I started out this morning by going to Lilypons to look for the Virginia
Rail, not knowing they were closed on Sundays, and found the gate locked. I know
the folks there are very accommodating to birders but I thought slipping
through the gate early on a Sunday morning might be pushing it. So I turned around
and went for the first time to Blue Mash, hoping there might be some cosmic
reward for my small show of good manners. Turned out there was.

First, this place has some of the best sparrow habitat I've seen on public
land, in my limited experience, and I really only covered part of the south
side. There is a great diversity of plant life and habitat. No doubt more rarities
will turn up there. The highest sparrow diversity was along the fence near
the landfill maintenance building where, around 11:30, a rooster RN PHEASANT
crowed from the top of the landfill. Best bird for me was an dull ORANGE-CROWNED
WARBLER (state bird) that flushed from a weedy ditch and flitted about the
edge of a woods for some good looks. It had me stumped for a while because of the
flesh-colored feet and light pigment on the bill, but Dunn & Garrett
satisfied me that these characteristics are possible. Just another lesson that
sometimes a bird will not match any illustration you've seen.

The list, from 0915-1200:

GB Heron - 1
Canada Goose
duck sp. - 2
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
RING-NECKED PHEASANT - 1 heard only
Killdeer - 8
Mourning Dove - 6
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 4
Downy Woodpecker - 2
N Flicker - 5
E Phoebe - 3
Blue Jay - 10
American Crow
C Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren - 6
RC Kinglet - 10+
Hermit Thrush - 1
American Robin - 4
N Mockingbird
American Pipit - 1 flyover
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler ~15
E Towhee - 3
Field Sparrow - 20+
Savannah Sparrow - 3
Song Sparrow - 20+
Swamp Sparrow - 15
White-throated Sparrow - 30+
White-crowned Sparrow - 3
DE Junco - 2
N Cardinal
RW Blackbird - 10
House Finch - 8
American Goldfinch - 20

Joel Martin
Catonsville, MD