Taking a break from meeting with Norm Saunders and Matt Hafner about revisions to the Yellow Book the three of us birded several areas in Somerset and Worcester Counties.
We started Saturday the 30th at Vessey's Orchard. No Lazuli Bunting but 9 species of sparrows were seen including Vesper, Lincoln's, and White-crowned. Also 3 Winter Wrens and 2 Brown Thrashers. Bobwhite was heard.
At E. A. Vaughn WMA, North Section the highlights were 1 Great Egret, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 5 Tree Swallows, and 1 House Wren.
Single flocks of Snow Geese near Boxiron and at Figgs Landing numbered in the hundreds. A Common Loon and a Brown Pelican were also at Figgs Landing.
At Public Landing were about 45 Royal Terns and 25 Forster's Terns.
Near Ironshire we saw about 40 Tree Swallows hawking insects over a field and a flock of about 3,000 Snow Geese.
Near Berlin White-crowned Sparrows were seen on Evans Road and Cedar Lane Road including 1 immature of the Gambel's race on Cedar Lane about 50-100 yards off Evans.
At Norm and Fran's feeders were 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch and 3 Brown-headed Nuthatches.
For the return trip home today, the 31st, I started at Ocean City Inlet with Matt and Hans Holbrook. A feeding swarm of about 140 Gannets was offshore. Three immature Brown Pelicans flew in. A Great Cormorant was sitting on the south jetty with 75 Sanderlings. Loons, mostly Common but at least one Red-throated, were flying south. Scoters were flying north. The resident Peregrine landed on top of one of the amusement rides.
Matt and Hans headed off in a different direction. I checked the West Ocean City Pond which had a good variety of puddle ducks plus 1 Great Egret, 2 Snowy Egrets, 4 Little Blue Herons (1 adult), and 2 unidentified white herons that stayed in the grass.
In a field near Salisbury were 800 Laughing Gulls.
I next stopped at the Hurlock WWTP. Seen here were:
Snow Goose 27
Canada Goose 1,100
Mallard 10
Shoveler 135
Ring-necked Duck 8
Ruddy Duck 470
Bald Eagle 1 immature
Merlin 1
Coot 1
Black-bellied Plover 11
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Dunlin 25
Laughing Gull 320
Ring-billed Gull 75
Herring Gull 1
Tree Swallow 12
Barn Swallow 1
Starling 20
Bob Ringler
Eldersburg MD
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