Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
| Trip leader and recorder: Kurt Schwarz | Date of trip: January 4, 2025 |
| Location: Blackwater NWR and others (see details) | Number attending: 3 |
Details: Our first stop was Long Wharf Park in Cambridge. The nest stop was Oakley Street in Cambridge. We drove to Blackwater via Egypt Road. After driving the Wildlife Loop, we stopped at the visitor center. We then drove southwest to Hooper’s Islands. Our final stop was the Harriet Tubman Museum, where we took a quick tour. It was mostly sunny, but the temperature was 30-35 degrees with northwest wind of 10-20, gusting to 30 and above, making for a substantial wind chill. This was reflected also by the low diversity and numbers. One surprise was the large number (14) of Great Egrets at Blackwater. The White Pelicans were, as usual, very distant and hard to count. Duck numbers at Oakley Street were way below past years. Chipping Sparrows at the start of the Wildlife Loop at Blackwater were a nice surprise. We had visited all planned locales by 11:00, so we were able to visit the Harriet Tubman Museum, and head home early. High winds did not bode well for Short-eared Owls.
eBird reports with bird photos:Cambridge—Long Wharf Park, Cambridge—Oakley St-Belevedere Ave, Talbot side of Choptank, Egypt Road, Blackwater NWR—Wildlife Drive, Tylers Cove Boat Ramp, Hooper’s Island Bridge, Middle Hooper’s Island, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad NHP. |
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Snow Goose 2000
Canada Goose 507
Gadwall 1
American Wigeon 26
Mallard 175
Northern Pintail 1
Canvasback 9
Lesser Scaup 21
Surf Scoter 10
Bufflehead 51
Ruddy Duck 8
Ring-billed Gull 39
American Herring Gul 13
Horned Grebe 1
Common Loon 1
Great Egret 14
Great Blue Heron 8
American White Pelican 24
Turkey Vulture 5
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Northern Harrier 1
Bald Eagle 10
American Crow 4
European Starling 76
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Goldfinch 1
Chipping Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco 4
Savannah Sparrow 11
Song Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 2