field_report from "Ocean City" on 02/07/2004 - 13:00

Over a week of truly miserable weather ended just in time for the group to enjoy plenty of bright sunshine on DC Audubon’s annual trek to Ocean City and Delaware coastal points. The Atlantic was wild and windswept at the Ocean City jetty, our first stop, where we had great views of a pair of first-year Common Eiders and the closest views of Surf Scoter I can remember. Black Scoter were also present and there may have been some very distant White-winged Scoter as well, but sea spray made definitive identification impossible. Both Common and Red-throated Loons fed actively in the huge rollers, providing good opportunities for comparison. Amazingly, Purple Sandpipers foraged as usual amid the rocks despite waves which crested nearly on top of them. Nearby, equally oblivious, two small Bufflehead dove for fish. At the west (motel) end of the jetty we scoped a Great Cormorant characteristically perched atop a piling while, below, a flock of forty or fifty Ruddy Turnstones huddled on the walkway of the same pier—seemingly a less characteristic behavior. A few Lesser Scaup took advantage of the quieter water to snooze. A group of us, chilled by the wind, took a short French fries break near the boardwalk—this is Ocean City after all—and as a non-caloric bonus got a glimpse of a Peregrine Falcon chasing the resident Rock Pigeons: another proof that when it comes to taste (ours or his) there can be no argument.

From there, it was on to Indian River inlet, where we finally caught up with two northern Ocean specialties we were hoping for: Long-tailed Duck and Harlequin Duck swam alongside the scoters, seeming right at home in the freezing waters. The Harlequin, our North American “torrent duck,” can actually walk along the bottom like a dipper. As we watched these birds from the jetty rocks, Purple Sandpipers fed together with Ruddy Turnstones practically at our feet, while the tide poured out to sea with awesome velocity. Four or five Great Cormorants sat together on the piling just at the end of the near jetty, and a flock of 20 or 30 Brant flew low just beyond the inlet, much closer to the beach than one normally sees them.

On the road to Silver Lake in Rehobeth, we watched a Kestrel dive into the median to capture prey—most likely a hapless rodent. When we arrived at the lake, ducks were in abundance, including Canvasback, Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup, Black Duck, Northern Shoveler and Red-breasted Merganser. We got even closer looks at Brant: two stood on a nearby chunk of ice amidst a group of Canada Geese; whether it was warmer or colder there than in the water is hard to say. From time to time, the pair appeared to nibble at the ice—were they taking small seeds, frozen insects, road salt, or was this some sort of bird to bird communication? We didn’t have a ready explanation for this behavior.

Our visit to Cape Henlopen park was marked by ever-increasing windiness, making it difficult to add very many land birds to our list. We did find a large group of Bonaparte’s Gulls bobbing in the waves, however, while Sanderlings fed at the water’s edge. The highlight was a large flock of Snow Geese over Delaware Bay, making valiant progress against the strong northwest wind, led by a small flock of Northern Pintail. We also added Brown-headed Nuthatch courtesy of the Visitor Center feeders. A few birds were added enroute, including several flights of Tundra Swans, two Mute Swans near the Bay Bridge, a Red-tailed Hawk or two, and one Bald Eagle. We ended with a total of 50 species, a good start toward our 200-bird goal for 2004. Thanks to all participants for their sharp-eyed contributions to the list which follows.