Fort Smallwood is located on the western edge of the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Patapsco River, about 11 miles south of Baltimore, MD. All numbers are unofficial. Fort Smallwood 4/20-4/25 1998 Yr 4/20 4/21 4/22 4/23 4/24 4/25 Tot HRS 4.5 5.5 2.5 0 6.7 9.5 281.6 BV 3 3 250 TV 9 3 28 42 46 3326 OS 3 1 2 2 19 267 BE 66 NH 6 116 SS 19 8 11 48 364 1254 CH 1 2 2 8 20 344 RS 157 BW 2 2 1 19 25 580 RT 1 3 5 350 AK 1 20 315 ML 1 1 2 1 6 19 PG 1 2 U 1 3 26 TOT 35 18 46 128 518 7072 The bald eagle count is problematic. Due to a large wintering roost and nesting pairs in the vicinity, it is unclear how many are migrants, and this number is likely to be adjusted downward. Today (4/25) was delightful. Sharpies flew by in a steady stream all day and the 6 Merlins were low and relatively close. Swallows poured by along with 1221 Blue Jays, 836 American Goldfinches, and 39 Common Loons. A Common Raven, a new bird for Anne Arundel County, appeared at 12:40 p.m., flew north over the pond; returned and attempted to fly north again, this time over the water; returned a second time and finally flew due east over the water then turned and headed north up the bay until it was out of sight. The wings and tail were in heavy molt. Sue Ricciardi, compiler susie@idsonline.com