First some errata and miscellany; In last year’s report, the Barrow’s Goldeneye that has been found on the Point Lookout Count for seven years in a row (including this count year) was conspicuously absent (from the report … not from the count). It has been added back into the dataset. Regrettably, no data for the Port Tobacco Count was available at the time this report was completed.
Other highlights (not requiring errata) include Eurasian Wigeon, inland King Eiders on the Triadelphia count, Sandhill Cranes on a couple of counts, Pectoral Sandpiper, Black-headed Gulls, White-eyed and Blue-headed vireos, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ovenbird, LeConte’s Sparrow, Indigo and Painted buntings, Dickcissel, and Yellow-headed Blackbird. Eighteen out of 29 counts had Cackling Geese. Three counts had white-winged (Iceland or Glaucous) gulls (four if you include count week).
The Bombay Hook count shared (in their “Special Aspects” section) about the passing of the count’s original compiler, Herb Cutler who started the count in 1939 and was a regular participant until 2005. He only missed a few years due to being in the Army Air Corps during WWII. They also lost longtime group leader Joel Citron, a 40-year veteran volunteer at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Their efforts and friendship will be missed.
WATERFOWL
Oakland had a high of 18 Greater White-fronted Geese while Rock Run had 14, Ocean City had four, and Lower Kent had two. Annapolis-Gibson Island had 11 Snow Geese (hc). Lower Kent also had two Snow/Canada Hybrids and two Ross’s Geese. Chesterville had a high of seven Ross’s Geese (hc) while Washington, and Allegany County Counts, Milford, Patuxent River, Salisbury, Point Lookout, and Elkton each had one (us).
Lower Kent had a high count of 31 Cackling Geese, Chesterville had 22, Oakland had six (close to their hc of 7), Annapolis-Gibson Island had six (hc), Rock Run and St. Michaels had five (hc), Bombay Hook had four, Bowie had three, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook, Milford, and Triadelphia had two, Milford had two (hc), and Ocean City, Salisbury, Sugarloaf Mountain, Point Lookout, and Allegany had one (Seneca and Jug Bay had the species for count week).
Annapolis-Gibson Island had one Trumpeter Swan (us; 3rd occurrence). Seneca had 55 Tundra Swans (hc).
Crisfield had 39 Wood Ducks (hc) while three Wood Ducks was a low at Chesterville (though it has been missed). Patuxent River had 21 Wood Ducks (hc). Lower Kent had 1859 Gadwall and Wilmington had 202 (both hc). Seneca
had a Eurasian Wigeon (us). Rehoboth had one also. Middle River had a high of 108 American Wigeon (hc). Chesterville also had 529 Mallards for a low count (all-time low out of 11 counts) and 92 was a low count for Sugarloaf Mountain. Lower Kent had an American Black Duck / Mallard hybrid. Jug Bay had a Blue-winged Teal (us). Milford had 121 Northern Pintails (hc). Sugarloaf Mountain had 31 (hc). The Allegany Count had 1 Northern Pintail (6th occurrence). Lower Kent had 2453 American Green-winged Teal and Wilmington had 11 (both hc).
Middle River had 51 Canvasback (hc). Rock Run had 283 Ring-necked Ducks (hc). Chesterville had a single Ring-necked Duck (all-time lc). Annapolis-Gibson Island had a high Greater Scaup count (10,457; hc) and Middle River had a high of 38. Bowie had 20 Lesser Scaup (hc). Triadelphia had two King Eiders (us) at Brighton Dam. Lower Kent had a high count of 67 Surf Scoters. Two Surf Scoters was the high count for Oakland. Six Counts reported White-winged Scoters (Rehoboth – 48; Lower Kent - 5; Point Lookout – 3; Ocean City – 1; Middle River – 1; Saint Michaels (cw). Annapolis-Gibson Island had a low of 51 Common Goldeneye. At Seaford-Nanticoke, 16 Common Goldeneye was a high count. Point Lookout had a Barrow’s Goldeneye (7th occurrence). Annapolis-Gibson Island had 289 Hooded Mergansers (hc). Seneca had 128 (near their high of 131) and South Dorchester had a near all-time high of 112 (close to hc of 118). Chesterville had 301 Common Mergansers, Sugarloaf Mountain had 143, Washington County had 78, Denton had 63, and Bowie had 25 (all hc). Annapolis-Gibson Island had 94 Red-breasted Mergansers (hc), and 14,050 Ruddy Ducks (near high; hc is 14,190). Middle River had 5390 Ruddy Ducks (hc).
QUAIL AND TURKEY
Triadelphia had 36 Wild Turkey (hc).
