I got to work on the water today and traveled from Oxford (Talbot Co.) about 16 or 17 nautical miles up the Choptank River and back. There was not a lot of bird activity but I did have my first Black Scoter of the year, a male, flying with a flock of 10 Surf Scoters. I had about 100 Surfs for the day as well as 8 - 10 Common Loons. Also of interest were several flocks of Laughing Gulls and Forster's Terns, sometimes numbering over 100 birds. Try as I might, I could not see anything but those two species in the flocks. The other common gulls were present as well as a couple adult Bald Eagles and moderate-sized flocks of D.-c. Cormorants and Canada Geese. Hardly felt like the end of October out there in short sleeves, although it�s looking like this weather will finally bring some cold to us next week and hopefully many more "winter" birds.
Good Birding,
Frank Marenghi
Annapolis, MD
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