114th CBC Delaware/Maryland Regional Summary

By J.B. Churchill

Count 114 took place in what could be called a “cold winter” with lower than average temperatures in January (coldest since 2004). Temperatures didn’t really drop in December until nearer to the end of the month. The coldest low temperature was 2 degrees F on the Rehoboth Count. The Coldest in MD was Catoctin Mountain with a low temperature of 12 degrees F. The warmest were Point Lookout and Milford DE which each reached a high temperature of 68 degrees F. Snowfall was evident on a few counts as well. Snow depth was at least 2” during three MD counts Oakland (7.5” max), Allegany (4” max), and Catoctin Mountain (6” max) and Annapolis Gibson Island had 3” in some places but no snow in other places. Snow affected some counts negatively as seen by low counts of 21 species on the Seaford-Nanticoke count and a low turnout and count on the Allegany County count. Activity on the Catoctin Mountain Count appears to be limited as well (19 party hours this year vs. 65.5 hours last year, and 68 hours average over the previous 10 years).

There were some high counts for waterfowl but an odd thing that stood out was a number of high counts for Double-crested Cormorants (8 different CBCs reported all-time high numbers). A number of Red-necked Grebes would show up later in the winter season while only two were seen during the CBCs, both on the Jug Bay count. The observers (Gene Scarpulla and Marcia Watson) also found a much more unusual Western Grebe.

Last year’s count (113) had winter finches and we had a corresponding dearth of reports this year. This year’s phenomenon was undoubtedly the invasion of Snowy Owls. Two Maryland counts had singles and Delaware had a total of 12 owls on five different counts.

Waterfowl:

Bombay Hook had a Greater White-fronted Goose (20^th occurrence). Milford had 99,713 Snow Geese (HC); 100 “Blue” Geese was also a high count and they had Ross’s Goose for count week. Elkton had five Blue Geese (6^th occurrence). Oakland, Point Lookout, and Seneca each had two Snow Geese (5^th, 9^th, and 13th occurrences respectively). Chesterville had low counts of Snow Geese (23,730) but had four Ross’s Geese.  Bombay Hook had a high count of five Ross’s, while Rehoboth had one. At St. Michael’s, 1082 Snow Geese was a high count. The Ocean City Count had three Ross’s Geese. Cackling Geese were found on Jug Bay (4), Wilmington (3), Rock Run (2), Annapolis-Gibson Island (2), Lower Kent County (8 is only half of the HC of 16 from count 106), Ocean City (2), and one each on Triadelphia, Patuxent River, Denton, Bombay Hook, and South Dorchester. On the Point Lookout count 7753 Canada Geese was a high count and Port Tobacco also had a good number (4552) of Canada Geese (HC is 5062). Washington County had 1110 which is somewhat close to the high of 1399. Rehoboth had 597 Tundra Swans (HC). Annapolis-Gibson Island had a well-documented Trumpeter Swan.

Wood Duck & Dabblers

At Ocean City 38 Wood Ducks was close to the high of 40. Milford (1^st occurrence), Salisbury (1^st occurrence), Cape Henlopen (5^th occurrence), and Rehoboth (15th occurrence) each had a single Eurasian Wigeon. Ocean City had three drake Eurasian Wigeon. Salisbury only had one American Wigeon. Wilmington had 55 Gadwall and Middletown had 226 (both HC). Chesterville had 487 Gadwall (HC), 210 American Wigeon, 754 American Black Ducks, and four Northern Pintails (all HC). Elkton had 326 Gadwall (HC), two American Green-winged Teal (5th occurrence). Ocean City had 38 which is close to the high of 40 Wood Ducks and 200 Northern Shovelers is close to the all-time high of 222. Seneca had high counts for Gadwall (58), American Wigeon (75), and a near-high count of 20 Northern Shovelers (HC was 32). At Saint Michaels, 22 Northern Shovelers was a count high. On Triadelphia 24 American Black Ducks was a low count. The Bowie count had some high counts for dabbling ducks Gadwall (47), American Wigeon (23), Northern Shoveler (7), American Green-winged Teal (140). Port Tobacco had four Northern Pintails and 32 American Green-winged Teal (HC). Rehoboth had 291 Gadwall (HC) and a hybrid American Black Duck X Mallard (1st occurrence). Seaford-Nanticoke had a low count of 128 Mallards. Milford had 12 Northern Shovelers (HC).

