Birds of ACLT > Water Birds of Concern
Water Bird Species of Concern
The following birds were identified in Summer Birds of the Parker's Creek Watershed as species of interest and/or concern according to various bird conservation organizations and agencies, such as National Audubon and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. List is in alphabetical order by common name.
Information for each species includes: common name of the bird, scientific name of the bird, size of the bird, whether it breeds in the watershed, preferred habitat for nesting, location and description of nest, earliest and latest egg dates in Maryland, and safe dates, which are dates between which bird may be nesting if in the proper habitat.
Egg dates are from the Field List of the Birds of Maryland, Maryland Avifauna Number 2, Maryland Ornithological Society, Third Edition, May 1996, by Marshall J. Iliff, Robert F. Ringler, and James L. Stasz. Safe dates are from the Second Maryland/DC Breeding Bird Atlas Project Handbook, 2002-2006, Maryland Ornithological Society.
Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus (30-43 inches long)
Confirmed breeding in the Parker's Creek watershed; nests near water: coasts, rivers, large lakes; nest often in fork of tall tree, 30' - 60' high; nest is conspicuous, made of sticks and enlarged in successive years, may reach 12' in height, 8.5' across, weigh over a ton; egg dates: 2/5 - 4/29; safe dates: 4/15 - 8/5. Photo by Bill Hubick.
Black Rail - Laterallus jamaicensis (5-6 inches long)
Rare (June 1999 only) summer visitor in the Parker's Creek watershed; nests in fresh, brackish, and salt marshes; nest is on the ground in 18-24 inch grass in the open; nest is cup woven of grasses and similar vegetation; egg dates: 5/20 - 7/22; safe dates: 5/1 - 8/15.
Clapper Rail - Rallus longirostris (30-43 inches long)
Summer visitor in the Parker's Creek watershed; nests in salt and brackish marshes; nest is on the ground, hidden in vegetation; nest is a basket made of grasses and stems; egg dates: 5/14 - 7/20; safe dates: 5/1 - 8/31. Photo by Bill Hubick.
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias (4 feet long)
Could breed in the Parker's Creek watershed; usually colonial, occasionally solitary (?); nests near water: marshes, swamps, lakes, rivers; nest usually in tree, 30' - 70' high; nest is large and flat, made of woven sticks; egg dates: 2/28 - 6/14; safe dates: 5/15 - 6/30/. Photo by Joe Turner.
Great Egret - Casmerodius albus (40 inches long)
Summer visitor in the Parker's Creek watershed; nests near water: marshes, swamps, ditches, estuaries; colonial; nest in tree or shrub, 8' - 40' high; nest is made of sticks, flimsy; egg dates: 4/9 - 6/29; safe dates: 5/20 - 6/20. Photo by Bill Hubick.
Least Bittern - Ixobrychus exilis (13 inches long)
May breed in Parker's Creek; nests in fresh, sometimes brackish, marshes; nest made of dead stalks woven among green; nest near or over water, 0' - 3' high; egg dates: 5/10 - 8/11; safe dates: 5/20 - 7/31. Photo by George Jett.
Marsh Wren - Cistothorus palustris (5 inches long)
Confirmed breeding in Parker's Creek; nests in marshes with abundant reeds; nest attached to multiple reeds over or by water, 1' - 9' high; nest made of woven grasses is domed, 7 inches tall, 3 inches wide; egg dates: 5/3 - 8/11; safe dates: 5/25 - 8/25. Photo by Bill Hubick.
Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps (13 inches long)
Confirmed breeding in Parker's Creek; nests on ponds, slow streams, and marshes; less active water; nest on floating platform of decaying vegetation on or near surface of water, platform is anchored to vegetation; egg dates: 5/17 - 6/20; safe dates: 5/20 - 7/10. Photo by Bill Hubick.
Snowy Egret - Egretta thula (24 inches long)
Summer visitor in the Parker's Creek watershed; nests near water: marshes, lakes, ponds, shallow coastal waters; colonial; nest in tree or shrub, 5' - 10' high; nest is made of sticks, flimsy; egg dates: 4/18 - 8/7; safe dates: 5/20 - 6/30. Photo by Bill Hubick.
Virginia Rail - Rallus limicola (9 inches long)
Possibly breeding in the Parker's Creek watershed; nests in fresh, sometimes brackish marshes; nest is on the ground hidden in tussock or suspended in vegetation; nest is made of grasses and similar vegetation; egg dates: 5/14 - 8/16; safe dates: 5/20 - 8/15. Photo by Bill Hubick.
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