hughes Hollow, Nov. lit (Woodward). Late Black-billed Cuckoos were all banded birds: one at Adventure Sanctuary, Oct. 11 (Don- nald), one at Piney Mtn. near Eckhart , Allegany Co., Oct. 12 (Willetts), and one at Romney Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Oct. 13 (Bilsborough) . Owls . Fran Pope was sururised to find a Great Horned Owl sitting on rocks in the middle of the Youghiogheny River , Aug. 23. The only Long -eared Owl was reported near St. Michaels, Nov. 25 (Effinger). A Saw- whet Owl was banded on Oct. 28 at Pleasant Valley, Gar- rett Co., Oct. 28 (Malec) and 2 were banded at Sandy Spring, Oct. 31 (Weske). Another Saw-whet appeared in downtown Baltimore where it sat all day in a tree outside Peggy Bohan an ' s second floor kit- chen window, Nov. 15. Photo of Peggy's Saw-whet by R. F. Ringler 3h MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 36, No. 1 Caprimulgids , Swifts, Hummingbirds , Woodpeckers . Reese found the last Chuck-wi 1 1 's-widow in Talbot County, Aug. 15, and the latest Whip- poor-wills vere at Federalsburg , Sept. 13 (Glime), and in Howard County, Sept. 19 (Munro). Common Nighthawk totals of 100+ at Rockville, Sept. 3 (Wilson), 150 at Rockdale, Baltimore County, Sept. 5 (Ringler), and 82 in Allegany County, Sept. 12 (Paulus) were not impressive. Late nighthawks were at Annapolis, Oct. l6 (Wierenga), and in Baltimore, Nov. 2 (Stasz), a new record. The last Chimney Swifts were reported on Oct. 19 from Fred- erick County (D. Wallace) and Sandy Pt. (Klockner). Late Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were at Denton, Oct. 9 (Nuttle) and in Howard County, Oct. lL (Chestan). Gladys Cole banded a hybrid Common Flicker at Towson, Sept. 2^. Byke estimated 500 flickers on Assateague, Oct. 6. Reese, Jones and Trever saw a Pileated Woodpecker on Nov. 23 in Talbot County where it is extremely rare. Early Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were in Frederck County, Sept. l8 (D. Wallace), and at Ft. McHenry, Sept. 19 (Bielenberg) . On Sept. 2k the latter location hosted a Downy Woodpecker, which could only be a migrant because they do not nest anywhere near there. Flycatchers . An Eastern Kingbird at Hughes Hollow, Sept. 23 (Wood- ward), was the latest in the State this year. Ray Taylor found a Western Kingbird at Eastern Neck on Nov. 5. An Eastern Phoebe near Cumberland on Nov. 18 (Wilkinson) was very late for the mountains. Late Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were banded on Oct. 5 at Piney Mtn. (Willetts) and Oct. 1 at Sandy Pt. (Klockner). A very late Least Flycatcher was banded along the Yough, Oct. 1 (Pope), and another was seen in Prince Georges County, Oct. 10 (Bystrak). Woodward observed a fledgling Eastern Pewee being fed by an adult at Hughes Hollow on Sept. 15- A late Eastern Pewee was at Myrtle Grove, Oct. 16 (Ringler, Blom, John Trochet). A bird banded at Damsite, Kent Co., Sept. 20 (Gruber, Mendinhall) has been tentatively identified as a Western Pewee. The only Olive-sided Flycatchers seen were single birds at Lake Roland, Aug. 28 and Sept. L (Bohanan, et al.), at Pennyfield, Sept. 13 (Bonham), and banded at Sandy Spring, Sept. lL (Weske), a rare catch indeed. Swallows . Hoffman counted ^50 Tree Swallows on Assateague, Aug. 13, but DuMont estimated 80,000 there during the peak of migration on Oct. k. Thousands were still streaming south when the M0S Listers' Trip visited Ocean City on Oct. 12, and Reese counted 300+ in Talbot County, Oct. lk . Late Tree Swallows were seen on Nov. 5 at Ft. Smallwood (Wierenga), Nov. T at Lilypons (D. Wallace), and k birds on Nov. 9 in Talbot County (Reese). A late Bank Swallow was at Lilypons, Sept. 26 (D. Wallace) and 90 Rough -winged Swallows were still there on Oct. 15. The latest