Cecil Travels

Harry Fisher (fish8553@dpnet.net)
Wed, 27 Jan 1999 15:14:18 -0500 

Hi All:
Some Highlights
Marcia and I began a 1/2 day of birding at Conowingo and found only the
predictable ring-bills and greater black-backed amongst the gulls.
Black crown night herons were still present on the island.  There were
no diving ducks in the churning waters.
On the trail to Funks Pond, we encountered 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers,
Golden-crown Kinglets and White-breasted Nuthatch.  On the pond itself,
we found Am. Coot and Pied Bill Grebe.  Our first of 6 Horned Grebe for
the day was on Conowingo Lake.  These critters are not a given for us on
yearly county lists, so we were astounded by todays occurence. The Mt.
Zoar Rd boat launch gave us another 3 Horned Grebes!!  Onwards to the
Bell Manor Rd overlook, hundreds of Common Mergs occupied the
Susquehanna literally as far as the eye could see.  Next stop, a walk
along the Octoraro Creek ( more like river at the moment ) produced 20+
Common Goldeneye, very close looks at these beauties.  Yellow-rump
warblers, brown-creeper and more kinglets flitted about in the creekside
trees. When a siren went off at the dam, and Marcia noticed that the
water flow in the creek/river was actually flowing back UP the
creek/river, we decided to foot it for high ground.   This spot bears
further investigation  in the spring, a likely path for migrants to
follow along the creek from the river.    A stop on Frenchtown rd. along
the Susquehanna gave little execpt another yellow-bellied sapsucker
appearing in a nearby yard.  Perryville town park held a nice assortment
of waterfowl as usual, including
Wigeon
Red Head
Pied Bill Grebe
Canvas Back
Golden Eye
Bufflehead
Black Duck
Yet another Horned Grebe
Hooded Merg
Common Merg
Lesser Scaup
About 12:30, Marcias` conscience won over, and she declared that she
should really be getting to work!!  I went on to the Cecil Landfill in
search of gulls, but once again, ended up with Ring-bills and Greater
BB.  Will try again- I find I`m becoming more interested in gulls.
Leslie Fisher
Cecil Co,MD