Bay Ducks & Mergansers

Annapolis-Gibson Island had 5930 Greater Scaup (HC). Crisfield had 12,435 Canvasback (HC) and 15,000 Redhead (HC). Wilmington and the Jug Bay Count had six and 30 Redheads (respectively) for new count highs. Ocean City had 1127 Ring-necked Ducks (HC). Point Lookout had a Barrow’s Goldeneye at the Elms Environmental Center seen by Terry Jordan and Tyler Bell (also photographed). The Denton Count had a high of 19 Lesser Scaup. Seneca had a single Long-tailed Duck (1 of 4 occurrences) and 293 Bufflehead (HC) as well as high counts for Hooded (131) and Common (52) mergansers. On South Dorchester, 93 Hooded Mergansers was close to the count high of 95. Seven Common Mergansers on the Patuxent River Count was a high. Port Tobacco had a Long-tailed Duck (US and 1st occurrence) and 293 Bufflehead, which was close to their high count of 316. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had a high of Surf Scoters (2755), Long-tailed Ducks (75), Hooded Mergansers (278), and Ruddy Ducks (681). Rehoboth had high counts of Long-tailed Ducks (234), Hooded Mergansers (320), and Ruddy Ducks (4544). At Middletown 32 Hooded Mergansers was close to the high of 36 from four years ago (count 110). At Milford, 30 Common Mergansers was a high count. Chesterville had high counts of Hooded Mergansers (110) and Common Mergansers (139).

Turkeys & Game Birds

Jug Bay had a high count of 73 Wild Turkeys. Chesterville set a new high of (67) Ocean City (50), Bowie (42), Denton (39), Seneca (30), and Wilmington (5). There were four Northern Bobwhite at Denton and two on the Bombay Hook count. Middletown had five Ring-necked Pheasants, while Lower Kent County had four and Bombay Hook had one (not unusual for these counts).

Loons & Grebes

Wilmington had a high count of 32 and Triadelphia had a high of 18 Pied-billed Grebes. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had a high count of 72 Horned Grebes. At Ocean City 1041 Red-throated Loons was a good number (HC is 1056). Washington County had one too (US). Milford had five Common Loons for a new count high (only their 12^th year counting). The Jug Bay count had two Red-necked Grebes and a Western Grebe as noted in the abstract above. These were the only Red-necked Grebes on the MD/DE CBCs.

Gannets, Pelicans, Cormorants, Herons, and Egrets

At Ocean City, 8000 Northern Gannets was a new count high, and Saint Michaels had two further up in the Chesapeake Bay (7^th occurrence). Ocean City had an American White Pelican and South Dorchester had 69 (HC; 7^th occurrence). Point Lookout had 78 Brown Pelicans (13th occurrence with a previous high of 172). Patuxent River had three (6^th occurrence) and Jug Bay had one (4^th occurrence). High counts of Double-crested Cormorants in MD were Annapolis-Gibson Island (2228), Port Tobacco (1734), Jug Bay (263), Point Lookout (177), Ocean City (116), and Chesterville (9), while Seneca had a near high of 9 (HC=13). In DE Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had a high count of 162, but Middletown only had one (a low number though it has been missed in the past) and 24 was a little bit low on the Rehoboth count as well (HC is 600). Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 165 Great Blue Herons (HC) and Seaford-Nanticoke had six (LC). The Lower Kent County count had a well-described Great Egret. Bombay Hook had a Snowy Egret (8^th occurrence).

