At lunch today I went out to monitor bluebird boxes at Patterson Park in Calvert county. When I was done I decided to see if any Grasshopper Sparrows were on site yet at Mackall and Cage Roads. There were some singing Horned Larks but no sparrows yet. Then I noticed a small cloud of Tree Swallows, perhaps 15 to 20.

When I glassed them I noticed a larger bird behind them in the distance. This was a large black bird with a long neck and long tail which was fanned out slightly. It was soaring in a thermal in the characteristic flap-flap-flap glide that I've seen Anhingas do hundreds of times while doing research in the Everglades. I watched it soaring until I lost it in the floaters.

I tried to relocate the bird by driving north (the direction it seemed to be heading) to the Mackall and Parran Road intersection but found nothing more than Turkey Vultures and an Osprey. I wish I had been able to see this bird earlier because it almost surely flew over Patterson Park. That would be a nice park bird!

Keep your eyes open further north though this thing may be only a speck.

Tyler Bell

California, Maryland

Wave that flag...wave it wide and high!
Grateful Dead, U.S. Blues

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