Hi Folks!

I took Friday, Saturday & Sunday to do some Eastern Shore birding.  On Friday 
(1/7) I started at Cabin Creek Rd, Queen Anne's Co.,  then to Kent Narrows 
and on to the Rt. 309 pond.  The only birds of note were 4 RICHARDSON'S 
(Cackling) GEESE  at the Rt. 309 pond.  After that I toured a bit of Talbot checking 
fields with only scattered groups of Horned Larks.  After then it was on to 
Blackwater NWR in Dorchester: missed the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, but did find a 
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH on the Wildlife Drive [this is only the 3rd time I have 
run across WBNu in Dorchester].  Shorter's Wharf Rd. produced a group of 10 
GREATER YELLOWLEGS.  The Bestpitch Ferry Road had a single flock of 60+ WILD 
TURKEY.  Along Elliot Island Road I found 1 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, an intermediate 
morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, and a SHORT-EARED OWL.  I finished with sunset at Lewis 
Wharf [east of Henry's Crossroads] where scoping the marsh across the 
Nanticoke River in Wicomico County produced 5 NORTHERN HARRIER and a dark morph 
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.

Because of the heavy rain I started late on Saturday (1/8).  Stops along the 
Nanticoke River in southeastern Wicomico County at Nanticoke, Bivalve and 
Tyaskin produced many SURF SCOTER, 3 REDHEAD AND 2 CANVASBACKS.   The fog over the 
river limited viewing.  Wetipquin Marsh by Tyaskin had 2 MARSH WREN and a 
SEDGE WREN.  North of Tyaskin on Royal Oak Road about 1 mile north of Sand Road, 
I ran across a flock of 100+ sparrows that included WHITE-THROATED, SONG, 
SWAMP, FIELD CHIPPING and 1 CLAY-COLORED.  An hour at Salisbury Landfill in a 
light drizzle were 1 first-winter GLAUCOUS GULL, 1 first-winter ICELAND GULL, and 
2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS.  I missed the exit for Rt. 50 and took the 
longish way to Ocean City via Wango and Powellsville.   A MERLIN perched on a 
fencepost long enough for me to get a couple photos.    Ocean City Inlet was cold 
and windy, but scoping produced 2 KING EIDER [imm.male and a female] and 2 
COMMON EIDER [imm.male and a female].  There were no gannets or Purple Sandpipers 
to be found.  

This morning (1/9) Mike Burchett joined me for dawn at Rumbley Point Road in 
Somerset Co.  Best birds were SEDGE WREN, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK [dark morph], 2 
SHORT-EARED OWLS, 600+ REDHEAD, and 800+ TREE SWALLOWS.  From there we head via 
Back Shelltown Road, Rehobeth and Vessey's Orchard to Ocean City.....I will 
let Mike do the Ocean City Inlet report because he kayaked to Assateague Island 
and saw more birds than anyone who viewed from the Inlet Parking Lot.  On my 
way home near Rhodesdale in Dorchester Co. was a flock of 14,000 SNOW GEESE 
with at least 2 ROSS' GEESE.  

Good Birding!

Jim

Jim Stasz
North Beach MD