Saturday and Sunday birding

Norm Saunders (osprey@ARI.Net)
Sun, 19 Apr 1998 17:54:38 -0500


On Saturday Fran and I drove out to Lilypons to get some stuff for 
our pond and to do a little birding, as well.  We were hoping for 
Dickcissel and Upland Sandpiper but dipped on both those species, 
unfortunately.  

Along Monocacy Bottom Road (no, no obvious shrikes there...sigh) we 
saw/heard at least five separate BROWN THRASHERS singing and 
displaying on territory.  

Along the south side of Oland Road, in a semi-abandoned field, we saw 
a NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW (accompanied by a small dance and 
much clapping of hands when we realized what we were looking at!) and 
heard at least three singing GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS.  The latter 
weren't making themselves visible but their song was unmistakable.  

Finally, as we tromped around the grounds of the water gardens, we 
saw our first CHIMNEY SWIFT of the season.

All of these sightings were on Saturday, 18 April in Frederick 
County, MD.

This morning, amidst on and off rain showers, we walked around the 
lower end of Lake Roland, in Baltimore County.  We were looking for 
Fran's MD "Yellow Nighty", as she has taken to calling them, but 
alas, once again we dipped.  

Interesting birds we did see there included, in no particular order:
4 Eastern Phoebe
1 Barn Swallow
3 Louisiana Waterthrush
2 Common Yellowthroat
1 Swamp Sparrow
5 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers
1 Yellow Warbler


Following this, we returned to Montgomery County and birded along 
Sligo Creek Parkway from its beginning on University Blvd to the 
barricade at Piney Branch, with no luck looking for the Yellow 
Nighty.  As I recall from several years back, I saw the birds south 
of Piney Branch, the area we couldn't get to today becasue they shut 
it off for bikes on Sundays.  Can anyone confirm that this is the 
area for the night-herons this year?  If not in this barricaded 
section, then where, please?  Fran is getting INSISTENT!

Cheers,
Norm

===============
Norm Saunders
Colesville, MD
osprey@ari.net