The parade of spectacular birds visiting the yard continues. Y'day (as
reported but cut off by the press of a field trip) we were favored by 4
Purple Finches, incl the first ad males in 20 years. A Broad-winged Hawk
then landed near them, affably enough, but the resident Mockingbird
chased away this least-assertive of hawks. Our first Gnatcatchers,
Chimney Swifts, and Towhee joined sev Ruby-crowns and scores of Myrtles,
while overhead 4 Loons and 14 Cormaorants sailed by. Later in the day, a
surprise Siskin, first in sev years, visited the feeder.

This morning started more slowly, but eventually a Field Sparrow showed
up - apparently unaware that Bowie's last fields disappeared years ago.
RC Kinglets and Myrtle Warblers re-appeared along with a "yellow" Palm
Warbler. Most amazing of all was a Yellow-throated Warbler, a 25-year
first. (Our house is over 2 miles from the Patuxent River). We watched
it closely for 1/2 an hour, noting the very long, narrow, curved bill
and barely-perceptable supra-loral yellow - marking it as the "Delmarva"
dominica race. As these new arrivals streamed in, the Juncos showed the
other side of the coin by disappearing today.

Meanwhile we had made a pre-dawn atlasing visit to the "PG side" of
Wooten's Landing, trying for woodcock. No woodcock were heard, but we
did hear 2 distinct pairs of duelling Barred Owls. At sunrise we were
pleasantly surprised to hear a Pied-billed Grebe calling - unusual
outside breeding grounds - and to see an Am. Bittern rise up and glide
back into the land-side impoundment. Also curious was a cluster of 6 Gt
Blue Herons around a single heron nest - the start of a new colony?  The
marsh is already teeming with a fully-returned complement of
Yellow-throats; also Swamp Sparrows. Several Wild Turkeys calling from
the PG side rounded out the morning's foray.

Fred & Jane Fallon
Bowie MD

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