Brewster's and Wilson's Warbler in Balto/Carroll Co
Steve Sanford (tanager@bcpl.net)
Mon, 10 May 1999 20:52:19 -0400
I took today off to go a-warblering locally. Although migrants were
still a little weak, it was quite nice, with 22 1/2 warbler species, and
90 total. [Caution. The following paragraph contains a county-listing
discussion which may not be suitable for all readers.]
My best find by far was the 1/2 warbler species: Brewster's Warbler. It
was literally on the Carroll/Baltimore County line on Glen Falls Rd at
the railroad track just north of Rt 140 east of Liberty "Lake," which is
more like a prairie there now. The bird was singing a straight Blue-wing
song (i.e. a high rasbberry followed by a low raspberry). It's
appearance was exactly like the top Brewster's Warbler in the (original)
Natl Geo guide in every respect, so I won't repeat my notes which I took
before looking it up. I was able to see it closely and very clearly
various times between 3:40 and 4:00 Monday, May 10. It was on both sides
of the road at the pull-off on the north side of the RR tracks. As I see
it on DeLorme and another map, the county line goes straight north from
the east side of Glen Falls Rd. The bird was sometimes east of such a
line by 50-100 feet. It never crossed the stream to the east of the road
though. Assuming my interpretation of where the line falls is correct,
it was in both counties but mainly Carroll. Perhaps Bob Ringler or
others can comment authoritatively on precisely where the line falls.
But please don't break my heart. Say it was in Baltimore County.
At any rate it was my first-ever "Brewster's" Warbler wherever it was.
(This is a hybrid of Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers, if you're
wondering.)
My other good find was a Wilson's Warbler on Powell's Run Rd (Balto Co)
amongst the multiflora and other bushes on the roadside in the open area
at the southeast end of the road near Marriottsville Rd. This area also
had highly visible Baltimore and Orchard Orioles again, and I got a good
LOOK at a Chat there too. Also, a nice new species for my list there was
Bobolink (3) plus a fly-over Spotted Sandpiper.
The Liberty Dam Trail had numerous Cerulean Warblers including a very
obliging male and female in plain view right at the parking area. A
Kentucky Warbler also sang in plain view for me down the trail, which is
a rare treat.
Steve Sanford
tanager@bcpl.net
Randallstown MD (Baltimore Co)