Hi Folks,

After trying for an hour, but missing the Cave Swallows near Assateague this
morning, Bill Hubick and I headed to the ORV Zone of the island (only common
suspects), and then off to Somerset County to pick up a few (dozen) county
birds.  No rarities, or Cave Swallows, but we did get some nice birds for
our efforts.  A little woodsy patch along Gordy Rd., west of Pocomoke City,
provided YB SAPSUCKER, WB NUTHATCH, and a pair of RUSTY BLACKBIRDs, among
other more common birds.  A weedy ditch along Shelltown Rd., a bit further
to the south, was loaded with sparrows to include Savannah, Song,
White-throat, Field, and Swamp, but the prize was a LINCOLN'S SPARROW, that
provided some pretty decent views, but didn't sit still long enough for Bill
to get the camera on.

Rumbly Point Road just south of the MOS Irish Grove Sanctuary gave us a
pleasant surprise, when, at 3:00 in the afternoon in bright sunlight,
SHORT-EARED OWLs began flying over the marsh.  We saw at least three of
these birds (and possibly as many as six), two of which perched within about
40 feet of the road, giving Bill some magnificent photo ops, the results of
which will be posted to his website soon.  Of particular interest were a
couple of dogfights between a Short-eared Owl and a N. Harrier.  Also, for
the first time, Bill and I heard several "yelpy-dog" vocalizations of the
owls.  We had about ten TREE SWALLOWs fly over the marsh at various times,
but they were not accompanied by any of their duskier relatives from the
southwest.  Shorebirds in the marsh included four LESSER YELLOWLEGS, one or
two GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and five DUNLIN at the end of the road.

The Irish Grove Sanctuary was also productive.  A lone GREAT EGRET flew over
as we walked the Rail Trail, where we listened to 9 or 10 VIRGINIA RAILs at
dusk, mostly in the vicinity of the Stasz Overlook, and then heard two E.
SCREECH OWLs in the nearby pines.

In addition to some of the above-mentioned birds, Bill will be posting
photos from the Delaware-only pelagic trip on Saturday.

Yet another highly enjoyable weekend of birding.

Stan Arnold
Glen Burnie