Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2001 20:12:12 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Stan Arnold Subject: Bank & Cliff Swallows; GLGU; BW & Prothon Warblers MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Folks, After two weeks in Florida (where I met Doug Lister on the Dry Tortugas), this weekend was my first shot at really getting out for some migrants (there were none in Fla.), Maryland did not disappoint. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Dorchester Co., Friday, 20 April: SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, Blackwater NWR GLAUCOUS GULL, Hooper's Island Rd. BANK SWALLOW, Hurlock WWTP Howard Co., Sat., 21 April: BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, Lake Elkhorn BROAD-WINGED HAWK, Lake Elkhorn BLUE-HEADED VIREO, Lake Elkhorn CLIFF SWALLOW, Brighton Dam WINTER WREN, Middle Pax River at Eden Brook Drive YELLOW WARBLER, Lake Elkhorn PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, Lake Elkhorn BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, Middle Patuxent WMA Details: Last eveing (Friday, 20 Apr) my second trip to Hooper's Island to get the Glaucous Gull was successful, and also produced 8 species of shorebird at Blackwater NWR and nearby: Killdeer, both yellowlegs, DUNLIN, LEAST SANDPIPER, SB DOWITCHER, and COMMON SNIPE all north of Key Wallace Drive at the east side of the refuge, and WILLETs near the end of Hooper's Island Rd. The GLAUCOUS GULL was well seen across the inlet from the pier where previously reported. It was actively feeding with Herring Gulls, and put down in the water a few times while I observed. At dusk, two BANK SWALLOWs were seen flying with Tree Swallows over the median between the two south impoundments at Hurlock Waste Water Treatment Plant, south of Hurlock, Dorchester Co. Also, there were a couple dozen RUDDY DUCKs, a majority of which were males in handsome breeding plumage. Best access to Hurlock is from Ennals Rd.: take Rte 16 north from US 50, go several miles, then east on Rte 14, then north on Rte 331 a mile or two, then right on Ennals Rd. As you pass the WWTP embankments on the left, you will come to a missing section of fence. Pull off here (as much as possible--there is little traffic here), and climb the embankment. The southeast pond tends to have the greatest number of birds. Today, Sat., 21 April, I made numerous stops in Howard County, both before and after admistering a practice Advanced Placement Exam to my calculus students at Hammond High. In the early a.m. along the Middle Patuxent River, accessed from the end of Eden Brook Drive (village of Kings Contrivance), were singing LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, N. PARULA, and a well viewed WINTER WREN. Also at the parking area was DE JUNCO, which won't be around much longer this season. Around noon, I met Kurt Schwarz's Ho Co bird walk at Lake Elkhorn, just as they were disbanding. I was there for the Cattle Egret, which I missed, but was very pleasantly surprised by all the other goodies. I had just been asking Kurt where in How. Co. one finds Prothonotary Warbler, and lo and behold, hopping around in the mud by the bridge at the far end of the lake was a gorgeous PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. It was pecking at little plants sticking above the water, and oblivious to my presence as I got within about 15 feet. Best look I've had since the last time I was at Great Dismal Swamp (where you have to shoo them away). Around the pond just past Lake Elkhorn was a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, hunkered down in a tree at the far (south) end, two RUSTY BLACKBIRDs in the mud on the opposite side of the path from the heron, and a beautiful BLUE-HEADED VIREO low in a tree near water's edge. The remainder of the walk around Lake Elkhorn produced a BROAD-WINGED HAWK circling overhead and a singing YELLOW WARBLER. From Elkhorn, it was off to Brighton Dam to see if the CLIFF SWALLOWs were in yet. Yes they were, with three or four seen among N. Rough-wings and Tree Swallows right over the dam. A COMMON LOON, still in basic plumage, and two DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS were the only other birds of interest. Next stop was the Middle Patuxent Wildlife Management Area, off of Trotter Lane, south from Rte 108. Here I picked up five species of woodpecker (no sapsucker or Red-headed) and my first Md WHITE-EYED VIREO of the year, but the prize of the visit was a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, which I heard as I entered, about 150 yards past the entry gate, just after the road curves left, in an opening on the right side. Though I didn't get to see it initially, after completing my walk, I got some great looks as I passed the spot where it had been singing earlier. Centennial Lake had nothing but people, and Wild Lake had a few cormorants. My last two stops were at Patapsco River State Park (Daniels Rd.) where I heard several singing YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERs in the Sycamore trees, and finally on to Meadowbrook, where I was too tired to find anything of interest. What a time of year! Stan Arnold Glen Burnie blackrail@earthlink.net ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================