Sunday on Catoctin ridge
GAIL@UMDD.UMD.EDU
Mon, 10 May 99 12:58:33 EDT
Yesterday Barry and I went up to the Catoctin ridge, south of Cunningham Falls
SP, to see what migration looked like further west. We had scouted some areas
out last fall, mostly along Tower Road and Fishing Creek Road. Unfortunately,
it turned out not to be a great *migration* night, being cold and breezy (from
NW). However, we saw quite a few nice birds and, for certain species, very
high numbers. For example, Cerulean Warblers are everywhere and can be seen
low down as they forage for nesting material; views of the rather rarely seen
female were especially nice. We had well into the double digits for Cerulean,
Redstart, Yellowthroat, Hooded, Ovenbird, LA Waterthrush and Kentuckies, plus
scattered other species including Chestnut-sided, Blue-winged, Parula, Yellow,
Magnolia and Prairie, lots of Scarlet Tanagers, Wood Thrushes and Veeries.
On the way back we stopped on Oland Rd and saw 25 Bobolinks in an alfalfa field
and also dropped in at Lily Pons, which was crammed with people and we dipped
on the Least Bitterns, but did find about 5 species of shorebird.
Gail Mackiernan and Barry Cooper
Silver Spring, MD