Rough- wing flew past Ft. Smallwood on Oct. 27 and the latest Barn Swallow on Nov. 1 (Wierenga). Corvids . Reese kept tabs on the Blue Jay migration through Talbot County with counts of 200 on Sept. 21, 800 on Sept. 28, 500 on Oct. L, 200 on Oct. 11, and 30 on Oct. 19- Wallace counted 100+ at Lilypons, Oct. 7, but Stasz caught the big flight when 3,000+ passed over his banding station near Stevenson on Sept. 28. Wallace saw up to 3 Northern Ravens in Frederick County from Sept. 23 to the end of the period. Wilkinson saw two ravens at Rocky Gap, Nov. 15- Armistead counted 165 Fish Crows near Bellevue, Nov. 9, and 210 were at Back River in September (Ringler). March 19^1 MAE Y LAM) BIRDLIFE 35 Chickadee , nuthatches , Wrens . A minor incursion of Black-capped Chickadees began with one at Hughes Hollow, Oct. 2k (Woodward), and at Catoctin, Oct. 28 (D. Wallace), but most birds had melted away by Christ- mas Count time. Gruber found an early Red-breasted Nuthatch in Kent County, Aug. 25 , and a late House Wren, Nov. 17- Several Brown-headed Nuthatches were seen on Sept. 1 at Ft. Lookout (Ringler , Blom, Reeder) where they have not been reported for several years. Willetts banded a Carolina Wren at his Piney Mtn. banding station after not netting any for two years. It is hoped that this is evidence of resurgence of the species so severely affected by recent winter weather. A Marsh Wren at Hughes Hollow, Oct. 11 (Bonham), was late for the Piedmont. The MOS Listers' Trip tracked down a Sedge Wren in the brush outside the Ocean City woods, Oct. 12. This species is becoming increasingly rare in Maryland. Catbird , Thrushes . Pope reported that numbers of Gray Catbirds seemed down in Garrett County, but if this was the case the rest of the State was making up for that loss; banding stations caught record numbers in the Piedmont. Among the early arriving thrushes were a Hermit Thrush at Ft. McHenry, Sept. 19 (Bielenberg ) , a Swainson’s Thrush banded at Sandy Pt . , Aug. 17 (Klockner), and a Gray-cheeked Thrush banded at Adven- ture, Sept. 8 (Donnald). Among the late-departing birds were a Wood Thrush banded at Adventure, Oct. 22, a Swainson's Thrush banded at Sandy Spring, Nov. 3 (Weske), and a Veery seen in Prince Georges County, Oct. l4 (Bystrak), The peak banding days for Swainson's Thrushes were Sept. 19 in Allegany, Sept. 2k in Garrett, and Sept. 27 in Montgomery Counties. High counts of Eastern Bluebirds were 30 at Eastern Neck, Nov. 3 and 9 (Parks, et al. ) and 100+ in Talbot County, Nov. 2 (Reese). Blom's sight- ing of a Northern Wheatear at Beltsville, Sept. 25 , will be reported separately. Kinglets , Pipit , Waxwing s , Shrikes . Early Ruby-Crowned Kinglets were at Sandy Ft., Sept. 7 (Wierenga), one banded at Patuxent WRC, Sept. 11 (Bystrak), and one seen in Denton the same day (R. Fletcher). An ear- ly Water Pipit was at Lilypons, Oct. 1 (D. Wallace). Pope observed 2 Cedar Waxwings searching for nesting material along the Yough on Aug. ll+. High counts of waxwings were 200 near Thurmont , Sept. 29 (D. Wallace), 50 in Talbot County, Nov. 2 (Reese), and 500 at Damsite, Nov. 3 (Gruber). These figures are completely overshadowed by Armistead's tally of 1,13^ near Bellevue, Nov. 7, all flying south into a strong south wind. He counted only 200 on the 8th and 175 on the 9th. Observations of Logger*- head Shrikes were few and far between. Reese, Jones and Coble found one at Elliott, Sept. 8. Two were at Beltsville in September (Blam); in Nov- ember, singles were seen at Patuxent NAS on the lUth (Clark) and in Prince Georges County on the 20th (Conn). Vireos . An early Solitary Vireo was banded at McDonogh, Sept. 7 (Jarboe) . Among the late-departing members of this family were a Yellow*- throated Vireo at Frostburg, Sept. 30 (Ludwig); a Solitary Vireo in Gam- brill State Park, Oct. 26 (D. Wallace), another at Edgewood, Oct. 26 (McGrath), and one banded at Adventure, Oct. 29 (Donnald); a Red-eyed Vireo banded at Piney Mtn., Oct. l6 (Willetts), and another seen near Stevenson the same day (Stasz); and a Philadelphia Vireo banded at the 36 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol- 36, No. 1 latter station, Oct. 19- At least 10 Warbling Vireos were found along the C & 0 Canal, Sept. 6 (Ringler, et al.), and half of them were singing. Warblers . A few species appeared early this fall. An Orange- crowned Warbler at Violet's Lock, Sept. 13 (Bonham), was the earliest ever by three days. A Cape May Warbler near Potomac, Aug. l6 (Wilkinson), was a record hy two days. A Blackpoll Warbler along Mattaponi Creek in Prince Georges County, Sept. 1 (Ringler, Blom, Reeder), a Palm Warbler at Belts- ville. Sept. 5 (Ringler, Don Lewis), a Northern Waterthrush banded at Mc- (Donogh, July 29 (Jarboe) , a Mourning Warbler in Laurel, Aug. l6 (Robbins), a Wilson's Warbler banded at Sandy Pt., Aug. 23 (Klockner), and a Canada Warbler banded at Damsite, Aug. 10 (Mendinhall) , were also quite early though not records. The mild weather of the late fall produced a host of late departures including a few new records. Here are the more interesting ones: a Black-&-White Warbler banded near Stevenson, Oct. 27 (Stasz), a Prothono- tary Warbler in Beitsville, Oct. 6 (B. Hayes), a Worm-eating Warbler banded at Damsite, Sept. 20, a Tennessee Warbler at Edgewood, Oct. 26 (McGrath), a Nashville Warbler banded at Pleasant Valley, Oct. 28 (Malec), a Northern Parula Warbler in Howard County, Oct. 23 ( Chest em), a Yellow Warbler in Denton, Oct. 10 (Nuttle), a Cape May Warbler at a suet feeder in Columbia, Nov. 18 and 19 (Solem), a B1 ack-throated Blue Warbler at Wittman, Talbot Co., Nov. l6 (Reese, Jones, R. Trever), a record by 10 days, a B1 ack-throated Green Warbler on Tilghman Island, Nov. 2 (Reese, Jones, Coble), a Blackburnian Warbler in Rockville, Nov. 11 (Wilson), 2 1/2 weeks later than the previous record, a Chestnut-sided Warbler banded in Towson, Oct. 1, and a Bay-breasted Warbler banded there, Oct. 11 (Cole), a Prairie Warbler in Allegany County, Oct. 11 (Twigg) and one in Howard County, Oct. 15 (Sunell), a Palm Warbler at Big Pool, Oct. 2k (Ringler), an Oven bird banded at Adventure, Oct. l6 (Donnald), Northern Waterthrush banded at Aberdeen, Oct. 11 (Bilsborough) , a Mourning Warbler banded at Patuxent WRC, Oct. 7 (Bystrak), a Yel 1 ow-breasted Chat banded at Damsite, Oct. 13, a Wilson's Warbler banded at Aberdeen, Oct. 6, a Canada Warbler banded at Patuxent, Oct. 9 (Bystrak), and 2 American Red- starts in Talbot County, Oct. 19 (Reese). Golden-winged Warblers were found only by banders and, unusually, most were in September rather than August. Other reports of Orange- crowned Warblers were singles in Rockville, Oct. 10 and 12 (O'Briens), and at Patuxent WRC, Oct. 22 (Bystrak). A male Cerulean Warbler was found at Piney Run Park in Carroll County, Aug. 23 (Blom, Reeder, Ringler). The last Yel 1 OW-throated Warbler was reported by Bonham at Violet's Lock, Sept. 13. Reese found a Blackpoll Warbler singing in Talbot County, Oct. 2. A wayward Prairie Warbler was observed on the pelagic trip off Ocean City on Aug. 2b. Connecticut Warblers were widely reported this season, eleven counties being represented. Perhaps observers are becoming more aware of this secretive and uncommon species. let er ids , Tanager . Gruber counted 200 Bobolinks at Remington Farms, Sept. 21. Lester Coble reported sighting 2 Yellow-headed Blackbirds, a male and fanale, in a flock of 5,000 Red-winged Blackbirds on Oct. 18 on Pig Neck in Dorchester County. Armistead reported the last