LOONS & GREBES – GANNETS & PELICANS
Denton had six Pied-billed Grebes (hc). Milford had two Northern Gannets (hc). Jug Bay’s high count for Double-crested Cormorants was 339, at Seaford Nanticoke the high was 15 (tied with count 113), and for Triadelphia it was nine (hc). Lower Kent had a high of 1305 Double-crested Cormorants and also seven Great Cormorants (hc). Middle River had a Great Cormorant. South Dorchester had American White Pelicans again (24 of them; 11th occurrence).
RAILS & CRANES
Crisfield had a Sora. Denton and Ocean City each had a Common Gallinule (us). Middle River had 10 Sandhill Cranes (hc; us) and Seneca had two as well.
SHOREBIRDS
South Dorchester had six Black-bellied Plovers (hc). Jug Bay had four Least Sandpipers (hc) and both Milford and St. Michaels (their 5th) had one. Milford had a Pectoral Sandpiper (us). South Dorchester had six Western Sandpipers for a high count.
ALCIDS - GULLS
Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had a Black-headed Gull (their 14th). Ocean City had a Laughing Gulls (us). Seaford-Nanticoke had three and Annapolis-Gibson Island had a single Iceland Gull (us; their 6th), and Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had one. Middle River had Iceland Gull for count week (us). Five out of six DE Counts and six out of 23 MD counts had Lesser Black-backed Gulls including South Dorchester (having 3 individuals) where it was only their 2nd occurrence. Chesterville’s one was also a 2nd occurrence but they are a relatively new count. Seaford-Nanticoke had 50 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook and Seaford-Nanticoke each had a Glaucous Gull. A single Great Black-backed Gull was a 16-year all-time low count on the Milford Count.
HERONS & EGRETS – HAWKS & EAGLES
Jug Bay had 547 Black Vultures (hc), Crisfield had a high of 1341 Turkey Vultures and Oakland had Oakland had four (hc). Ocean City and St. Michaels (their 5th) each had a Golden Eagle (us) and Rehoboth had one for count week. Triadelphia had 12 Northern Harriers (hc). Jug Bay had a high of 12 Cooper’s Hawks while Point Lookout had six. Jug Bay also had a high of 129 Bald Eagles which was the same number that Crisfield had (hc). Ocean City’s high count was 142 Bald Eagles, Chesterville had 123, Annapolis-Gibson Island had 71, and Triadelphia had 59 (all high counts). Denton had 16, Seaford-Nanticoke had 12, and Middletown had 10 Red-shouldered Hawks (all hc) while Oakland’s high was six. Chesterville had a high of 118 Red-tailed Hawks. Seneca had a Rough-legged Hawk.
DOVES, OWLS, HUMMINGBIRD, KINGFISHER & WOODPECKERS – FALCONS
Oakland had 106 Rock Pigeons (hc). Middle River had a high of 456 Mourning Doves. Five MD counts and two DE counts had Barn Owl. Lower Kent had a high of 64 Eastern Screech-Owls and South Dorchester had 27 (hc). Ocean City had two (hc) and Rock Run had a single Snowy Owl (us). Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had one for count week. Chesterville had an all-time low of six Barred Owls. At Milford, seven Short-eared Owls was a count high. Sugarloaf Mountain had two Short-eared Owls (hc; 3rd occurrence). Others were at Bombay Hook (10), South Dorchester (8), Middletown (4), Triadelphia (3), Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook (2), Ocean City (1), Patuxent River (1), Point Lookout (1; their 4th) and St Michaels (cw).
Rehoboth had a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (us). Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had a Selasphorus sp. hummingbird. Patuxent River had a Rufous Hummingbird (us) and they also had two Belted Kingfishers (all time low over 23 counts). Jug Bay had 43 Belted Kingfishers (hc).
Chesterville had a Red-headed Woodpecker (us; 1st for the count) and 39 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (hc). Sugarloaf had 114 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Annapolis-Gibson Island had 110, and Lower Kent had 43 (hc). Catoctin’s high was 24. Seneca had 178 Pileated Woodpeckers (hc ).
Chesterville had a low of four American Kestrels. Ocean City had a 70-year low of 10 American Kestrels. Seneca had four Merlins (hc) and St. Michaels had one. Allegany had a Peregrine Falcon (3rd occurrence).
SONGBIRDS, FLYCATCHERS, SHRIKES, CORVIDS
Denton had a high count of 10 Eastern Phoebes. Bombay Hook, Ocean City and Middle River each had a White-eyed Vireo (us). Crisfield had a Blue-headed Vireo. Patuxent River had 92 American Crows (lc out of all 23 counts). Denton had 20 Fish Crows (hc).
