I had great morning and lunchtime walks around Schoolhouse Pond today, finally getting some migrants with the push of warm weather over the last day. Highlights included a low flyover adult Little Blue Heron in the morning. The bird did not stop at the pond, but continued in the general direction of the wetlands along Brown Station Road. There was also a nice assortment of warblers in the morning, including a singing Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, three Blackpoll Warblers, three Yellow Warblers, one Chestnut-sided Warbler, as well as the regular Prothonotary Warblers, Parula, Redstarts, and Common Yellowthroats.
Lunchtime was good as well, with many of the birds still singing or working the trees at the rear of the pond. However, the highlight at lunchtime was a Black-billed Cuckoo. The bird was silent, but perched on a fairly prominent snag near the trail at the backside of the pond. I got great views of the bird, including the all black bill, red orbital ring, lack of rufous in the wing coverts, and pattern of the tail from below. However, just before I was going to take a picture, a feisty Gnatcatcher came and made one or two close passes at the cuckoo, causing it to retreat to the leafy canopy at the tops of the trees, where I could no longer see it. Still, it was a fun sighting, as I have only seen a Black-billed Cuckoo at the pond on one or two other times (although others have reported them rarely in migration).
There was only one flyover Laughing Gull today. May 15th tends to be about the date when I stop seeing flyover gulls in the morning, at least in any significant numbers, and I may not have any flyover gulls to report from Schoolhouse Pond until late July when the post-breeding activity/movement takes place. Good birding.
Fred Shaffer
<GlaucousGull...>
Crofton, Anne Arundel
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