Orchard March 19^1 MARYLAND BIRDL3FE 37 Oriole on Aug. 23 near Bellevue. Near Stevenson on Oct. 11, Stasz band- ed a Northern Oriole that appeared to have characteristics of the "Bull- ock's" type. The only number of Rusty Blackbirds to be noted was by Wallace, 100+ near Thurmont , Oct. 26. A Summer Tanager at Denton on Oct. 20 (Knotts) was exceptionally late. Finches . Oran Gardner found a Rose-breasted Grosbeak trapped in a bird feeder in St. Michaels on Nov. 20! Fred Evenden described a f an ale- pi imaged Black-headed Grosbeak frcm Seneca, Sept. 20; there are no pre- vious fall records for the State. A very late Blue Grosbeak was on Tilgh- man Island, Oct. 19 (Reese, Jones). A record late Indigo Bunting was also on Tilghman, Nov. 16 (Reese, Allen, Jones, R. Trever). O'Brien noted the last Dickcissel at the colony near Buckeystown on Aug. 9 and another, a migrant, at the Rockville landfill, Nov. 30. Armistead count- ed 55 Evening Grosbeaks near Bellevue, Nov. 7. Other high counts of finches were 100+ Purple Finches and 200+ Pine Siskins in Talbot County, Nov. 2 (Reese), 100 House Finches at Denton, Nov. 2 (Westre), 210 Pine Siskins and 275 American Goldfinches near Bellevue, Nov. 7 (Armistead), and 300 goldfinches in Talbot County, Nov. l6 (Reese). Impressive num- bers of grosbeaks, goldfinches, and siskins moved through the State dur- ing October and Novanber; however, most continued their southward journeys and had departed before the Christmas Counts. As can be seen from the above totals the bayside of the Eastern Shore acts like a funnel for large numbers of these finches. The only Common Redpolls reported were 3 at Back River, Oct. 26 (Stasz), and one in the Belfast Valley of Baltimore County, Nov. 1 (H. Kaestner). The only Red Crossbills were one in Carney, Oct. 28 (Glenda Weber) and k near Wittman, Nov. 8 (Effinger). A Whited- winged Crossbill appeared at a feeder in Westminster for one day, Nov. 23 (Nathan Webb, et al.) for a first Carroll County record. Sparrows . Early Savannah Sparrows were near Lilypons, Aug. 2k (D. Wallace), and at Hughes Hollow, Aug. 30 (Bonham). Wierenga found a Sharp- tailed Sparrow at Sandy Pt., Nov. 21, and Kraus found one in northern Calvert County, Nov. 28-30. A Vesper Sparrow near Mountain Lake Park, Oct. 22 (Pope), was late for the mountains as was a Chipping Sparrow along the Yough, Nov. 17. Early Northern Juncos were banded on Sept. 19 at Piney Mtn. (Willetts) and at Phoenix, Baltimore County (Cole, Compton Crook). A record-tying Fox Sparrow was banded along the Yough, Oct. 8 (Pope). Weske banded a late Lincoln's Sparrow at Sandy Spring, Nov. 3, and Bilsborough banded one at Aberdeen, Oct. 23- Long spur , Buntings . The following Lapland Longspurs were reported: 1 at Ft. Smallwood, Oct. 21, 2 at the Rockville landfill, Nov. 9 (both by Wierenga), 1 at North Beach, Nov. 11 (Kraus), 4 at Summit Hall, Nov. 11 (Byron Swift), 1 at Davis Airfield near Laytonsville, and 1 at Sandy Pt. on Nov, 18 (both by Wierenga). Snow Buntings were even more widespread. The first were 2 at Sandy Pt., Oct. 25, increasing to 38 on Nov. 13-lL (Wierenga). On Oct. 26 one was at Sharpsburg (David Litton). In Novem- ber there were singles at McDonogh, Nov. 3 (Jarboe), Eastern Neck, Nov. 9 (Augustine), and Bellevue, Nov. 9 (Armistead), a flock on the golf course at Patuxent NAS beginning Nov. 7 (Clark), 11 at Ft. Smallwood, Nov. 6 (Wierenga), k at Summit Hall, Nov. 11 (Byron Swift) and one there 38 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 37, No. 1 on the 13th (Woodward), 13 at the Rockville landfill, Nov. 13 (O'Brien) and 2 there on the 23rd (Wierenga), and finally, 4 on Tilghman Island, Nov. 15 (Kleen) and Nov. 23 (Reese). 3501 Melody Lane, Baltimore 21207 ☆ BOOK REVIEWS HOMES FOR BIRDS E. R. Kalmbach and W. L. McAtee, revised by D. Daniel Boone. 