Thanks to Marcia's post, my wife and I went to Resthaven Cemetery along US 15 north of Frederick to look for crossbills. We saw about 24 White-winged Crossbills and one male Red Crossbill in the Norway Spruces along the east side of the grounds and east of the central monument. The best views (which were wonderful) came when several White-wings came to a birdbath to drink:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92602377@N06/8600788343/in/photostream
We also went to the vernal pool along Old Frederick Road east of Mount St Mary's University, but saw no shorebirds. We did see four American Pipits fly overhead here.
Jim Wilkinson
Columbia, MD
On Thursday, March 28, 2013 7:18:43 PM UTC-4, Marcia Balestri wrote:
> After too-many-to-count visits to Resthaven in Frederick Co., I finally came away with my first county Red Crossbill. I had planned to cover northern Frederick Co. this morning, but stopped in at Resthaven to see if the WWCR were still there. Yep, about 30 of the are still flying hither and thither in the tops of the evergreens. A couple of weeks ago I thought I heard a RECR, but never could SEE it, and the whole flock flew off to the east. I thought I heard it again today and was determined to track it down. Frustratingly, the birds were staying on the back sides of the trees along the eastern border (where they have been a lot), but a couple of times they flew to several trees toward the center of the cemetery. After more than an hour of chasing the flocks, I finally got on a female that had no white wing bars making me one happy camper.
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> Elsewhere in Fred. Co, I found 10 Pectoral Sandpipers in the vernal pond on Old Frederick Road north of Rte. 76 where Jim Wilkinson had a couple on the 23rd. I met up with Kathy Calvert and we checked out Kershner's--usual stuff with a few Tundra Swans left. We tried to find the Peregrine Falcon in Wash. Co with no luck. We stopped in a Weverton and managed Red-breasted Mergansers among other things. Kathy had to leave, so I continued along the Potomac stopping in at Lander and Mouth of Monocacy. I picked up cormorants for my year Frederick County list, but nothing else really exciting. A fast drive by of Lilypons yielded a pretty male American Kestrel and BW and GW Teal, but the snipe and Greater Yellowlegs I saw on Monday and Tuesday had disappeared.
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> Marcia Balestri
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> Frederick, MD
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