Vultures, Eagles, & Hawks

At Seneca 387 Black Vultures was a count high as was 97 at Bombay Hook. At Ocean City 259 Black Vultures is close to the high of 336, and 157 at Saint Michael’s is close to their high count of 195. Three at Sugarloaf Mountain was a low count. High Counts for Turkey Vulture were 684 at Saint Michaels, 482 at Seneca, 321 at Port Tobacco, 231 at Patuxent River. Nineteen was a low count on the Sugarloaf Mountain count. Annapolis-Gibson Island had two Ospreys (HC). Lower Kent county had an unprecedented number of Bald Eagles (185; HC). Seventy-seven at Jug Bay was a count high as was 50 at Bombay Hook, 48 at Milford, 44 on the Bowie count, 29 at Wilmington, and 27 at Triadelphia. Seneca had nine Northern Harriers (which is good but they have had 35). Triadelphia had eight Northern Harriers (they had 12 in count 74). Seneca also had 18 Cooper’s Hawks (close to HC of 19), Triadelphia had 12 (HC), and Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had eight (HC). Patuxent River had seveb Sharp-shinned Hawks (HC) while a count week designation represented a first ever count-day miss for the Sugarloaf Mountain count. Washington County had a Rough-legged Hawk (9^th occurrence), Port Tobacco had one (7^th occurrence), and Oakland had two. Red-shouldered Hawks were counted at Annapolis-Gibson Island (50; HC), Middletown (8; HC) and 35 Red-shouldered Hawks is close to the high of 39 at Jug Bay. Thirteen Red-tailed Hawks at Seaford-Nanticoke and 36 at Sugarloaf Mountain were low counts. Jug Bay had their first Golden Eagle, but one at South Dorchester was not new for the count (47^th occurrence).

Falcons

Wilmington had only one Amercan Kestrel (LC) and Seaford-Nanticoke had two (LC). Sugarloaf Mountain had eight American Kestrels (close to the low of 6). On the Ocean City count, American Kestrels were a low count (12) but six Merlins is close to the high of seven. Seneca had one Merlin (20 occurrences) and a Peregrine Falcon (4th occurrence). Rock Run had three Merlins (HC) they also had two Peregrine Falcons. South Dorchester had their 13^th ever Peregrine Falcon, while Washington County had their first. Rehoboth had two Peregrine Falcons (HC) and Bombay Hook had four (HC).

Rails, Coots, and Cranes

At Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook, 25 Clapper Rails was close to the count high of 27. Milford had nine Clapper Rails and seven Virginia Rails (HC). The only Sora in the region was one at Crisfield. At Bombay Hook, 7039 American Coots was a count high. The count was an all-time low at Rehoboth (1). A Sandhill Crane was found on the Lower Kent County count, and there were two on the Bowie Count (4^th occurrence) and also on the Seneca Count (6^th occurrence and HC). Another was described satisfactorily to participants and compiler of the Jug Bay Count as seen by a local farmer for count week.

Gulls, Terns, and Shorebirds

Bombay Hook had a Black-necked Stilt for the 3^rd time. Annapolis-Gibson Island and Port Tobacco each had a Spotted Sandpiper. At Ocean City, 2950 Dunlin was close to the all-time high of 3195. They also had a single Red Knot on the count. Jug Bay had two Dunlin (10^th occurrence). Jug Bay had three Purple Sandpipers (5^th occurrence). Rehoboth had three Western Sandpipers (13^th occurrence). Milford had fiveLong-billed Dowitchers. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had three Black-headed Gulls (HC). Milford had 2534 Ring-billed Gulls (HC). Ocean City had a Laughing Gull (26^th occurrence) and Port Tobacco had two (9^th occurrence). On the Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook Count, 10,461 Herring Gulls was a count high. They also had high counts of three Iceland Gulls and 64 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Five Iceland Gulls was not even a count high for Wilmington. They also had 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Eleven Herring Gulls on the Bowie count is on the low side (but the species has been missed). Rehoboth had a count high of 1048 Great Black-backed Gulls and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Patuxent River had their 3^rd Forster’s Tern.

Alcids to Owls

Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had a high count of six Razorbills. A Barn Owl on the Triadelphia count was a very nice find. At Port Tobacco, 13 Eastern Screech-Owls was close to the all-time high of 14; Chesterville’s all-time low count was nine, and there was only one on the Sugarloaf Count and one on Seaford Nanticoke was a low count. Seaford-Nanticoke had only one Great-horned Owl (LC) and four was a low on the Chesterville count. At Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook 46 was close to the high of 48. Snowy Owls were at Ocean City (1), Chesterville (1), Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook (4; HC), Rehoboth (3; HC), Wilmington (2; HC), Bombay Hook (1), Milford (2; HC). One Barred Owl on the Sugarloaf Mountain count was a low count. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had two Long-eared Owls (10^th occurrence), two Short-eared Owls, and a Northern Saw-whet Owl (8^th occurrence). Bombay Hook had a Long-eared Owl and five Short-eared Owls. Patuxent River had two Short-eared Owls (HC; 7^th occurrence) and Saint Michael’s had one (2^nd occurrence).

