Hi Folks,

I did a fair amount of atlas work in Garrett and Washington Counties last week.  Highlights for Garrett Co. include HENSLOW'S SPARROW (new location), BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, LEAST & WILLOW FLYCATCHERS, WHIP-POOR-WILL, and warblers, including CANADA and BLACKBURNIAN.  Highlights in Washington Co. include RED-HEADED WOODPECKER (new location), WILLOW FLYCATCHER, BOBWHITE, WARBLING VIREO, SAVANNAH SPARROW, and E. SCREECH OWLs.

On Wednesday afternoon, 23 June, while scouting for a mini-route in the Avilton CE atlas block in Garrett Co., I had a HENSLOW'S SPARROW vocalizing on Green Lantern Rd.  This is a mile or so north of the Pea Ridge Henslow's location.  Directions:  from US-40 (between exits 29 and 24 of I-68), take Green Lantern road south across the interstate to a Y in the road.  From this point bear left onto the less improved road, which still keeps the name Green Lantern, and travel 0.4 mile.  After a couple bends in the road, and just past a combination brick and white-sided house on the left is a field of grass/hay, where the bird was vocalizing quite near the road.  The bird was still vocalizing the following morning while I was conducting the mini-route, but unfortunately was not audible from any of the stops on the route.  After finishing the route, I drove along the section of Pea Ridge Rd. that extends south from Avilton Rd., and in the short stretch to the first bend in the road I counted 16 "Henslow's hiccups" meaning I heard that many vocalizations of this bird.  With the propensity of these little tykes to throw their voices, I may have actually heard only half that many birds, but the fact is that they were quite thick along this 1/4 mile stretch of Pea Ridge Rd.

Further down on the section of Pea Ridge Rd. that goes south from Lancaster Rd., there was a singing WILLOW FLYCATCHER on the right, in the hillside field just before coming to the house near the double bend at the bottom of the hill, near which stand the double-silos.  This is the second year that Willow has been heard in this location.  Towards the end of Pea Ridge Rd., the BOBOLINKS, SAVANNAH and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, and E. MEADOWLARKS continue to be heard and seen in good numbers.  Also, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK continues to be heard in the wooded areas along this road.

On Friday morning, 25 June, a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was vocalizing on Swamp Rd., behind the last house on the left (before the woods) while proceeding west from the Avilton-Lonaconing Rd.  I heard the bird at 8:00 a.m. while walking past the house, then again 6 minutes later as I walked past in the other direction.  Also, in front of the house, next to the road, was a very vocal LEAST FLYCATCHER.  As I walked past the houses along Swamp Rd., I heard YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT calling from the brush near the edge of the woods.

On Thursday, 24 June, while hiking the forest service trail (through the yellow gate) to the north of Swamp Rd., I had another Black-billed Cuckoo vocalize for nearly 60 seconds without a break.  This bird wanted to sing!  Also, along this trail in the pine stand not far from the road was a vocalizing BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER.  Another Blackburnian was found in a pine stand on a forest trail going west from the Avilton-Lonaconing Rd. the day before.

Also on 24 June, I hiked the forest trail that proceeds south from the Georges Creek Brethren Church, on Avilton-Lonaconing Rd. just south of Swamp Rd.  I did not see or hear the abundance of warblers that I had this time last year, but I did hear singing CANADA WARBLER and KENTUCKY WARBLER near the bottom of the long hill, both of these being new birds for the Barton NE atlas block.  The previous evening, 23 June, WHIP-POOR-WILL was vocalizing robustly in the direction of the power lines across the road from the little church mentioned above, providing a T-code for the atlas.

Another new bird for the Barton NE atlas block was a very noisy N. MOCKINGBIRD (I guess noisy mockingbird is a redundancy) atop Harold Fikes' barn, which building almost juts out into Pea Ridge Rd. as you proceed south from Lancaster Rd. half way to its end.  Though regular, mockingbirds are a pretty good find in Garrett Co.

On my way to Garrett Co., I stopped and atlased for a day and a half in the Smithsburg area of Washington Co.  I was pleased to find yet another RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, this one on Wed., 23 June at the north end of Durberry Rd., where it meets Poplar Grove Rd. in a small triangular island.  I was also pleased to have WILLOW FLYCATCHER still singing along Watery Lane, so that I could T-code it for the atlas.

NORTHERN BOBWHITE was vocalizing in two different locations along Grove Rd., heading south off of Hwy 481, providing yet another T-code.  WARBLING VIREO continues to be heard at most stream crossings in the Smithsburg CW atlas block, notably where Battletown, Poplar Grove, and Leitersburg-Smithsburg Roads all cross their respective sections of the Antietam Creek.  A singing SAVANNAH SPARROW was a good find along Misty Meadow Rd., this being a new bird for the Smithsburg CE atlas block and one not picked up during the last atlas.

I did some owling on Tuesday night, 22 June, and found E. SCREECH OWL at the "Devil's Racecourse" entrance to the Appilacian Trail off of Ritchie Rd., and later that evening found another along Durberry Rd., across from the country path that crosses a stream just south of the Goode Goose Farm; this added this bird to both the Smithsburg CE and CW atlas blocks.  I was able to get many confirmations, mostly adults feeding young or seeing fledged youngsters.  An American Redstart ("Yellowstart") sitting on her nest was my most notable find in this regard.

Yet another excellent atlasing experience.  I look forward to getting back to these areas in mid-July to see what kind of fledglings are out and about.

Stan Arnold
Glen Burnie