Hi All,

The Kent County Bird Club's Millington Wildlife Management Area (WMA) trip started on an embarrassing note as two would-be participants and the would-be leaders managed to not see each other in a single modest-sized parking lot from 7:00 to 7:10 AM. This was a lesson to Nancy and I - "Look very carefully before going to meet others waiting for you". I spent a bit of time out of the car counting vultures in the Spring St roost and picking up my first Chimney Swifts of the year, but I was looking for birds instead of humans I am ashamed to admit. We left the lot and drove to meet Club President Peter Mann and member Bill Mechling near the intersection of Walnut Tree Rd and Md-313.

We spent the first hour of the trip looking for grassland and field birds. The western part of Walnut Tree Rd is a past venue for Vesper Sparrow. We found no Vespers but we did see several Horned Larks, Savannah Sparrows, a distant Northern Harrier, Osprey nesting atop the tall powerline that runs through east county, 5 fly-by Greater Yellowlegs, and 50 late Snow Geese. Our best find was a flock of 20 AMERICAN PIPITS one of whom gave us a great view.

Upong entering the WMA we were met with a chorus of (what else?) chorus frogs, White-throated Sparrows, and a couple of newly arrived Ovenbirds. At the first small brook crossing an unseen Louisiana Waterthrush sang loudly and tantalizingly. A bit further along, near the first WMA parking area there was a small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers accompanied by a gnatcatcher, a BLUE-HEADED VIREO, a singing Yellow Palm Warbler, and a White-breasted Nuthatch (uncommon in Kent County). We noted another pair of gnatcatchers, a phoebe, and the out-of-context guffaws of Laughing Gulls high overhead at the bridge over the Cypress Branch of the Chester. A bit further along where there is a pond on the left (north) we found another Yellow-rump flock accompanied by a bird that sounded for all the world like a Swainson's Warbler - when we finally saw the singer we were flabbergasted to find that it was a BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. The bird never sang any other song than its soft Swainson's-like ditty. It is mere speculation but one wonders where a Black-throated Green would learn a Swainson's Warbler song - Was the bird an overshooting Wayne's BTGreen from the Carolinas? Or was it a youngster who listened to a Swainson's singing somewhere over the last couple of months?

Upon reaching Big Stone Rd we turned left. We found 5 Bald Eagles (all adults) soaring and chasing far above the Cypress Branch crossing on Big Stone Rd, heard a Rusty Blackbird squeeing in the swamp, and had our first Common Yellowthroats of the season. We quickly checked the pond at the corner of Waecker Rd and MD-330 where we heard a Pine Warbler, noted Tree Swallows around the nest boxes, and Bill spotted a Wild Turkey. Along Black Bottom Rd we had more gnatcatchers (back in force this weekend), and another uncommon White-breasted Nuthatch. We wrapped up along a quiet Quinn Rd surrounded by the tinkling songs of Horned Larks, just as we had started the trip. We finished with 65 species, a list is appended below.

Snow Goose; Canada Goose; Wood Duck; Mallard; Wild Turkey; Great Blue Heron; Black Vulture; Turkey Vulture; Osprey; Bald Eagle; Northern Harrier; Red-tailed Hawk; Greater Yellowlegs; Laughing Gull; Ring-billed Gull; Rock Pigeon; Mourning Dove; Chimney Swift (Chestertown); Red-bellied Woodpecker; Downy Woodpecker; Hairy Woodpecker; Northern Flicker; Eastern Phoebe; Blue-headed Vireo; Blue Jay; American Crow; Fish Crow; Horned Lark; Purple Martin; Tree Swallow; Barn Swallow; Carolina Chickadee; Tufted Titmouse; White-breasted Nuthatch; Carolina Wren; Ruby-crowned Kinglet; Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; American Robin; Northern Mockingbird; Brown Thrasher; European Starling; American Pipit; Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler; Black-throated Green Warbler; Pine Warbler; (Yellow) Palm Warbler; Ovenbird; Louisiana Waterthrush; Common Yellowthroat; Eastern Towhee; Chipping Sparrow; Field Sparrow; Savannah Sparrow; Song Sparrow; Swamp Sparrow; White-throated Sparrow; Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco; Northern Cardinal; Red-winged Blackbird; Rusty Blackbird; Common Grackle; Brown-headed Cowbird; House Finch; American Goldfinch; House Sparrow.

Good Birding,

Walter Ellison

23460 Clarissa Road
Chestertown, MD 21620
phone: 410-778-9568
e-mail: 

"A person who is looking for something doesn't travel very fast" - E. B. White (in "Stuart Little")

=======================================================================
To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to 
with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey
=======================================================================