Hummingbirds to Kingfishers

Annapolis-Gibson Island had a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at Dan Haas’ house and a Rufous Hummingbird. Jug Bay had a Rufous as well at Jim Stasz’s house in North Beach. Chesterville had a low count of four Belted Kingfishers. On the Port Tobacco count, 20 was close to the high of 23 and at Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook 24, was close to the high of 27. Bombay Hook’s count of 26 is close to the high of 28 from last year. Seventeen was a high count on the Milford Count, and four kingfishers was the low count number on both Seaford-Nanticoke and Chesterville.

Woodpeckers

Bombay Hook had a Red-headed Woodpecker (US). Oakland had a Red-headed Woodpecker and a high count of 17 Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Sugarloaf Mountain’s count of 81 Red-bellied Woodpeckers was a low count. They also recorded low counts of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (14), Downy Woodpecker (84), Hairy Woodpecker (12), and Northern Flicker (66). Seaford-Nanticoke had low counts of Downy Woodpecker (17) and Yellow-shafted Flicker (14). Woodpecker high counts on the Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook count were Red-bellied (45), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (5), and Downy Woodpeckers (72 close to high count of 75). Annapolis-Gibson Island had 67 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (HC). Patuxent River had a low count of two Hairy Woodpeckers. Six CBCs had high counts for Pileated Woodpecker. Annapolis-Gibson Island had 46, Crisfield had 24, Milford had 20, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 14, Elkton had 12, Oakland had 10. At Saint Michaels, 17 was close to the HC of 19 Pileated Woodpeckers but at Sugarloaf Mountain 25 was very close to the low count of 24.

Flycatchers & Shrike

There are only two species of flycatchers to mention in this section (several Eastern Phoebes and one Western Kingbird). Seaford-Nanticoke had one (LC) Eastern Phoebe. Only one phoebe at Chesterville seems low but the species has been missed. Bowie had 14 (HC), and Lower Kent County had eight (HC), and Milford had five (HC). The Western Kingbird was found on the Ocean City Count. Bombay Hook had a Loggerhead Shrike and Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had one during count week.

Corvids

Chesterville had a low count of 147 Blue Jays and Seaford-Nanticoke’s low was 30. Sugarloaf Mountain had a low count of 775 American Crows while 421 was a low for Oakland, and Catoctin Mountain’s low was 137 (it was actually missed once but occurs on 64/65 counts). Seaford-Nanticoke had a low of 53 American Crows. Seneca had a high count of Fish Crows (698) and Middletown’s high count was 563.

Triadelphia had a high count of Common Ravens (6; 5th occurrence).

Horned Lark

Lower Kent County had a high count of 607 Horned Larks and Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 444 (HC). One of only two high counts for Seaford-Nanticoke was 355 Horned Larks.

Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches, & Creepers

Seaford-Nanticoke had a low count of 30 Carolina Chickadees. Their Tufted Titmouse count (36) was also an all-time low. Chesterville had a low count of 112 Tufted Titmice. Lower Kent County’s count wasn’t an all-time high but 184 was close to the high of 191. Sugarloaf Mountain had 162 (LC), and 64 White-breasted Nuthatches (LC). At Ocean City, one Red-breasted Nuthatch was low (it has been missed a few times though so it is not that unusual to miss it). Bombay Hook had 30 Brown Creepers (HC). Chesterville had a Brown Creeper high count of 23. Sugarloaf Mountain had seven Brown Creepers for a low count. Oakland’s two Brown Creepers is a low number but they have had as few as one and missed it altogether once. Washington County and Seaford-Nanticoke each had a low of two Brown Creepers.

Wrens

Oakland had 17 Carolina Wrens (HC).Milford had two House Wrens (HC), and 18 Winter Wrens (HC). A total of 15 Sedge Wrens were found on 7 / 30 counts and 60 Marsh Wrens on 9 / 30 counts across both states.

Kinglets

Seneca had a very high count of Golden-crowned Kinglets (372). Chesterville had a Golden-crowned Kinglet high count of 76. At Denton 83 is one less than the high of 84 and at Washington County, 74 was close to the high of 76. Milford had 73 Golden-crowned Kinglets (HC). Sugarloaf had three Ruby-crowned Kinglets (LC).

