Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 20:46:53 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Marko, Thomas L. GS BUMED" Subject: Calvert County (8/31) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain My wife and I opted for a laid-back, stay-at-home Labor Day weekend this year. Needing some respite from cutting up a backyard tree that Tuesday night's storm knocked down, we decided today to defy the rain gods and drive from Montgomery to Calvert County. Although there weren't significant numbers, diversity made for a nice day of birding. The first stop was the Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary. There were two small groups of migrants along the boarwalk trail in the swamp that included Black-throated Blue Warbler (1), Blue-winged Warbler (1), Black & White Warbler (1), Prothonatary Warbler (2), Hooded Warbler (1) as well as Red-eyed Vireo (many) and Acadian Flycather (3). A Yellow-breasted Chat was hidden in a bush at the edge of an open field. The second stop was Flag Ponds Nature Park. There were several small groups of migrants moving through the woods with Carolina Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse leading the charge. Warblers observed included Northern Parula (3), American Redstart (1), Black-throated Blue (1) and a Northern Waterthrush that gave us a great up-close and personal look. Other migrants included Red-eyed Vireo (many), White-eyed Vireo (1) and Acadian Flycatcher (many). Two Bald Eagle (1-adult & 1-juvenile) caught our attention soaring overhead. A small tidal pool on the beach held Semipalmated Sandpiper (4) and Semipalmated Plover (1). Suprisingly, since they seemed to be everywhere this summer, we did not see any catbirds the entire day. We ended our ride at Solomon Island stopping to quaff a couple of brews and listen to some live folk music on a restaurant pier. There were few gulls about with only a handful of Ringed-billed Gulls and a single Laughing Gull noted. Tom Marko Olney, MD Email: nitojo@comcast.net ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================