Folks

While watching the sky between 3 and 4 PM (hoping for a Bald Eagle) this 
afternoon at the house in Waldorf I began to see gulls heading north. 
Perhaps beginning to migrate.  Much to my surprise and pleasure I had a 
small kettle of Herring Gulls around 3:30.  Shortly after the a lone Great 
Black-backed Gull flew in from the south and mixed in with the Herring Gulls 
and a single Ring-billed Gull.  The Great Black-backed Gull was a life yard 
bird, number 161.  About 20 minutes later, presumable a second kettle of 
gulls drifted south to north.  This kettle contained a single GBBG as well. 
Maybe the same bird but I never will know.

I eliminated Kelp Gull, Lesser Black-backed, and any other black-backed 
gulls based on size of the individual - larger then the other gulls in the 
fray, and a clear head.  Watching the sky can be entertaining

Another pleasant surprise was  a male Pine Warbler feeding in the pine tree 
to the east of the house.  I am thinking this may be the same male that was 
around the house all December and January.  I had not seen the warbler for 
about a week.

Yesterday, Gwen and I made a quick trip to Frostburg to make a PowerPoint 
presentation on the Birds, Bats, and other things in the Brazilian Amazon. 
We stopped at the Terminus briefly.  Birds of note found were two female 
Common Goldeneyes, and a single Mute Swan with the Canada Geese.  Not much 
else to report from the area.  Rocky Gap is still frozen and land birding 
was dismal.

Good birding.

George