Thanks to all those MDOsprey experts who provided birding tips for Garrett County, my husband and I had a great weekend!  The weather was great and I added quite a few birds to my growing life list!
We arrived at Carmel Cove Inn in the central area of the Deep Creek Lake on Thursday evening, and had a nice deck with a great wooded view, so I didn’t have far to go to see some great birds!  From our deck I saw:
·        Great-crested Flycatchers (I have heard them before, but never seen one.  We had a great look at a pair who spent the weekend with us)
·        Red-eyed Vireos (they were not shy at all and I got a good close-up view of their red-eyes)
·        Eastern Phoebe (flying back and forth to nest under the eaves of the Inn)
·        Common Yellowthroat (singing constantly, but not visible)
·        R.T. Hummingbird (a pair flew up for a quick visit)
·        Song Sparrow (heard several)
·        Chipping Sparrow (taking a dust bath)
·        Veery (heard, lifer!)
·        Black-billed Cuckoo (heard)
·        Wood Thrush
·        Lots of Blue jays, Catbirds, and Crows
On Friday morning, we visited Herrington Manor SP and I had the highlight of my weekend.  An adorable male CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER sat in plain view the sunlight and sang and preened for a good 15 minutes!  Apparently he was very “pleased, pleased, pleased to meet us”! He was SO cute!  Also got a quick look at a beautiful bright male BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER sitting high atop and pine tree.  Both lifers for me!!  Also saw/heard most of the same birds listed above.
Saturday, we visited Swallow Falls SP.  What a beautiful place!  I heard many BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS (but couldn’t spot any – it was a bit cloudy and very dark in the woods).  But I got a good look at a MAGNOLIA WARBLER (another lifer!!).  Also heard,
·        Olive-side Flycatcher (lifer!  quick, three beers!)
·        Cerulean Warbler (lifer! I'm pretty sure I heard 2 of them)
·        Acadian Flycatcher
·        Great-crested Flycatcher
·        Solitary Vireo
·        Yellow-throated Vireo
·        Red-eyed Vireo
·        Pileated Woodpecker
By the way, I had a MYSTERY BIRD singing all weekend outside the Inn.  He sang the same song most of the day, but I couldn’t see him and couldn't for the life of me figure out who it was.  He appeared to be high in a tree at the edge of the woods next to a small field (along with the Yellow-throat he was the most consistent vocalist of the weekend).  His song was a clear and musical:
-  ___ ___ ── ── ___ ___  - - -
deet dah-dah dee-dee dah-dah  deet-deet-deet

…with the last three notes a quicker three-note trill.  It is probably a very obvious bird, but I am stumped (which isn’t very hard!). If anyone has a clue who this might have been, please let me know.
 Thanks again for all the help!!
Jenny McClintock
Columbia, MD