Hi folks -

I've been intending to report a few things seen in Garrett and Allegany
counties in the past few weeks.  Some of this is pretty dated.  Our first
juncos at the feeder appeared 27 October, and they're everywhere now.  The
first fox sparrow showed up a week or so ago.  Purple finches are a summer
bird in our yard and usually leave sometime in the fall, but we still have
several here.

During a class trip, we saw an osprey (kind of late to be here?) on the
North Branch of the Potomac at Spring Gap on 2 November.  That same day
there was a small group of rusty blackbirds near the Paw Paw tunnel.

I've been expecting tundra swans for a couple of weeks or more, but have
only heard one flock, which flew over last Sunday.  Someone reported a
group of 4 on a small pond near Accident on 30 October.  American coots
finally showed up in their usual spot in the McHenry cove on Deep Creek
Lake last week.  Otherwise, I've yet to see a big surge of waterfowl up
here.

As of late last night, Garrett College's Casselman River northern saw-whet
owl fall migration station has caught 193 birds, including 10 birds
previously banded elsewhere (including several sites in Ontario, one in
Quebec, a couple in PA, and one previously by Steve Huy on South
Mountain).  A couple of birds we banded in previous years have shown up
elsewhere this fall, one on the Ontario-Quebec line and one near
Harrisonburg, VA.  The great majority of birds we've caught this fall have
been adults.  As always, most of the birds captured have been females.

Kevin Dodge
Bittinger, MD