Hi Folks,

This afternoon I visited 8 of the 14 or so ponds in AA & Balt. Counties that
are sometimes collectively called the Halethorpe Ponds or Kaiser Ponds (and
I include the three large Belle Grove Ponds [on Belle Grove Rd.] in this
group, though they are not usually of much birding interest).  Only three of
the visited ponds had waterfowl:

Pond #11, Nursery Rd., just west of B&A Blvd, AA Co.:

Gadwall--5 (4m 1f)
Mallard--ca 20
Green-winged Teal--4 (2m 2f)

Pond #10, NW corner of BW Parkway & Nursery Rd., accessed from Barkwood Ct.
off of Nursery Rd., AA Co.:

Am. Black Duck--7
N. Shoveler--13 (8m 5f)
Hooded Merganser--5 (3m 2f)
B. Kingfisher--1

Ponds 4&5 (separated by an isthmus; collectively the "Big Halethorpe Pond"),
Balt. Co.:

Wood Duck--1 hen
Gadwall--4 (3m 1f)
Mallard--plenty
Hooded Merganser--pair
DC Cormorant--61--the biggest group I've ever seen here
Killdeer--7
Ring-billed Gull--a dozen or so
Herring Gull--3--not very common here

Early this morning, Southwest Area Park in Baltimore Co. had only black
ducks and mallards in the way of waterfowl, along with numerous gulls and
cormorants flying along the nearby Patapsco River.

Stan Arnold
Glen Burnie