The 125th Christmas Bird Count in Maryland and Delaware

Low depend temperatures averaged near 29 levels F º (minimal low of 14 F º at each Chesterville and Elkton and most low of 53 at South Dorchester). Middleton additionally had very low minimal temperature of 16 F º. Common excessive temps had been simply lower than 43 levels F º (minimal excessive of 25 at Elkton and most excessive of 69 F º at Crisfield with Sugarloaf Mountain at shut second place with 67 F º). Highlights included a Noticed Sandpiper at Wilmington, and a Loggerhead Shrike that was discovered earlier than, throughout, and after the Denton Rely. It was discovered on Ninetown Rd, Ridgely, MD. Bands on each legs indicated that it was a launched chicken from Canada. It was seen by a number of observers after the depend and based mostly on the leg bands, was recognized once more at Manassas Nationwide Battlefield in Virginia on the finish of March, 2025. Denton additionally hosted a few Clay-colored Sparrows at Tuckahoe State Park headquarters. Attention-grabbing Warblers included Black-and-White Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler and Wilsons’s Warbler.

WATERFOWL

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

Rehoboth had 17 Blue-winged Teal (hc). Center River had 802 and Loch Raven had 135 Gadwall (each hc). Seaford-Nanticoke had 161 (hc) and Loch Raven had a low depend of 4 American Black Geese (lc). Denton had solely 48 Mallards (lc) which was their lowest within the historical past of their 37 counts. Triadelphia had a excessive of 125 (hc) and Loch Raven had a excessive of 76 Inexperienced-winged Teal (hc).

Center River had 185 Canvasback (hc). Triadelphia had 11 and Center River had 6 Redhead (hc for each counts). Salisbury had 700 (hc), Rehoboth had 105 (hc), and Crisfield had 35 Ring-necked Geese (hc). At Milford, 48 Ring-necked Geese appeared on the low aspect (however has been missed as soon as of 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 solely 9 Lengthy-tailed Geese (lc). Patuxent River additionally had a low of 157 Bufflehead (lc). Milford’s 319 Bufflehead was a excessive depend (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 Center River had 106 Frequent Merganser (each hc). Center River had 362 Purple-Breasted Mergansers and Seneca had 6 (hc for each). On the Patuxent River Rely, 1 Purple-breasted Merganser was a low but it surely has been missed altogether 3 occasions. Seaford-Nanticoke had 425 Ruddy Geese (hc). Washington County had a excessive depend of 5 Ruddy Geese and Catoctin Mountain additionally had one (their 4^th). The Ruddy Geese within the increased elevations are barely much less generally encountered on these December counts. Patuxent River had a low of 18 Ruddy Geese (lc).

TURKEYS – GREBES – DOVES, HUMMINGBIRDS, RAILS & CRANES

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

Loch Raven had a excessive of 1,378 American Coots (hc). Middletown had 31 (hc; 8^th incidence), Center River had 9, Bombay Hook had 5 (hc; 6^th incidence), 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 depend week. Ocean Metropolis had a Marbled Godwit. Crisfield had 1,347 (hc), and Jug Bay had 10 (hc) Dunlin. Center River had 4 Least Sandpipers. St. Michael’s had a Least Sandpiper and a Western Sandpiper for Rely Week. Wilmington had a Noticed Sandpiper (us; 1^st incidence). 5 Delaware counts had Larger Yellowlegs together with Bombay Hook with a depend excessive of 115 and 5 at Seaford-Nanticoke (each hc). Six Maryland counts had Larger Yellowlegs together with 2 at Jug Bay and 1 at Bowie (representing the one 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 Center River 121 was a low (lc) and at Rock Run 32 was the bottom in all of their 61 counts (lc). Wilmington and Jug Bay every 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 Metropolis 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 each had a Glaucous Gull (us). Center River had a low of 15 Nice Black-backed Gulls (lc).

LOONS GREBES & CORMORANTS

Rehoboth had 576 Purple-throated Loons (hc). Decrease Kent County had a Nice Cormorant (their 13^th) and Bombay Hook had their 4^th. Center River had 838, Salisbury had 296, Rock Run had 226, Loch Raven had 65, and Bombay Hook had 45 Double-crested Cormorants (all had been hc). Crisfield had their first incidence of Brown Pelican (us).

HERONS, EGRETS & NEW WORLD VULTURES

Sixty-eight at Center River and 25 Nice Blue Herons at Loch Raven was the very best to date for every depend (hc). Crisfield (which has a few of the greatest marsh habitat for Bitterns) was the one depend that had an American Bittern (depend week solely). Three Delaware and 4 Maryland counts had Nice Egrets Chesterville had their 3^rd ever (us; 3^rd incidence). Milford had 8 Black-crowned Night time Herons (hc). Rehoboth had 6 White Ibis (us, 1^st incidence) 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

Level Lookout had an Osprey (us; second incidence). Oakland tallied 6 Golden Eagles (us). Center River had 11 Northern Harriers (hc). Patuxent River had just one Northern Harrier (low quantity however the species has been missed as much as 4 occasions). 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 close to their hc of 31 from final 12 months).

Jug Bay had 47, Rock Run had 38, Catoctin had 35, Chesterville and Decrease Kent each had 32, and Middletown had 22 Purple-shouldered Hawks (all hc). Two Purple-shouldered Hawks at Patuxent River was a low (lc). Oakland had the one Tough-legged Hawk within the area.

