The 125th Christmas Bird Count in Maryland and Delaware

Low count temperatures averaged close to 29 degrees F º (minimum low of 14 F º at both Chesterville and Elkton and maximum low of 53 at South Dorchester). Middleton also had very low minimum temperature of 16 F º. Average high temps were just less than 43 degrees F º (minimum high of 25 at Elkton and maximum high of 69 F º at Crisfield with Sugarloaf Mountain at close second place with 67 F º). Highlights included a Spotted Sandpiper at Wilmington, and a Loggerhead Shrike that was found before, during, and after the Denton Count. It was found on Ninetown Rd, Ridgely, MD. Bands on both legs indicated that it was a released bird from Canada. It was seen by multiple observers after the count and based on the leg bands, was identified again at Manassas National Battlefield in Virginia at the end of March, 2025. Denton also hosted a couple of Clay-colored Sparrows at Tuckahoe State Park headquarters. Interesting Warblers included Black-and-White Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler and Wilsons’s Warbler.

WATERFOWL

Lower Kent County had a Ross’s Goose 1 and South Dorchester had one for count week. Ocean City had 3 Greater White-fronted Geese. Sugarloaf Mountain had a Greater White-fronted Goose (4th occurrence). Bombay hook had a Greater White-fronted Goose for count week. Lower Kent County had 25 Cackling Geese. Annapolis-Gibson Island and Rock Run each had 2 Cackling Geese. Sugarloaf Mountain had 5, Seneca (5^th occurrence) and Point Lookout each had 2, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook, Patuxent River and Saint Michael’s each had 1 and Oakland had one for count week. On the Patuxent River Count, 901 Canada Geese was an all-time low (lc). Seneca had 7 Trumpeter Swans (hc; 1^st occurrence). Seaford-Nanticoke had 3,500, Crisfield had a high of 2,391, and Milford had 1,363 Tundra Swans (all hc).

Rehoboth had 17 Blue-winged Teal (hc). Middle River had 802 and Loch Raven had 135 Gadwall (both hc). Seaford-Nanticoke had 161 (hc) and Loch Raven had a low count of 4 American Black Ducks (lc). Denton had only 48 Mallards (lc) which was their lowest in the history of their 37 counts. Triadelphia had a high of 125 (hc) and Loch Raven had a high of 76 Green-winged Teal (hc).

Middle River had 185 Canvasback (hc). Triadelphia had 11 and Middle River had 6 Redhead (hc for both counts). Salisbury had 700 (hc), Rehoboth had 105 (hc), and Crisfield had 35 Ring-necked Ducks (hc). At Milford, 48 Ring-necked Ducks seemed on the low side (but has been missed once in their 23 counts). Rehoboth had 3 (hc) and Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had a single Harlequin Duck (us). Bombay Hook had 84 Surf Scoters (hc). Milford had 28 (hc) and Patuxent River had only 9 Long-tailed Ducks (lc). Patuxent River also had a low of 157 Bufflehead (lc). Milford’s 319 Bufflehead was a high count (hc). Loch Raven had 291, Crisfield had 192, St. Michaels had 86, and Washington County had 19 Hooded Mergansers (all hc). Seneca had 127 and Middle River had 106 Common Merganser (both hc). Middle River had 362 Red-Breasted Mergansers and Seneca had 6 (hc for both). On the Patuxent River Count, 1 Red-breasted Merganser was a low but it has been missed altogether 3 times. Seaford-Nanticoke had 425 Ruddy Ducks (hc). Washington County had a high count of 5 Ruddy Ducks and Catoctin Mountain also had one (their 4^th). The Ruddy Ducks in the higher elevations are slightly less commonly encountered on these December counts. Patuxent River had a low of 18 Ruddy Ducks (lc).

TURKEYS – GREBES – DOVES, HUMMINGBIRDS, RAILS & CRANES

Seaford Nanticoke had a Ring-necked Pheasant (presumed escapee; 1^st occurrence). Chesterville had 67 Wild Turkeys (hc). Middle River had 29 (hc), Sugarloaf Mountain had 23 (hc) and Washington County had 7 (hc) Pied-billed Grebes. Oakland had a high count of 193 (hc) and Sugarloaf Mountain had a low count of 114 Rock Pigeons (lc). Ocean City had 3 (hc) and both Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook and Rehoboth had 2 (hc) Ruby-throated Humminbgirds.

Loch Raven had a high of 1,378 American Coots (hc). Middletown had 31 (hc; 8^th occurrence), Middle River had 9, Bombay Hook had 5 (hc; 6^th occurrence), Seneca had 4, Triadelphia had 2 (us) Sandhill Cranes.