1979. Conservation Bull. 14, Fish & Wildlife Service, USDI. 22 p. $1.75. Supt. of Composition, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Many of the questions asked by the public about birds center around bird house building. An interest in birdwatching often gets started when a bird house is put up in the yard. Homes for Birds includes specifica- tions for nesting boxes of 26 different species and detailed diagrams of many of these boxes. You will find just how selective bvirds are, and when and where they choose their nesting sites. No matter how skilled a carpenter you are, if you do not place a Prothonotary Warbler house over water in a southern swampy area you will not get a family of these beau- tiful birds. Readers of this book can contribute to the continuing success story of the increase In numbers of nesting bluebirds. Purple Martin fanciers will find complete Instructions on how to mount and care for their martin apartments. The bird house builder has not completed his task, however, even when the house has been mounted in the proper habitat and has attracted the bird for which it had been designed. Predators and parasites are ever-present dangers to raising bird families to maturity. Included are diagrams of predator guards designed to baf- fle the wild animals and domestic pets ready to rob the young from the nest. You'll find "house cleaning hints," too. Designing, constructing and monitoring one or more bird houses can contribute to the well being of many species of birds as well as adding to ones own deeper understand- ing of life. This book, with its useful diagrams, charts and reference list, is a good source of information for yourself and one you should recommend to beginning birdwatchers. — Joy Wheeler. A BIRDWATCHER'S GUIDE TO THE EASTERN UNITED STATES Alice Geffen. 1978. Barron's, Woodbury, N.Y. 346 p, 25 drawings, 25 maps. $6.95 paperback. Leafing through this book is an invitation to chuck it all and spend the rest of your life exploring each area it describes. To think there are some places in Maryland whose birds I still haven't seen, not not to mention the 25 other states included in the East. I have visited some of the places listed though. .. Carey Run, Irish Grove, Pelot Sanctu- ary, and Cylburn (which they misspelled).' The maps at the head of each chapter locate clearly all areas mentioned. State parks are listed at the end of each chapter. All bird names are Indexed. Altogether, it appears to be a very usable guide for travelers looking for birds in the Eastern United States. — Joy Wheeler. March 1981 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE 39 MORE BOOK REVIEWS THE PIEDMONT ATTRACTING BIRDS IN THE MARYLAND PIEDMONT Joanne K. Solem, Ed. 1979. Howard County Chapter of the M.O.S. 89 p, 7 figs. $3.00 (plus $.85 postage). This book is appropriate in the Coastal Plain and in adjacent states as well as in the Maryland Piedmont. Page 89 lists those whose experiences contributed to the compilation, and the title page indi- cates that Joanne Solem was particularly indebted to Martha Chestem, Linda McDaniel, Rosamond Munro, and Cathy Williamson. The booklet dis- cusses reasons for feeding birds, possible problems, foods, feeders and their placement, water, shelter, nest boxes, and plants to supply shel- ter and food for birds. It lists birds expected in our area, some sup- pliers of special feeders, literature, and field guides. It is readable, practical, and accurate, and I recommend it to everyone who wishes to make his home plot more attractive to birds. — Eleanor C. Robbins. A SIERRA CLUB NATURALIST’S GUIDE TO THE PIEDMONT Michael A. Godfrey. 1980. