Dave Larson and I led this edition of Wednesday Morning Birding on to Plum Island. The skies were overcast to partly cloudy; temps in the upper 60s; and winds light and variable. It was a lovely day for birding. With the tide falling from a 06:48 a.m. high and with the overcast conditions, we beat feet for Sandy Point, once again counting on parking spaces being available. We were not disappointed.

We didn’t have to go far on the beach to have a wonderful show presented by Piping Plovers and Least Terns. Least Tern parents in a couple of nests were busy ferrying in fish for their recently hatched chicks and at least one pair of plovers was busy shepherding its brood of four chicks. I have to say, Piping Plover chicks are “cute!” Down the path en route to the beach, a couple of Song Sparrows sang and an Eastern Towhee called for “teeeee” back in the shrubs.

With parking available in the upper parking lot, we paid a visit to the beach at Bar Head. We found two lone sea ducks loafing on Emerson Rocks — a hen Common Eider and a late White-winged Scoter. A 2nd-year Common Loon was just offshore, fooling some of us with its narrower and slightly upturned bill — obviously not fully adult in appearance. About 30 Double-crested Cormorants and a small gathering of Great Black-backed Gulls all congregated on the beach beyond Emerson Rocks. A pair of Piping Plovers and its four chicks were not far away in the closed and protected area of the refuge beach under the watchful eye of the on-duty “Plover Warden.” With the somewhat tranquil weather of late, absent any nor’easters, this season’s plover production could be rather good. Time will tell. While on the beach, we had a Great Blue Heron fly-by and a single Killdeer made its presence known.

As we made our way back up the island to Hellcat, a number of Snowy Egrets and a few Great Egrets could be seen in the marsh. Also, Cedar Waxwings were omnipresent — they seemed to be everywhere. The Pines Trail nesting platform Ospreys could be seen from the road and several Bobolinks were seen and heard in South Field. From the Hellcat dike, we could see the many drake Mallards on Bill Forward Pool continuing their eclipse molt. There were also two drake Green-winged Teal, a pair of Gadwalls, and two Common Terns. Pretty soon the hen Gadwall will be on a nest, being the latest of the waterfowl nesting on Plum Island. Some of us caught a glimpse of a Virginia Rail flying away over the North Pool cattails and Phragmites before diving down into the marsh. The resident Willow Flycatcher was heard and seen from the Hellcat dike, and, of course, Red-winged Blackbirds were commonly seen.

A walk up the refuge road from the Hellcat parking lot gave us bird song from several species, including Gray Catbird (lots!), Purple Finch, American Redstart (the nest we had been following just south of Goodno Crossing was now empty), Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, and Eastern Towhee. Some of our group picked up an Orchard Oriole along the way and back in the parking lot, there was a Baltimore Oriole, the bright one . . . .

On our way north, at Doug Chickering’s suggestion, we stopped at “Lois’ Bench” at the north end of the Main Panne to look for Saltmarsh Sparrows. Some of us had success. In my van, Pam had great looks and chalked it up as a “Lifer” for her list. Way to go, Pam! Tom Schreffler returned after the program to get some great pics of this saltmarsh denizen, sometimes called “Johnnie Jump Up” for its habit of popping up from the marsh grass and then just as quickly disappearing back into the grass.

Please be reminded that this week’s Wednesday Morning Birding was the last until August 7 as we take our usual July hiatus. I hope that your summer goes well. See you in August!
Best regards!
Dave Weaver
Our list:

Canada Goose (~ 11) – Bill Forward Pool (BFP).
Gadwall (2) – pr.; BFP.
Mallard (~ 65) – BFP.
Green-winged Teal (2) – drakes; BFP.
Common Eider (1) – hen; Emerson Rocks.
White-winged Scoter (1) – Emerson Rocks.
Common Loon (2) – 1, Sandy Point; 1, Bar Head.
Double-crested Cormorant (~ 30) – seven beach.
Great Blue Heron (1) – fly-over; Bar Head.
Great Egret (~ 7) – various.
Snowy Egret (~ 20) – various.
Osprey (5) – 2 on each of nesting platforms; 1, overhead Sandy Point.
Virginia Rail (1) – North Pool from Hellcat dike.
Piping Plover (15) – 9, Sandy Point, including pr. w/ 4 young; 6, Bar
Head – pr. w/ 4 young.
Killdeer (1) – fly-by, Bar Head.
Willet (~ 12) – various.
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull (12) – 2, Sandy Point; 10, seven beach.
Least Tern (~ 30) – 4 on nests, at least one nest with 2 young; ~ 20,
loafing at water’s edge.
Common Tern (2) – BFP.
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Willow Flycatcher (1) – Hellcat.
Eastern Phoebe (1) – Hellcat.
Eastern Kingbird (~ 12) – various.
Blue Jay (2)
American Crow (1)
Purple Martin (4) – parking lot #1.
Tree Swallow (3)
Black-capped Chickadee (2) – Hellcat.
Marsh Wren (1) – North Pool from Hellcat dike.
American Robin – common.
Gray Catbird – common.
[Northern Mockingbird (1) – PI Airport.]
European Starling – common.
Cedar Waxwing – common.
Common Yellowthroat – common.
American Redstart (1) – Hellcat.
Yellow Warbler – common.
Eastern Towhee – common.
Saltmarsh Sparrow (2) – marsh near Lois’ bench at Main Panne (thanks,
Doug!).
Song Sparrow (~ 7) – various.
Northern Cardinal (2)
Bobolink (3) – South Field.
Red-winged Blackbird – common.
Common Grackle – common.
Orchard Oriole (1) – Hellcat.
Baltimore Oriole (2) – 1, Hellcat; 1, Goodno Crossing.
Purple Finch (2) – Hellcat.
American Goldfinch (3) – Hellcat.

