I just returned home from the tally for the Carroll County Winter Bird
Count. The total was 88 species which is very good, probably because of all
the open water.
This afternoon I was traveling east on Forest & Stream Club Road
approaching the intersection with Keysville Road S. The intersection is
about a mile north of Detour. I could see a bird flycatching at the
intersection. As I got closer it flew up and landed on the top of the
ladder of the tall silo. It flew from there to the roof of a house to the
right, the one with red shutters. It continued flycatching (temperature was
in the low 50s) flying from the roof to nearby small trees and back to the
roof. When perched it prominently wagged its tail. This was about 2:50-2:55
PM. Since I was facing east the sun was behind me at this hour.
The bird was Phoebe-sized and I expected an Eastern Phoebe until I got a
good look at the underparts. The upperparts were dark and unmarked. The
wings were dark and the flight feathers were edged with white but there
were no wing bars. The throat and breast were gray. The belly and undertail
coverts were dull cinnamon. The tail was slightly notched. I had stopped
the car in the middle of Keysville Road and was watching from a distance of
about 50 feet.
There are no good places to stop along Keysville Road. Forest and Stream
Club Road is better though the shoulder is a little soft. Through traffic
on Keysville Road is usually fast. Since the bird was very active it could
be anywhere in the general area.
Other birds on the count included a good variety of ducks at Piney Run,
Study Road, Cranberry Reservoir, and Liberty Lake, two White-winged
Crossbills at Piney Run, and three Short-eared Owls on Bullfrog Road.
--
Bob Ringler
Eldersburg MD
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