I had a good morning walking around Schoolhouse Pond today, with lots of birds passing overhead and/or stopping at the pond. The first bird of the day was a juvenile Cattle Egret. The bird was perched on the wire "rail" along the observation deck right off Governor Oden Bowie Drive. I got close views of the bird, noting the color of the bare parts and the shape of the bill. The legs were dark, with a yellowish tint, and the bill was mostly black with a difuse base. The bill was relatively thick, short and blunt. I got a few photos before the bird flew. It made several loops over the pond before flying in the general direction of Jug Bay.
As I continued my walk, several large groups of gulls flew overhead. They appeared to be coming from the Brown Station Road area and heading towards Jug Bay. I only saw Laughing Gulls. The groups of gulls ranged in size from a handful of birds to over sixty in one flock. Morning totals ended up at 224, my first somewhat large group of flyover gulls of the fall at the pond.
I was able to track down the continuing male Blue-winged Teal at the rear of the pond. I guess that this bird has now officially "over summered" at the pond, as I've seen the bird consistently from May through September. As I was completing my walk, I saw another three Blue-winged Teal (two males and a female), who must have flown in while I was in the woods. But, the highlight of the morning was when a juvenile Black Tern flew low over the pond. I first noticed the bird when I looked up from the teal, as it flew about 10 feet or so above the level of the pond. The tern flew once over the pond, then veered to the right and headed in the direction of Brown Station Road, where I lost sight of it beyond the trees. I got good, but brief views of the tern from the side as it flew over the pond and then as it banked to the right and flew off. I aged it based on the slight brownish tint to the slate gray mantle, otherwise the bird look much as a non-breeding adult Black Tern.
Unfortunately, neither the egret or the tern stayed around the pond for long, but it was a great way to start the day. Also of note were increasing numbers of Canada Geese overhead and on the pond. I had few warblers today, but there have been decent numbers of Magnolia Warblers and American Redstarts at the pond each morning earlier this week. Good birding,
Fred Shaffer
<GlaucousGull...>
Crofton, Anne Arundel
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