OWLS, KINGFISHER, WOODPECKERS, FALCONS

Crisfield had 47 and Triadelphia had 14 Japanese Screech Owls (hc). Triadelphia had 4 Brief-eared Owls (hc). 4 Delaware Counts and Two Maryland Counts (Decrease Kent and Ocean Metropolis) had Northern Noticed-whet Owls on depend day (Jug Bay had one for depend week). Bombay Hook, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook, and Middletown every had 2 Northern Noticed-whet Owls, and Rehoboth had one.

Loch Raven had 35 (hc), and Center River had 28 (hc) Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Excessive counts of Purple-bellied Woodpeckers had been famous on the Crisfield (98), Decrease Kent County (31) counts (each hc). Patuxent River had 23 for a low depend (lc). Chesterville and Patuxent River had a low counts for Bushy Woodpecker (11 at Chesterville and 1 at Patuxent River). Wilmington had 50 (hc) and Bombay Hook had 14 Pileated Woodpeckers (hc).

South Dorchester had just one American Kestrel (lc; might have been missed solely as soon as of their historical past). All 6 Delaware counts and 20 Maryland counts encountered Merlins on depend day. Milford and Rehoboth had 3 whereas Bombay Hook, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook, Middletown and Seaford-Nanticoke every had 2. Bowie, Chesterville, Ocean Metropolis and Salisbury every had 5 Merlins (hc), Loch Raven and Seneca each had 4 (hc), Crisfield and South Dorchester every had 3 (hc), Catoctin, Decrease Kent County, Level Lookout, Port Tobacco, Rock Run, St. Michaels, and Triadelphia every had 2, and Denton, Elkton, Center River, Sugarloaf Mountain and Washington County every had 1. Allegany had one for depend week.

FLYCATCHERS, VIREOS, CORVIDS

Denton had a Loggerhead Shrike (us) that stayed for a few weeks in December of 2024 (see notice within the introduction above). Crisfield had 2 Blue-headed Vireos (15^th incidence) and Center River had 1 (us).

Center River had 97 Blue Jays (lc). Triadelphia tallied 41 Frequent Ravens (hc) whereas Seneca had 28, Washington County had 17, and Jug Bay had 9 (all hc). Nonetheless thought-about considerably uncommon on some counts, Annapolis-Gibson Island had 2 (us) and Chesterville had 2 (us; new species for the depend).

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

Outdoors of Western Maryland, Black-capped Chickadees included 2 at Rock Run (20^th incidence), and 1 every at Elkton and Wilmington. Chesterville’s 80 Tufted Titmice was a low (lc). At Crisfield, 19 White-breasted Nuthatches was a excessive depend (hc). Chesterville had 165 Horned Larks (hc; highest to date of their 18 counts). Triadelphia had 65 Winter Wrens (hc). Center River had 64 Ruby-crowned Kinglets (hc) and Triadelphia had 44 (hc). Center River had 61 Golden-crowned Kinglets (hc).

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

Patuxent River had just one Grey Catbird (lc) and just one Brown Thrasher (lc). For Decrease Kent County, 31 Brown Thrashers was a excessive (hc). Chesterville had 188 and Loch Raven had 139 Northern Mockingbirds (each hc).

STARLINGS, WAXWINGS, HOUSE SPARROW, PIPITS, and FINCHES

Loch Raven had a low of 475 European Starlings (lc). Patuxent River had a excessive depend of 5 Purple Finches (hc). Loch Raven, Seneca and Washington County every had a Pine Siskin (the one studies). St. Michaels reported a Purple-Crossbill (us) however supplied no particulars. Bombay Hook had 5 and South Dorchester had 3 Lapland Longspurs. Bombay Hook had 2 and Center River had a single Snow Bunting. Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 88 and Ocean Metropolis had 60 Snow Buntings.

SPARROWS

Loch Raven had 71 Chipping Sparrows (hc) and 16 American Tree Sparrows (hc). Denton had 2 and Ocean Metropolis had 1 (their 12^th) Clay-colored Sparrows (us). Patuxent River had a low of just one 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 had been all-time lows (lc) however South Dorchester had solely 71 on depend 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 this point) 25 Swamp Sparrows (each hc). Denton had a low depend of two Japanese Towhees (lc; lowest of their 37 counts).

BLACKBIRDS & ORIOLES

Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 2 Baltimore Orioles and each Ocean Metropolis and Wilmington (their 8^th) had 1. Center River had a low of 8 Brown-headed Cowbirds (lc) and at Port Tobacco, a single Frequent Grackle was the bottom of all of their 45 counts (lc).

WARBLERS

Milford and Seaford-Nanticoke every had a Black-and-White Warbler (us). An Orange-crowned Warbler on the Annapolis-Gibson Island Rely was their 11^th, Cape Henlopen-Prime Hook had 5 (hc), Rehoboth had 4 (hc), Decrease Kent County had 3 (hc) and Center River and Seneca (their 5^th) every additionally had 1. The one Frequent Yellowthroats had been 3 at Crisfield, 2 at Ocean Metropolis, 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 excessive (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 excessive of 526 (hc) and Center River had a excessive of 343 Northern Cardinals (hc). Rehoboth had a Painted Bunting (their 4^th).