Wildlife Sightings Log

Wildlife & Nature Sightings
What Where When Reported by Comments
Beaver Observation Blind Wed, 02/24/2010 Liz McClunin
Flock of 18 wild turkey Field just south of Pindell Branch & just west of Pindell Rd. Tue, 02/09/2010 Dave Linthicum
Rufous-sided Towhee River Farm Pt. Sun, 02/07/2010 Dave Linthicum A large number (about 10) were also seen foraging for seeds on soils exposed by snow plowing equipment near the barn at River Farm
Snowshoeing human Two Run Branch bridge Sun, 02/07/2010 Dave Linthicum
Drifting Snow River Farm Sun, 02/07/2010 Peggy Brosnan Drifts of 7 feet covered some Sanctuary roads
Tundra Swans (6) On river edge as seen from the Observation Deck Fri, 01/22/2010 John Evans & Susan Matthews The Tundra Swan is identifiable by its long, straight neck, its black bill, and a small patch of yellow skin at the base of the bill below the eye. In Maryland, another swan - the introduced Mute Swan - also occurs in many waterways. Tundra Swans breed on the Arctic tundra and migrate south in the fall to spend the winter on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Eastern populations frequent the Chesapeake Bay and North Carolina, while western populations winter along the California coast. These large birds fly 3,725 miles (6,000 kilometers) round-trip each year!
Glaucous Gull tidal flats at Jug Bay Sun, 01/17/2010 Chris Swarth We spotted a first winter Glaucous Gull as it flew in from the west and landed amidst dozens of ring-bills and Herring Gulls at about 10 am. All white, with a dark eye and large, pink bill with black at the tip. Very large, about the same size as a nearby adult Great Black-backed Gull. Almost pure white - a striking bird. Viewed by 20 birders in a sanctuary ornithology class. Photo by Carol Frost.
Herd of 11 white-tailed deer, Crossing River Farm Rd. in woods near fields Sun, 01/10/2010 Peggy Brosnan/Dave Linthicum
Rusty Blackbirds Edge of Sanctuary on Wrighton Road near Windsor's baseball field Fri, 01/08/2010 Chris Swarth A flock of about 25 feeding on road edge with White-throated Sparrows, cardinals and towhees. About 3 inches of snow on ground.
Southern Flying Squirrels Riggleman Preserve Sat, 01/02/2010 Elaine Friebele During our group hike, one of the hikers tapped on a dead tree trunk beside the trail. Two flying squirrels jumped out of a waist-high hole and scaled the trunk above our heads. They appeared to be shivering on a very windy, cold day! Flying squirrels don't hibernate, but congregate in nests while resting to conserve body heat.
Great Egret (1) Flying over cattail marsh Wed, 12/23/2009 Chris Swarth This is very late in the season to see an egret at Jug Bay, especially considering the storm on December 19 left two feet of snow on the ground.
Bald Eagles and Double-crested Cormorants Patuxent River Sat, 11/28/2009 Rogard Ross Hiked out to River Pier. Two cormorants took off heading north low along the river. As my gaze followed them I spotted a Bald Eagle spiralling over Mt. Calvert. I continued to watch the eagle through binoculars as it came lower and lower, finally skimming the river before landing on the Osprey nest platform in the shallows on west side of the river opposite the Observation Deck, about half a mile upriver. Then a second Bald Eagle appeared, circled, and landed - initially right on top of and then - next to first! They stayed out there quite a while. When I got to the Observation Deck an hour later, one was back at the same platform.
Black Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillars Plummer House Butterfly Garden Sat, 11/21/2009 Dave Perry This afternoon, while planting Pussy Willow shrubs in the garden, my wife and I saw two Black Swallowtail caterpillars on the bronze fennel plants. One was a final stage caterpillar and the other was in its third stage. These are the same fennel plants that hosted 20 of these caterpillars earlier this year. It seems very late for these caterpillars this far north.
Common Mergansers Off the Observation Deck Wed, 11/04/2009 Susan Matthews At noon I observed three Common Mergansers from the Observation Deck. These mergansers occur in the fresher parts of the Patuxent estuary; they are much more common at Jug Bay than in the more saline areas downstream. They nest in tree cavities and on the ground near large lakes.
Bearded Tooth (Hericium erinaceus) Off the Otter Point Trail, growing on the side of an oak. Wed, 10/28/2009 Lindsay Hollister & Susan Matthews This large, edible white mushroom is 10-25cm wide and high; forms a solid mass of long, beardlike "spines." Grows on hardwoods such as oaks, maples, and beech (August-November).
