Hadn't been on the Blue Trail in a while so I did about 3 hrs on it this AM.
For those of you not familiar with it this 26-mi trail, also maintained by
the PATC, runs along the crest of the Catoctins from Gambrill State Park to
a point on Mt Zion Road right near a church, just off of Rt. 491. I have
heard rumors that there may be plans to reroute the AT over here because of
some landowner issues on South Mt. Just how real the rumors are is anybody's
guess. If you get a PATC map of the AT in MD, it also shows the Blue Trail,
which is also known as the Catoctin Trail.
    This AM I was bopping along telling myself, in spite of the low humidity
and nice breeze, what a bore it is to be out in July. Even the red-eyes
weren't singing much. An occasional hiccup from an Acadian FC and a Scarlet
Tanager were the only other sounds. I was just thinking how even the
Ovenbirds had shut up for the summer, when I heard a chip practically right
in my ear. Then one dropped down onto the trail right next to me and started
going into the usual, agitated 'get-out-of-here' stuff they give you,
complete with the raised orange stripe on the helmet. When they raise that
stripe, they are pi--ed! Look out!
    Naturally, that always causes me to start looking around for the nest. I
hardly ever find one, but I look anyway. Not far down the trail I
encountered yet another irate ovenbird. Again - no nest or fledglings that I
can see. Later I had one do a slow, crouchy walk right across the trail, in
front of me. It almost looked like a distraction display ala Killdeer. Boy
when these Ovenbirds think you're too close to something they can really get
huffy!
    In all I had five separate Ovenbirds get nasty with me. I don't think
there are any documented instances of them taking out a human, but stay
tuned. I'm beginning to think it could happen. Hitchcock would be proud.
    So I was knocking along, wondering if my pace was doing me any good
cardiovascularly, when I suddenly heard the first real interesting song of
the day - wheeta, wheeta wheeteo! Of course, at that point exercise got put
on a back burner and I did my usual, stop and try to locate bit. Typically,
it was in some thick cover. But what's this? Some nice hunter has cut a side
trail back to a deer stand or something and even marked it with orange
flagging for me. So off I went right toward the warbler. About the time it
sang again, it was right in front of me. I froze. A rustle of rhododendron
later, it popped up and sprang onto the branch of a hornbeam and stared at
me. Nothing like a naked-eye close-up of a hooded to really make a hike
worth it.
    I walked on down the trail thinking to myself how no dedicated hiker
would have ever taken the time to search out that bird when I stopped again.
Ever get the feeling you're being watched? I glanced to the left just in
time to see a deer turn and bolt away from the trail not more than fifteen
feet away. When he stopped I got my bins on him and saw that he was a spike,
probably last year's fawn.
    On down near one the many fireponds they've put in the Catoctins (one of
them got some press last year when the FBI found some terrorist evidence in
it) I was thinking how nice it would be if a wood duck would show up when a
phoebe lit right next to the trail and sat there flipping his tail at me.
    In all I managed to do about 7.5 miles. Not bad. But whether what I was
doing can be called hiking or birding is irrelevant. I'm just glad I take
the time to stop once in a while. On a day like today there's no reason to
hurry.
    Jerry