Getting Started: January 1st, 2014

Assateague dawn -- Worcester County, MD

Bill Hubick and I stood on the beach on Assateague Island as the sun rose on January 1st. Thinking ahead, I had volunteered as designated driver for the festivities of the previous night. Unfortunately it is hard to get revelers to bed at a reasonable hour on New Years Eve so I was only able to grab two hours of sleep. We had decided that we would start 2014 on Assateague Island where on the previous day a couple of Snowy Owls had been observed. I wanted to start my bold endeavor with a sighting of one of the most iconic of all birds.  Despite much searching and scanning of sand dunes no Snowy Owls were observed on Assateague on January 1st.  Scribbling furiously in my notebook and not taking enough photos we left the island with 26 species of plants and 31 species of birds all in the first 30 minutes of daylight.

Woolly Beach Heather on Assateague Island.

During the Ocean City, MD Christmas Bird Count on 12/28/13 Jen Elmer and her father Bob found a Western Tanager along the entrance road to a golf course near Berlin. Western Tanagers are typically found in western North America and any sighting on the east coast is very special. Luckily, the tanager was feeding in a Bradford Pear when we arrived and Bill and I were both able to get photos of the rarity.

Western Tanager -- Berlin, MD (Photo by Bill Hubick).

Common birds and plants were being ticked as we went to try for our next bird, a lingering Grasshopper Sparrow. The Grasshopper Sparrow is a regular breeder in many parts of Maryland. Since they migrate south for the winter finding one during the cooler months is very rare. George Armistead had found two Grasshopper Sparrows during the Ocean City Christmas Bird Count in a weedy field next to the Home Depot in West Ocean City. Scott Housten a local Ocean City birder had observed one of the birds the day before so Bill and I felt good about our chances. When we got to the field we were amazed at how many sparrows were present. Field, Song, Swamp, Savannah, and Chipping Sparrows were all observed. Lucky for us we were soon joined by Scott Housten who showed us where he had observed the bird and within a couple minutes we were looking at one of the Grasshopper Sparrows.

Grasshopper Sparrow -- West Ocean City, MD.

There was one more bird rarity to try for before we left the coast. A Western Kingbird, originally found by Winger West on the the Ocean City Christmas Count, was still being sporadically seen in east Berlin. Arriving at the location no kingbird was found so we moved on to look for waterfowl at one of the premier duck locations in coastal Maryland, the Bayside Development Pond. While Bill and I were pulling in to Bayside Development we got a call from Scott Housten informing us he was looking at the Western Kingbird. A quick turn around and five minutes later we were all looking at the bird.

Western Kingbird -- Berlin, MD.

Western Kingbirds are almost annual in Maryland but they are notorious for being sporadic and an easy miss. We were lucky to have scored one on the first day of the new year.  A quick stop at Bayside Development Pond yielded almost 50 Redhead and other waterfowl like Gadwall, Hooded Mergansers, Lesser Scaup, and American Wigeon. At the Ocean City Inlet our search snagged us four Harlequin Ducks but no eiders or Purple Sandpipers.

Harlequin Ducks -- Ocean City Inlet, MD (Photo by Bill Hubick).

With most of the day spent on the coast we decided that we would spend dusk in the marshes of Dorchester County looking for Short-eared Owls. With a quick stop for plants along Chicone Creek we were able to tick our first lichen and fungi species of the day, Trypethelium virens and Crowded Parchment (Stereum complicatum).

The lichen Trypethelium virens -- Chicone Creek, MD.

The fungus Crowded Parchment (Stereum complicatum) -- Chincone Creek, MD.

With dusk approaching Bill and I made our way to the Bespitch marshes where we had observed hunting Short-eared Owls a few days before. While we stood on a deserted road Virginia Rails called from the Black Needlerush and blackbird flocks flew east heading towards their night roost near Vienna. Bill soon picked out a Short-eared Owl hunting over the marsh. We watched the bird until it landed on a post and posed for a very blurry but identifiable photo.

Bespitch dusk -- Dorcehster County, MD.