Thrushes

Washington County had 302 Eastern Bluebirds (HC) and Seaford-Nanticoke had 24 (LC). Annapolis-Gibson Island had 8202 American Robins (HC) and 192 Hermit Thrushes (HC). Chesterville had a low count of seven Hermit Thrushes. On Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook 42 was close to count high of 43.

Mimids

Nineteen MD Counts and five DE Counts had Gray Catbirds. Chesterville had six Gray Catbirds (HC) and Washington County had one (10th occurrence). Denton had one and on this count it has been missed six times over the 26 total runs of the count. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 135 Northern Mockingbirds for a high count and Seaford-Nanticoke had 21 for a low count. Elkton had four Brown Thrashers (HC).

Starlings and Pipits

Patuxent River had a low of 128 European Starlings.  Lower Kent County had 405 and Elkton had 47 American Pipits (both HC), while Oakland had one (only their 2nd occurrence).

Warblers & Tanager

Sugarloaf Mountain had three Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers (LC). Denton had an Orange-crowned Warbler (US). South Dorchester had an Orange-crowned Warbler (8^th occurrence). They also had nine Pine Warblers (46^th occurrence). Salisbury had four Pine warblers (44 occurrences). Triadelphia had eight Palm Warblers (HC). South Dorchester had two Common Yellowthroats (43^rd occurrence). Saint Michaels had a Common Yellowthroat (6th occurrence) and Sugarloaf Mountain had one (7th occurrence). Annapolis-Gibson Island had a Yellow-breasted Chat (10th occurrence). Ocean City had two Orange-crowned Warblers (37^th occurrence) and a Western Tanager (new for the count).

Sparrows & Towhees

Allegany County and Washington County each had three Eastern Towhees (HC). Sugarloaf Mountain had only four American Tree Sparrows (LC) and 20 Field Sparrows (both were LC). Seneca had only one American Tree Sparrow. Milford had 131 Field Sparrows (HC). Point Lookout had 70 Chipping Sparrows, Bowie had 57, Port Tobacco had 43, and Wilmington had 38 (all HC). At Rehoboth, 194 Chipping Sparrows was close to their all-time high of 198. Crisfield had a low count of three Field Sparrows. Seneca had 27 Chipping Sparrows, which is near their HC of 30. Oakland had six Swamp Sparrows (HC). Seaford-Nanticoke had 22 Fox Sparrows (HC). Denton had a Lincoln’s Sparrow. Ocean City had one Clay-colored Sparrow and two Grasshopper Sparrows. Also at Ocean City one White-crowned Sparrow is a low count but it has been missed a number of times. They also had three Saltmarsh, one Nelson’s, and two Sharp-tailed sparrow sp. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had four Ipswich Sparrows, two Nelson’s, and one Saltmarsh Sparrow. At Denton, 1180 Slate-colored Juncos was close to their all-time high of 1191; Milford had 648 (HC).

Longspurs, Cardinal, Buntings, Dickcissel

Washington County had 10 Lapland Longspurs (HC) and Chesterville had one. Lower Kent County had a Snow Bunting (16th occurrence). Ocean City only had Snow Buntings for count week. Allegany County had only 45 Northern Cardinals (LC) and Sugarloaf Mountain had 368 (LC). Jug Bay had a Painted Bunting. Elkton had a Dickcissel that stuck around for a while at Sean McCandless’ house.

Blackbirds & Orioles

St. Michaels had only three Eastern Meadowlarks (LC). Ocean City had a Yellow-headed Blackbird. Cape Henlopen had two Baltimore Orioles (HC). Crisfield had 263 Rusty Blackbirds (HC) and Milford had 60 (HC). At the Oakland Count, two Rusty Blackbirds were interesting.

Finches

Sugarloaf Mountain had 92 House Finches (LC), and 101 American Goldfinches (LC). Chesterville had 51 American Goldfinches and Allegany had only 11 (both LCs).

Seaford-Nanticoke’s House Finch (5) and American Goldfinch (28) counts were both all-time lows. Annapolis-Gibson Island had five Pine Siskins, Oakland had two, and Washington County had one.

House Sparrow

Seaford-Nanticoke had only 19 (LC), Allegany County had only18 House Sparrows (LC), while 130 was the all-time low count for Sugarloaf Mountain.