SHOREBIRDS & GULLS

Milford had 330 (hc) and Bombay Hook had 56 Black-bellied Plovers (hc). Jug Bay had a Semipalmated Plover for count week. Ocean City had a Marbled Godwit. Crisfield had 1,347 (hc), and Jug Bay had 10 (hc) Dunlin. Middle River had 4 Least Sandpipers. St. Michael’s had a Least Sandpiper and a Western Sandpiper for Count Week. Wilmington had a Spotted Sandpiper (us; 1^st occurrence). Five Delaware counts had Greater Yellowlegs including Bombay Hook with a count high of 115 and 5 at Seaford-Nanticoke (both hc). Six Maryland counts had Greater Yellowlegs including 2 at Jug Bay and 1 at Bowie (representing the only encounters for the species on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay). Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 2 Willets (us).

St. Michals had a Laughing Gull (cw). Milford had 2,162 American Herring Gulls (hc). At Middle River 121 was a low (lc) and at Rock Run 32 was the lowest in all of their 61 counts (lc). Wilmington and Jug Bay each had an Iceland Gull. Seaford-Nanticoke had 250, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 173 (hc), and Rehoboth had 38 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (hc). Ocean City had 7, Wilmington had 6, Milford had 5, and Jug Bay had 2, and Elkton had 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook and Wilmington both had a Glaucous Gull (us). Middle River had a low of 15 Great Black-backed Gulls (lc).

LOONS GREBES & CORMORANTS

Rehoboth had 576 Red-throated Loons (hc). Lower Kent County had a Great Cormorant (their 13^th) and Bombay Hook had their 4^th. Middle River had 838, Salisbury had 296, Rock Run had 226, Loch Raven had 65, and Bombay Hook had 45 Double-crested Cormorants (all were hc). Crisfield had their first occurrence of Brown Pelican (us).

HERONS, EGRETS & NEW WORLD VULTURES

Sixty-eight at Middle River and 25 Great Blue Herons at Loch Raven was the highest so far for each count (hc). Crisfield (which has some of the best marsh habitat for Bitterns) was the only count that had an American Bittern (count week only). Three Delaware and four Maryland counts had Great Egrets Chesterville had their 3^rd ever (us; 3^rd occurrence). Milford had 8 Black-crowned Night Herons (hc). Rehoboth had 6 White Ibis (us, 1^st occurrence) and Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 3 (us). Sugarloaf Mountain had 333 Black Vultures (hc) and 494 Turkey Vultures (hc). Allegany County had 66 Turkey Vultures (hc).

HAWKS & EAGLES

Point Lookout had an Osprey (us; second occurrence). Oakland tallied 6 Golden Eagles (us). Middle River had 11 Northern Harriers (hc). Patuxent River had only one Northern Harrier (low number but the species has been missed up to 4 times). Sugarloaf Mountain had 14 Cooper’s Hawks (hc). Bombay Hook had 93 (hc), Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 81 (hc), and Sugarloaf Mountain had 30 (very near their hc of 31 from last year).

Jug Bay had 47, Rock Run had 38, Catoctin had 35, Chesterville and Lower Kent both had 32, and Middletown had 22 Red-shouldered Hawks (all hc). Two Red-shouldered Hawks at Patuxent River was a low (lc). Oakland had the only Rough-legged Hawk in the region.

OWLS, KINGFISHER, WOODPECKERS, FALCONS

Crisfield had 47 and Triadelphia had 14 Eastern Screech Owls (hc). Triadelphia had 4 Short-eared Owls (hc). Four Delaware Counts and Two Maryland Counts (Lower Kent and Ocean City) had Northern Saw-whet Owls on count day (Jug Bay had one for count week). Bombay Hook, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook, and Middletown each had 2 Northern Saw-whet Owls, and Rehoboth had one.

Loch Raven had 35 (hc), and Middle River had 28 (hc) Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. High counts of Red-bellied Woodpeckers were noted on the Crisfield (98), Lower Kent County (31) counts (both hc). Patuxent River had 23 for a low count (lc). Chesterville and Patuxent River had a low counts for Hairy Woodpecker (11 at Chesterville and 1 at Patuxent River). Wilmington had 50 (hc) and Bombay Hook had 14 Pileated Woodpeckers (hc).

South Dorchester had only 1 American Kestrel (lc; may have been missed only once in their history). All 6 Delaware counts and 20 Maryland counts encountered Merlins on count day. Milford and Rehoboth had 3 while Bombay Hook, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook, Middletown and Seaford-Nanticoke each had 2. Bowie, Chesterville, Ocean City and Salisbury each had 5 Merlins (hc), Loch Raven and Seneca both had 4 (hc), Crisfield and South Dorchester each had 3 (hc), Catoctin, Lower Kent County, Point Lookout, Port Tobacco, Rock Run, St. Michaels, and Triadelphia each had 2, and Denton, Elkton, Middle River, Sugarloaf Mountain and Washington County each had 1. Allegany had one for count week.