Bald Eagle Sighted off the Swamp Blind Sun, 10/25/2009 Susan Matthews At 4:15 pm, I walked to the Swamp Blind and observed an adult Bald Eagle hovering over the Patuxent River. Why was this eagle hovering? Perhaps it was searching for a fish, or a small diving duck in the open water. The eagle circled several times and even landed in a tree very close to where we stood.
Bald Eagle Over Patuxent Wetland Park Wed, 10/21/2009 Chris Swarth Two adults and an immature soaring overhead in late afternoon
Northern Watersnake Marsh, next to the Marsh Boardwalk Wed, 10/21/2009 Elaine Friebele An unusually late fall sighting, but temperature was in the 70s.
Juvenile Red fox Observed on the road by Plummer House entrance. Sun, 10/18/2009 Harry Coulombe Sighted on the road around 11am. The fox was feeding on a road killed opossum; retreated back onto the Glendenning Preserve.
Snow goose Observed in the harvested corn field across from Glendenning Preserve. Sun, 10/18/2009 Harry Coulombe Lone snow goose was sighted at 9:40 am feeding with about 100 Canada geese.
Pied-billed Grebes sighted Observed off the marsh boardwalk during high tide. Tue, 10/13/2009 Chris Swarth To learn more about the winter waterfowl species here at Jug Bay come join us on our Winter Waterfowl Count which takes place bi-weekly on Thursday mornings.
Ruddy ducks In the river channel near the mouth of Railroad Creek. Mon, 10/12/2009 Lindsay Hollister A male and female pair of ruddy ducks were floating at the edge of the river channel as we went by in the jon boat to monitor submerged aquatic vegetation.
Great Blue Heron resting on an Osprey nest platform Off the Lower Railroad Bed Trail Sun, 10/11/2009 Rick Reynolds Herons are year-round residents, but the Ospreys head south in October and do not return until late February or March
Four marbled salamander females guarding their eggs. In the vernal pool area of the Wet Forest Sat, 10/10/2009 Robert & Rosemary Frezza Though the marbled salamander migrates in the hundreds each fall to our vernal pool, they are not easily seen due to their nocturnal and burrowing habits. Even harder to find are female salamanders guarding their eggs.
Northern Harrier (juvenile) On Western Branch and near Mount Calvert Sat, 10/10/2009 Susan Matthews Juvenile and female harriers are always much more common here than are males.
Monarch Butteryfly on Bur Marigold Observed off the marsh boardwalk. Tue, 10/06/2009 Elaine Friebele This is a great time of the year to observe Monarchs as they migrate through our area.
Box Turtle feeding on a mushroom On the Otter Point Trail, near the intersection with the Lower Railroad Bed Trail. Tue, 09/22/2009 Susan Matthews Box turtles will often feed on wild mushrooms.
Three box turtle hatchlings were found today. Inside the box turtle enclosure next to the Wetlands Sanctuary. Wed, 09/16/2009 Linda Coty & Shirley Grace On Mon. Sept 14th 1 box turtle hatchling was discovered by Linda Coty. Two days latter on Wed. Sept. 16th 2 more box turtle hatchlings were discovered in the box turtle exclosure by Shirley Grace.
Large Mushroom On the Beech Trail, 32 m SW to gridpole 509-X. Fri, 09/04/2009 Bob Williams It appeared to be a miniature water tower.
Pearl Crescent Butterfly Next to the scrub shrub boardwalk off the Lower Railroad Bed Trail. Thu, 08/13/2009 Elaine Friebele I was taking a walk down the Lower Railroad Bed Trail when I saw this butterfly flying near the scrub shrub boardwalk.
Yellow-Throated Vireo calling Otter Point Sun, 08/02/2009 Cynthia Bravo I was with a group of experienced birders when we heard the Yellow-Throated Viero calling.
Box turtle The Glendening Nature Preserve at the trail intersection of The Blue Berry Trail & The Red Oak Trail Wed, 07/29/2009 Joyce Gillespe I observed a box turtle basking in a sunspot.
3 river otters off the Marsh Blind located off the Lower Rail Road Bed Trail Sun, 07/26/2009 Paul & Trese We observed 3 river otters playing for 30 min. in the water off the marsh blind
Halloween Pennant Dragonfly Flying over the Patuxent River. Wed, 07/22/2009 Lindsay Hollister During the teen paddle down the Patuxent River we observed a Halloween Pennant Dragonfly flying over the Patuxent River.
3 River Otters From the Observation Blind located off the Lower Railroad Bed Trail. Mon, 06/08/2009 Becca Reeves I observed 3 river otters swimming around in the pool and up the channels next to the marsh blind.