As Sean McCandless has already posted, Turkey Point presented another great
example of fall warbler pandemonium today, the kind you just can't easily find
anywhere else in Maryland -- and this wasn't even the best of days. Too bad
more birders couldn't be there to share the spectacle. Our BBC party began
encountering birds as soon as we hit the trail, and by the time we met up with
Sean's group at the first meadow, all heck broke loose for several wonderful
minutes. There was too much activity to see everything, often with 3-4 birds in one
binocular view at a time. When that action subsided we continued on to the
point, finding smaller but very active pockets on the way. We got back to the
parking lot around noon and still had to pull ourselves away -- the birds just
wouldn't quit.

Sean's warbler list shows what a good day it was, but I have to say that not
everyone saw all of these birds. Things were just moving too quickly. The most
abundant warbler was probably AMERICAN REDSTART, followed by BLACK-THROATED
GREEN, BLACK-AND-WHITE, MAGNOLIA, BLACK-THROATED BLUE and CHESTNUT-SIDED. One
major highlight was the PHILADELPHIA VIREO that showed itself near the parking
lot, at the very end of the morning. Another was the chance to study the many
Empids and to continue the identification discussion that has played out on
MDOsprey. Turkey Point is as valuable as an Empid lab as it is for a warbler
fix. We had one very brown Traill's-type and several that had Yellow-bellied
characteristics. There were several WOOD PEWEES, one giving the short, soft
"migrant song" described in Sibley. A few RT HUMMINGBIRDS were still zipping
through. The RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, though never seen, was also a treat. Perhaps the
numerous RBNU sightings this month indicate a good winter finch year. In the
meantime I'll be waiting for the first real cold front for another visit to
Turkey Point.

Joel Martin
Baltimore Bird Club