FLYCATCHERS, VIREOS, CORVIDS

Denton had a Loggerhead Shrike (us) that stayed for a couple of weeks in December of 2024 (see note in the introduction above). Crisfield had 2 Blue-headed Vireos (15^th occurrence) and Middle River had 1 (us).

Middle River had 97 Blue Jays (lc). Triadelphia tallied 41 Common Ravens (hc) while Seneca had 28, Washington County had 17, and Jug Bay had 9 (all hc). Still considered somewhat unusual on some counts, Annapolis-Gibson Island had 2 (us) and Chesterville had 2 (us; new species for the count).

PARIDS, LARK, SWALLOWS, WRENS, KINGLETS, MIMIDS & THRUSHES

Outside of Western Maryland, Black-capped Chickadees included 2 at Rock Run (20^th occurrence), and 1 each at Elkton and Wilmington. Chesterville’s 80 Tufted Titmice was a low (lc). At Crisfield, 19 White-breasted Nuthatches was a high count (hc). Chesterville had 165 Horned Larks (hc; highest so far in their 18 counts). Triadelphia had 65 Winter Wrens (hc). Middle River had 64 Ruby-crowned Kinglets (hc) and Triadelphia had 44 (hc). Middle River had 61 Golden-crowned Kinglets (hc).

Lower Kent County had 299, Allegany had 133, and Middle River had 113 Eastern Bluebirds (all hc). Loch Raven had 73 and Catoctin had 26 Hermit Thrushes (both hc). Patuxent River had 5 Hermit Thrushes (lc). Milford and Seaford-Nanticoke both had low American Robin counts 83 for Milford and 42 for Seaford-Nanticoke (lc).

Patuxent River had only one Gray Catbird (lc) and only 1 Brown Thrasher (lc). For Lower Kent County, 31 Brown Thrashers was a high (hc). Chesterville had 188 and Loch Raven had 139 Northern Mockingbirds (both hc).

STARLINGS, WAXWINGS, HOUSE SPARROW, PIPITS, and FINCHES

Loch Raven had a low of 475 European Starlings (lc). Patuxent River had a high count of 5 Purple Finches (hc). Loch Raven, Seneca and Washington County each had a Pine Siskin (the only reports). St. Michaels reported a Red-Crossbill (us) but provided no details. Bombay Hook had 5 and South Dorchester had 3 Lapland Longspurs. Bombay Hook had 2 and Middle River had a single Snow Bunting. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 88 and Ocean City had 60 Snow Buntings.

SPARROWS

Loch Raven had 71 Chipping Sparrows (hc) and 16 American Tree Sparrows (hc). Denton had 2 and Ocean City had 1 (their 12^th) Clay-colored Sparrows (us). Patuxent River had a low of only 1 Fox Sparrow (lc). Seaford-Nanticoke had 171 (lc) and Patuxent River had 144 Slate-colored Juncos (lc). Patuxent River and South Dorchester had low counts of 163 (Patuxent River) and 118 (South Dorchester) White-throated Sparrows. For Patuxent River these were all-time lows (lc) but South Dorchester had only 71 on count 121 (representing their all-time lc). Seneca had a Vesper Sparrow (their 18^th). Jug Bay had 143 Savannah Sparrows (hc). Triadelphia had their 11^th and Chesterville had their 5^th,and Oakland had their first Lincoln’s Sparrow (us). Chesterville had 471 and Loch Raven had their highest (to date) 25 Swamp Sparrows (both hc). Denton had a low count of 2 Eastern Towhees (lc; lowest in their 37 counts).

BLACKBIRDS & ORIOLES

Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 2 Baltimore Orioles and both Ocean City and Wilmington (their 8^th) had 1. Middle River had a low of 8 Brown-headed Cowbirds (lc) and at Port Tobacco, a single Common Grackle was the lowest of all of their 45 counts (lc).

WARBLERS

Milford and Seaford-Nanticoke each had a Black-and-White Warbler (us). An Orange-crowned Warbler on the Annapolis-Gibson Island Count was their 11^th, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 5 (hc), Rehoboth had 4 (hc), Lower Kent County had 3 (hc) and Middle River and Seneca (their 5^th) each also had 1. The only Common Yellowthroats were 3 at Crisfield, 2 at Ocean City, 1 and Middletown, and 1 at Seneca (their 18^th). Seneca had a Black-throated Blue Warbler (us; their 5^th). At Bowie, 3 Palm Warblers was a high (hc). Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 15 Pine Warblers (hc), and 1,215 Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers (hc). Wilmington had a Wilson’s Warbler (us; their 3^rd).

TANAGERS, GROSBEAKS AND BUNTINGS

Loch Raven had a high of 526 (hc) and Middle River had a high of 343 Northern Cardinals (hc). Rehoboth had a Painted Bunting (their 4^th).