The art of waiting and that damn Somerset County Snowy Owl -- January 11, 2014

One of the actions that a birder with a full time job must fine tune is the art of waiting. There was a time before the internet when birders in Maryland would wait anxiously for the Voice of the Naturalist recording to be posted at a certain telephone number. This recording would list all the bird rarities that had been found in Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland from the previous week with any pertinent details.  I remember sitting with a pen and paper feverishly scribbling down notes on all the birds that I wanted to chase. Invariably, I would have to call at least twice to make sure I was able to get down all the details that I needed. Long distance rates be damned, I needed that info. The problem with the Voice of the Naturalist was it was posted every Tuesday at noon. Because I worked I would have to wait three and half days before I was able to do any chasing. Those three and a half days could be agonizing. Today, getting details on rare birds is done in real time. Text messages and bird list-serves on the internet allow anyone interested in chasing a bird to do so almost immediately. Even though technology has increased our ability to share bird sightings, those birders with full time jobs still have to wait for the weekend to chase.

I got the text message from Jim Stasz about the Somerset County Snowy Owl on Thursday at 7:36am just as I was pulling into work. Jim had found the owl sitting on a post at the boat ramp at the end of Rumbly Point Road. At 10:09am (I'm still at work) Mike Burchett texted that the Snowy Owl was still present but it had flown off the post at the boat ramp and was now sitting in the marsh and was easily viewed from the boat ramp parking area. At 3:02pm (I'm still at work) Ron Gutberlet texted that the Snowy Owl had moved farther out into the marsh but was still viewable. At 4:17pm (I'm driving home from work) Mike Walsh texted that the Snowy Owl had flown from the marsh to a tall dead tree with a Y-shaped snag near a cedar about 150-200 yards WNW of the boat ramp parking area. Friday afternoon while I am at work it is reported on the MD Birding google group that Sam Dyke had observed the Somerset County Snowy Owl that morning.  Friday evening I get a phone call from my friend Tom Feild who wants to chase the owl on Saturday. I'm all in.

I knew we were in trouble when Tom and I pulled off of Route 13 onto Crisfield Road and visibility was about ten feet. The fog was thick and did not seem to be dissipating. Rumbly Point Road is located in southern Somerset County southeast of Crisfield.  After  meandering through wet Loblolly Pine woods the road turns to dirt as it enters a large salt marsh before ending at a primitive boat ramp at the edge of Pocomoke Sound.  As we entered the salt marsh that foggy Saturday morning I questioned why I had gotten up at 5am and driven 1.5 hours just to stare at a landscape completely hidden in a haze of swirly white cloud. Even if the owl was present we wouldn't be able to see it. We drove through the marsh hoping that maybe we would get lucky.

Long-billed Dowitchers and a Greater Yellowlegs, Rumbly Point Rd, Somerset County, MD

What Tom and I didn't expect was the large numbers of shorebirds feeding in the open puddles in the marsh. Luckily, many of these puddles were close to the road and the fog seemed to give the birds more courage causing them not to fly as the car approached. Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, Dunlin, and Long-billed Dowitchers were observed during our drive toward the boat ramp.

As soon as we arrived at the end of the road we knew that there wasn't going to be a chance at seeing the owl so Tom and I decided to drive to Crisfield and wait for the fog to lift. I was able to photograph a Belted Kingfisher that was resting on a telephone wire a few miles north of the marsh.

Belted Kingfisher, Somerset County, MD

Tom and I spent about an hour checking the Crisfield waterfront without finding much of interest. The fog had lifted so we headed back to Rumbly Point Road hoping that the fog had blown off there as well. It hadn't. Once again we drove through the marsh only to find everything completely shrouded in mist.

Dunlin, Rumbly Point Rd, Somerset County, MD

I didn't want to spend the entire day straining through fog so I suggested we head to Assateague Island to see if we could find the Clay-colored Sparrow that had been hanging out in one of the island's campgrounds. With the decision made we headed for the coast. Along the way I stopped to photograph a clump of Chinese Silvergrass that was growing along the roadside. Chinese Silvergrass in a non-native species that has escaped ornamental cultivation and has become established in many areas.

Chinese Silvergrass, Cornstack Rd, Somerset County, MD

Once we arrived on Assateague, Tom and I went immediately to the campground where the Clay-colored Sparrow had been seen. An Assateague pony was waiting for us as we pulled into the campground.

Feral Horse, Assateague Island, Worcester County, MD

We soon found the large sparrow flock feeding along the roadside. A Chipping Sparrow along with two Fox Sparrows, Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers, a Brown Thrasher and a surprise American Woodcock were all feeding together in the short grass of a campsite. Tom soon spotted the Clay-colored Sparrow which blended in surprisingly well with dull yellowish grass. My efforts to photograph the sparrow were not very successful but fortunately good enough for documentation.  Clay-colored Sparrows are rare annual vagrants in Maryland, typically during the cooler months.

Clay-colored Sparrow, Assateague Island, Worcester County, MD

After making sure we had seen all the birds in the campground Tom and I decided to take a quick walk through one of the island's Loblolly Pine woods to tick a few plants.

Northern Bayberry, Assateague Island, Worcester County, MD

Eastern Pricklypear Cactus, Assateague Island, Worcester County, MD

It was 2:30pm when we left the island. With only 2.5 hours of daylight left Tom and I had to make a plan for the rest the day. It didn't take long to make the decision to head back to Rumbly Point for one more chance at seeing the Snowy Owl.  During the drive we were heartened to see that most of the fog had lifted. When we arrived in the marshes we quickly drove down to the boat ramp. Unfortunately, there was no owl to be seen. Tom scoped the marsh while I took photos of the molluscs growing near the dock.

Tom Feild, Rumbly Point Rd, Somerset County, MD

Atlantic Ribbed Mussels and Eastern Oysters were very prevalent around the boat ramp.

Atlantic Ribbed Mussel, Rumbly Point Rd, Somerset County, MD

Eastern Oyster, Rumbly Point Rd, Somerset County, MD

Tom and I searched for the Snowy Owl for the next half hour. Scouring the marsh we saw Northern Harriers hunting across the needlerush and the occasional fly by Boat-tailed Grackle. Greater Yellowlegs called from the puddles and before long the fog began to roll in off the sound. We had one more stop to make before ending the day and it was way up in Kent County 2.5 hours north.

Rumbly Point, Somerset County, MD