Triadelphia had a high count of eight Common Ravens. Wilmington had three (hc). Others East of Catoctin and Sugarloaf Mountain were Seneca with seven, Bowie with four, and two at both Middle River and Rock Run. Annapolis-Gibson Island also had a single Common Raven (us; 2nd occurrence).
HORNED LARK – SNOW BUNTING
Milford had a 16-year all-time low count of 46 Horned Larks. Ocean City had three Tree Swallows and Salisbury had one. Chesterville had a low count of 94 Tufted Titmice. Crisfield had 147 Brown-headed Nuthatches (hc). Lower Kent had 22 Brown-headed Nuthatches (hc). Lower Kent had 31 Winter Wrens and Milford had 20 (both hc). Lower Kent was one of four (South Dorchester, Crisfield, and Bombay Hook being the others) counts having both Sedge and Marsh wrens. Salisbury had a Sedge Wren. Ocean City had a Marsh Wren (St. Michaels had one for count week). Elkton had a well-described Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (us) and Bombay Hook had one for count week. Bombay Hook had a high count of 69 Golden-crowned Kinglets and also 39 Ruby-crowned Kinglets (hc). Denton had 15 Ruby-crowned Kinglets (hc). Chesterville had a high of 47 Hermit Thrushes and Bombay Hook’s hc was 26. Catoctin had a high count of 1399 American Robins. A single Gray Catbird on the Patuxent River Count was an all-time low. Chesterville had a high count of six Gray Catbirds. Denton had four Gray Catbirds and 12 Brown Thrashers (both hcs). Bombay Hook had a high of 24 Brown Thrashers. Sugarloaf had a high of three Brown Thrashers. Jug Bay had a high of 51,623 European Starlings. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had Lapland Longspur (cw only). Ocean City was the only MD count to get Snow Buntings (22). Three DE counts had them Bombay Hook (5), Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook (37), Milford (10) had them.
WARBLERS
Lower Kent had an Ovenbird (us). Bombay Hook had a high of four Orange-crowned Warblers, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook and Middletown both had a high of three, and Salisbury had two Orange-crowned Warblers (their 4th). Milford also had an Orange-crowned Warbler. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had a high of 43 Palm Warblers and Denton had a high count of 33 unspecified Palm Warblers plus an additional 10 Western Palms. Two Palm Warblers was a high count for the Washington County count. Twelve MD Counts and three DE Counts had Pine Warblers but one at the more inland Sugarloaf Mountain Count was more unusual. Seven Pine Warblers at Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook was a count high. Middletown had 203 and Chesterville had 191 Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers (hc).
SPARROWS, TOWHEES, BUNTINGS
Seneca had a Le Conte’s Sparrow (us). South Dorchester had two Nelson’s Sparrows while Ocean City and Crisfield each had one. Chesterville had 123 and Sugarloaf had 54 Chipping Sparrows (both hc). Annapolis-Gibson Island had 27 Chipping Sparrows (hc) and at Catoctin, three was a count high. Counts of Field Sparrows (5) were on the low side at South Dorchester and 184 was the new high for Chesterville. Lower Kent had 44 Fox Sparrows and Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 38 (hc). Slate-colored Junco counts were low (13) at South Dorchester. Patuxent River had a high of nine White-crowned Sparrows (hc). Chesterville had 2664 and Sugarloaf had 1727 White-throated Sparrows (both hc). Chesterville had 158 Savannah Sparrows (hc). Wilmington had 952 Song Sparrows (hc). Bombay Hook, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook, Triadelphia, and Bowie each had a Lincoln’s Sparrow. Lower Kent had a high of 364 Swamp Sparrows (hc). Wilmington had 82 and Sugarloaf had 42 Eastern Towhees (both hc). Milford had a low of 119 Northern Cardinals. Lower Kent had an Indigo Bunting (us). Ocean City had a Painted Bunting (us; 2nd occurrence).
BLACKBIRDS – ORIOLES & HOUSE SPARROW
The Bowie count had a Dickcissel during count week (cw; us). Jug Bay had 307,334 and Triadelphia had 150,297 Red-winged Blackbirds (both hc). Seaford-Nanticoke had 311 and Jug Bay had 79 Eastern Meadowlarks (both hc). Chesterville had a Yellow-headed Blackbird (us). Point Lookout had 374 Rusty Blackbirds (hc). Jug Bay had 513,550 and Middle River had 2111 Common Grackles (hc). Triadelphia had a Baltimore Oriole (us) as did Annapolis-Gibson Island (their 17th). Ocean City had a 70-year low count of 99 House Sparrows.