Hi Everybody,

Snow Geese have been about in modest numbers at best here in west-central Kent County thus far this fall. Numbers have just started to pick up during the last few days. Today Nancy and I did some incidental birding during an errand run into Chestertown and noted btween 600 and 700 Snow Geese. These were mostly in the fields south of Handy Point Road between Fish Hatchery Rd and MD-298 (at Melitota) - this area is about a mile east of Great Oak Pd. One flock at the corner of Handy Pt. Rd and 298 contained an adult ROSS'S GOOSE. We saw the Ross's fly in with four Snows and land in the harvested corn stubble in the field. Most of the time we could only see the bird's head and neck above the stubble unlike its neighbors whose backs easily topped the corn stalks. Fortunately it's the shape and pattern of the bill, head shape, and neck structure that are most valuable for identifying Ross's Goose.

We also stopped at the John Hanson Rd Pd in Chestertown and at Grat Oak Pd before returning homeward.

At John Hanson Rd were:
270 Northern Shovelers
230 Ruddy Ducks
   1 Black-bellied Plover - A juvenile, the last of the two juveniles present at the pond since                                      26 September.
   2+ Lesser Yellowlegs
   2+ American Pipits
  60 Tree Swallows

An oddity for the location was my first Double-crested Cormorant for the settling pond. It must have just been hanging-out because I don't think the pond has any fish worthy of a cormorant's attention.

Great Oak Pd:
  4 Green-winged Teal
  3 Lesser Scaup
50 Ruddy Ducks
  1 Lesser Yellowlegs
19 Dunlin
50 Tree Swallows

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")