> Hi Everybody:
I spent the morning birding several places in Caroline County. I started at
Tuckahoe St. Park and walked the Tuckahoe Valley Trail on the Caroline
County side. My best bird along the trail was a singing Kentucky Warbler.
Other birds heard or seen included Hermit Thrushes, Ovenbird and numerous
Acadian Flycatchers.
My next stop was in Martinak St. Pk. which was extremely quiet with the
exception of an immature Blue Grosbeak which was constantly singing and
chipping in a forested area that seemed out of his norm as far as habitat
goes.
I then swung over to Tanyard and began crossing the causeway from the
Caroline County side. It was just past low tide (the tide was slowly coming
back in) when I arrived at 8:55 AM. I did not see any shorebirds, gulls,
terns or waterfowl except for three mallards. I was 3/4 of the way towards
the Talbot Co. bridge side when I caught a glimpse of a distant tern diving
and then disappearing behind some vegetation. I safely did a U-turn and
when I pulled over on the shoulder there was an immature GLOSSY IBIS on the
near edge of a mudflat. I watched it preen and feed for about 20 minutes
before moving over into Talbot County. I never did see the tern appear
again.I swung back to the same location about 45 minutes later and there
was no sign of the ibis...the water level was slowly rising and covering up
the mudflats where the ibis had been seen earlier.
I crossed back across the bay bridge and headed up to Swan Creek to look
for the birds that Matt Hafner had reported earlier in the week. When I
arrrived none of his postings were relocated. However, a pleasant surprise
for me were the 4 AMERICAN AVOCETS that Wendy Crowe had found earlier in
the morning which i was unaware of. All four were still showing signs of
their cinnamon-colored breeding plumage.
On the way home I quickly checked the Fulton pond on Rt. 216 (Howard
County) but I did not find anything exciting there...no shorebirds
whatsoever.
Jim Green
Gaithersburg, MD
work in moderation, bird in excess!!!
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