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco. 500 p, 97 figs (maps, plants, animals), 8 color plates. $19.95 cloth, $9.95 paper. This ambitious undertaking tries to give the reader a feel for the geology, climate, plants, birds, mammals, and insects in all of the natural and disturbed Piedmont plant communities from the Gulf Coast to northern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The book is divided into four parts: geography and climate, cultivated lands, lands in succession, and special places. The special places selected for Maryland are Rock Outcrops (Sugarloaf Mountain), Serpentine Barrens (Big Pines, Soldiers Delight, and Pilot), Unique Deciduous Habitats (Hawlings River Regional Park, and Long Green Creek and Sweathouse Branch Natural Area). The prose is charming, but some unnecessarily involved sentences and obstruce words impair understanding. This book is intended for inspirational reading with the hope that interested persons will not only really observe their surroundings, but help save unique scenes and habitats. It is certainly not a guide to identification of plants or animals; the author of such a broad undertaking could not be expected to be an authority on the identification of such diverse life forms. For example, he had room for only one waterthrush and chose to discuss the Northern, which is only a migrant through the area, rather than the Louisiana, which nests along many of the Piedmont rivers. However, the bird figured is the Louisiana Waterthrush, and the scientific name he uses is that of the Louisiana. Appendices, which list food and habitats of selected Piedmont Lepidoptera, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, would have bene- fited greatly from careful proofreading. — Eleanor C. Robbins. 40 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Vol. 37 , No. 1 JOHN CANOLES, 1981 SCIENCE FAIR WINNER At the 26th Annual Baltimore Science Fair jointly sponsored by the Baltimore Kiwanis Clubs and The Johns Hopkins University, the MOS was proud to present its 5th annual Award for Achievement in Ornithology. John Canoles, a 9th grade student at Hereford Junior-Senior High School in Parkton, Maryland, received the award for his 3-year study of fall migration patterns of hawks over his home in northern Baltimore County. John and his father have been observing how hawk flights are affected by a change in wind direction. They have noticed that when winds are from a southwesterly direction hawks veer off their course over Hawk Mountain and Kittatinny Ridge and follow a line down along the coastal plain. His maps and diagrams clearly outlined the course of his study along with the significant results. Ben Poscover, Chairman of the MOS Education Committee, presented the framed award certificate to John. Included in the award are a year's membership in the MOS and an auto- graphed copy of "Birds of North America" by Chandler Robbins. John will bring his project to the May 1981 meeting of the Baltimore Chap- ter, where he will be glad to answer any questions about it. We welcome John to the MOS. • CONTENTS, MARCH 1981 Nashville Warbler Nest In Garrett County Brown Pelican in Maryland in Winter The 1980-81 Maryland Christmas Count American Flamingo at Broadwater Point Yellow Rail Collected in Maryland The Season — Fall Migration, 1980 Book Reviews More Book Reviews: The Piedmont John Canoles, 1981 Science Fair Winner D. Daniel Boone G. J. Taylor & S. A. Dawson Eirik A. T. Blom K. Friel Sanders 14 E. M, Martin S M. C. Perry 15 Robert ,F. Ringler 17 Joy Wheeler 38 Eleanor C . Robbins 39 40 MARYLAND BIRDLIFE Editor: Asst. Editor: Production: Mailing : Chandler S. Robbins, 7900 Brooklyn Bridge Road Laurel, Maryland 20810 (725-1176) Robert F. Ringler, 3501 Melody L. , Baltimore 21207 Lettie Cullom Barbara Larrabee and committee Ui U