I had good morning and noon walks around Schoolhouse Pond today, with the highlight being a flyover Lesser Black-backed Gull in the morning and my first Osprey of the season at noon. In the morning, I was largely preoccupied with the flyover gulls, which consisted of a large proportion of Herring Gulls today. Mixed in was one 2nd cycle Great Black-backed Gull, which flew several times low over the pond before continuing towards the landfill, and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull that flew over fairly low with 15 Herring Gulls. Ducks included the usual Gadwall, Shovelers, Mallards, and Hooded Mergansers, plus six flyover Common Mergansers and two Wood Ducks.
Things were slower at noon, but I did see my first Osprey of the season, which flew repeatedly over the pond scanning the surface for five minutes or more. Also present was a Bald Eagle, and a Red Shouldered Hawk. There is a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks that seem to be setting up a territory in the woods behind the pond. Also present was a flyover Bald Eagle and three Eastern Bluebirds, which seem to be looking for nesting cavities in the small dead trees along the periphery of the pond. Good birding,
Fred Shaffer
<GlaucousGull...>
Crofton, Anne Arundel
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