2006

July 23, 2006 Report by Soheil Zendeh
Snake Island 11 am 12 noon Susannah Corona, Soheil Zendeh Clear, warm (78°F), winds sw at about 5 - 10 mph Hi tide 10:51 pm	Lots more migrant dowitchers and Semipalmated Sandpipers than last week. All migrant shorebirds are still adults. Look for the young to begin arriving next week. Great Blue Heron 3 Great Egret 1 Snowy Egret 4 Turkey Vulture 1 Killdeer 1 Semipalmated Plover 2 American Oystercatcher 12 Willet 22 Greater Yellowlegs 10 Short-billed Dowitcher 177 Semipalmated Sandpiper 125 Least Sandpiper 2 Ruddy Turnstone 1 Common Tern 4 Least tern 1
July 23, 2006 Report Belle Isle Marsh 12:30 - 2:30 pm (dst) Observer: Soheil Zendeh High tide: 10:51 am Sky: cloudy, slight drizzle at times Temperature: 78°F (25°C) Wind: ssw 5 -10 mph (8 - 16 kph) Visibility: good Total # of species: 30 Notes at the end	Canada Goose 19 American Black Duck 11 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Great Egret 4 Snowy Egret 18 Green Heron 1 Osprey 2 Black-bellied Plover 1 Greater Yellowlegs 2 Lesser Yellowlegs 12 Semipalmated Sandpiper 120 Least Sandpiper 6 Stilt Sandpiper 2 Short-billed Dowitcher 117 Herring Gull 7 Great Black-backed Gull 2 Common Tern 2 Rock Pigeon 2 Mourning Dove 5 Tree Swallow 3 Barn Swallow 8 American Robin 21 Gray Catbird 1 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 250 Saltmarsh Sharptailed Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow 1 Red-winged Blackbird 8 American Goldfinch 4 House Sparrow 2 Notes: I turned over boards in the marsh, hoping for an update on the wolf spider egg sack saga. I found only 2 of the large ones, none with egg sacs. They didn't look like they were carrying their babies on their backs, but they disappeared too fast for me to be sure. There was a very small one (about ¼ inch long) with an egg sack. There was also a large, round smooth spider, very grey and not hairy at all. The board where most of the larger wolf spiders with egg sacks had been before, today sheltered 2 snakes. One was a garter and the other is one we have in the past called brown snake. I'm not sure, but I think it may be a color phase of the garter. It occurs to me that they showed up and ate the spiders or at least their egg sacks. What I really don't understand is how snakes survive in a salt marsh. I suppose there has been a lot of rain and the salt is rather diluted in the marsh. This was the upper marsh where they were. The bird excitement was the largish clump of Short-billed Dowitchers and the 2 Stilt Sandpipers, one still with a hint of chestnut in the face. Also, 2 Ospreys are still hanging around the marsh. There was a lot of flying around and soft whistling, as though they are courting again. A word about the stag-horn sumac: Iranians use "somagh" to garnish kababs. It's a tart reddish-brown powder--the Iranian equivalent of ketchup. I always wondered if local sumac (which I think is an introduced species, not native) could be substituted. I tasted some of these stag horns and actually brought one home to dry. It sure smells and tastes like the real thing!