Donna Cooper joined me in leading Wednesday Morning Birding on what turned out to be a rather quiet morning birdwise. Skies were overcast to mostly cloudy; the air was calm; and the temp was a steady 64 degrees F. When all said and done, we realized 38 species of birds. To date, our tally for 2019 is 167 species.

With low tide at 8:30 am, we decided to go directly to Sandy Point. Surely with the overcast conditions, there would be very few “beach creatures” to deal with and, therefore, parking places available. En route, we spied a pair of Gadwalls on the Main Panne, an American Black Duck (unusual at this time of year) in flight, and an Osprey perched atop the Pines Trail nesting platform.

While on the beach at Sandy Point, we saw about six Piping Plovers; one was on a nest. In addition to the usual Herring Gulls and a Great Black-backed Gull or two, there were about seven Least Terns, two of which were on a nest. Mates were seen bringing food to the nest-bound mate. Aside from the size difference, recall that the Least Tern’s outstanding field marks are a yellow bill with black tip and a white forehead contrasting with its black cap; as compared with the larger Common Tern’s orange-red bill with black tip and complete black cap. A second Osprey was a fly-by. Other than the plovers, terns, and gulls, not a lot going on on the beach. Walking to and from, we could hear a couple of Song Sparrows singing along with the “your teeeee” of an Eastern Towhee. We heard a number of towhees singing up and down the island as we drove, and saw and heard Gray Catbirds and Eastern Kingbirds.

At the Hellcat parking lot, a Baltimore Oriole briefly sang, as did a Purple Finch — otherwise, with nesting in full swing, there was very little song. A Yellow Warbler quickly flew from one side of the parking lot to the other. From the Hellcat dike, many ducks were feeding and loafing on Bill Forward Pool. The vast majority of ducks were Mallards, about 75 of them. Most of them were drakes in eclipse molt. The “best of show” award went to three drake Green-winged Teal, which were very close to us — the best looks many of us had ever had. Yes, one was in the early stages of eclipse molt, but the other two were pretty sharp continuing in their nuptial plumage. While we were enjoying the waterfowl spectacle, a pair of Gadwalls flew in fairly close by. Also on the pool were a Great Egret and several Double-crested Cormorants, including two young of the year. A pair of Willets put on a rather late courtship flight with attendant vocalizing — quite the show . . . . and a Killdeer fed in the mud nearby.

At Joyce Spencer’s suggestion, we walked up the refuge road to check on the American Redstart nest David Moon had located a couple of weeks earlier. We were able to find the nest just south of Goodno Crossing and were rewarded with seeing the female redstart brooding her young before going on a grocery run. As we watched, there were several feedings. We were able to see only one nestling, but surely there were more. That was a nice way to wrap up our visit to Hellcat.

On our way back to Joppa, we stopped briefly at the small pannes to try for Saltmarsh Sparrow. Donna caught fleeting glimpses of small, dark objects in the marsh — the typical “Johnnie Jump Ups” behavior of Saltmarsh Sparrows, but we were never able to catch one perched.

Please join us next Wednesday, June 26, for our last Wednesday Morning Birding before the July hiatus. David Moon will be back from his Iceland adventure. Following next Wednesday, August 7 marks the next WMB program.

All the best!
Dave Weaver

Our list:
Canada Goose (~ 20) – Bill Forward Pool (BFP).
Gadwall (4) – pr. on Main Panne; pr on BFP.
American Black Duck (1) – in flight over marsh n. Main Panne.
Mallard (~ 75) – BFP.
Green-winged Teal (3) -drakes, BFP; probably 6 more Green-wings at s.
end BFP.
Wild Turkey (1) – roadside.
Double-crested Cormorant (~ 7) – various; including 2 juvs, BFP.
Great Egret (4)
Osprey (2) – 1 on Pines platform; 1, Sandy Point.
Piping Plover (~ 6) – Sandy Point.
Killdeer (2)
Greater Yellowlegs (1) – Main Panne.
Willet (~ 12) – various, active courtship displays at BFP.
Herring Gull – Sandy Point.
Great Black-backed Gull (2) – Sandy Point.
Least Tern (~ 7) – 2 on nest; Sandy Point.
Mourning Dove (2)
Eastern Kingbird (~ 7) – various.
Purple Martin (~ 10) – parking lot #1.
Tree Swallow (1)
Black-capped Chickadee (1) – near Goodno Crossing.
Carolina Wren (1) – singing in vicinity of Goodno Crossing.
American Robin (~ 6)
Gray Catbird – common.
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (2) – shrubs across road from South Marsh.
Common Yellowthroat (1) – Hellcat.
American Redstart (3) – pr. & 1 nestling, s. Goodno Crossing.
Yellow Warbler (~ 5) – various.
Eastern Towhee – common.
Song Sparrow(~ 5) – various.
Northern Cardinal (1) – shrubs across road from South Marsh.
Bobolink (3) – various.
Red-winged Blackbird – common.
Common Grackle – common.
Brown-headed Cowbird (1)
Baltimore Oriole (2) – 1, Hellcat parking lot; 1, Goodno Crossing.
Purple Finch (2) – Hellcat.