I had a much longer wait than normal (about 50 minutes), and enjoyed the
time by bird watching (w/out bino's).  Nothing unusual (my poll is at a
church in Upper Marlboro), but I observed 13 species while standing in the
line outside (list below).  I always vote as soon as the polls open, and
previously the longest I've ever waited in line (same time of day) was
about 5 minutes.  But this year - either our population has increased 5
fold here, or the voter turnout is phenomenal, or everyone in Croom
couldn't wait to vote.  Most likely a mix of each.  Too many people have
moved into NEW houses in southern PG County in the last few years, and the
rate of loss of good bird habitat here to urban sprawl is truly
frightening.  I hope most of the people are voting for the bird-friendly
candidate(s: incl. the Senate and House races). We are alarmingly close to
a perfect storm; a political mix with a predictable disastrous loss of
habitat from unprecedented reductions in environmental protections looms
on America's horizon.  My stomach is in knots.

Canada goose  14
Killdeer  1
Ring-billed gull  4
Herring gull  11
Gull sp.  2
Rock pigeon  13
Northern flicker  1
Downy woodpecker  1
American crow  1
Crow sp.  2
American robin  3
Northern mockingbird  1
European starling  23
Slate-colored Junco  1
House finch  1
Unid'd passerine sp.  2

Jeff Shenot
Croom