Folks

The day started with a singing Brown Thrasher near the house for year yard 
bird #51.  I had a fly-over Red-tailed Hawk on Wednesday for #50.

I then met a friend, Dr. Sehdev, in La Plata and we headed out to find him 
some new county birds.  We had a nice mix of waterfowl along the way but not 
many landbirds.  After about four hours of birding we had accumulated 50 
species. Highlights are below.

At the old Courthouse in Port Tobacco we found my first Wood Ducks of the 
season - one male, one female.   We also had singing Fox Sparrows but none 
would show themselves.  Bluebirds were singing on territory, but no Green 
Herons yet.  Downy Woodpecker, Song Sparrow, and White-throated were easily 
found.  Other resident birds were Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal, 
Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackle, White-breasted 
Nuthatch, Carolina Chickadee, and Tufted Titmouse.

Next we went to the Bumpy Oak Road wetlands where we were greeted by four 
American Wigeon, one male Gadwall, three Hooded Mergansers, maybe six 
Mallards, and about 30 Canada Geese.  A male Belted Kingfisher was feeding 
and sunning itself safely, far from our grasp.  Two Killdeer were startled 
and flew around the farm field opposite the wetland.

Next we went to Myrtle Grove were we found a single Pied-billed Grebe and 
two Brown Thrashers.  An Eastern Towhee was calling, but was not 
cooperative.  Many fisherman were out, so not much else was on the pond. 
One Northern Flicker called in the distance, and a Hairy Woodpecker was 
doing courtship drumming.

A short stop at the Port Tobacco Marina produced a single male Red-breasted 
Merganser, two Osprey, two Bald Eagle (young), and a few Mallards.

Then off to Morgantown where we found about 15 Greater Scaup, mostly females 
but one male in the mix.  Greater Black-backed, Herring, and Ring-billed 
Gulls were the only ones to be found.  The river was pretty choppy and very 
few birds.  A local resident (Bob Eppley - Thanks Bob) advised that they 
moved out last week.  Bummer!  We did have White-breasted Nuthatch and a few 
American Goldfinches at his house.  Many Double-crested Cormorant were 
moving by constantly.

Finally, we went to the pumping station at Cobb Island to find lots of wind 
and chop.  Just before arriving we found about 50 American Coot near Neale 
Sound.  Our short stay did produce one Bonaparte's Gull and several Common 
Goldeneye, perhaps 30 Lesser Scaup, and a single Canvasback.  The Dr. had an 
appointment but another outing is scheduled.

Along the byways we had several Bald Eagles of several ages, Red-tailed 
Hawks, and two American Kestrel perched on telephone wires.

Good birding.

George