Hi folks,
This afternoon, I was able to continue my Patapsco Pond survey, abruptly
interupted this morning by the presence of a Northern Shrike at Pond 12 on
Belle Grove Ave, less than a mile east of B&A Blvd. I returned to this pond
at 2 p.m. and did not see the shrike, but on a fluke, I decided to stop by
one more time at 4 p.m., and there was the shrike sitting in the same tree
where I had found it at 7:30 this morning. I got on the cell phone with
Bill Hubick, who had just looked for the shrike and not seen it. He was
back on the scene in about four minutes, camera in hand. He got several
decent shots of the bird before it flushed to the north, towards the
Patapsco River. By the way, the proximity of the river might make it
possible to see this bird in Baltimore Co. as well as AA Co., though we were
not quite that fortunate.
After the shrike flushed, a WOODCOCK also flushed, and flew across the
isthmus. We also saw an OSPREY there, my first in AA Co. for the year.
The complete rundown on (water) birds seen on the Patapsco River, or nearby
ponds follows:
Ft. McHenry, Baltimore, on Friday, 18 March:
Horned Grebe--2
DC Cormorant--2
Am. Wigeon--12
Bufflehead--25
Canvasback--1
Red-breasted Merganser--1 (imm?) male
Harbor Hospital, Baltimore, on Friday 18 March:
Horned Grebe--1
Mute Swan--6
Gadwall--5
Lesser Scaup--15
Bufflehead--ca 100
Common Goldeneye--1 drake
Common Merganser--3 (2m 1f)
Ruddy Duck--3
The following were all sighted on Sunday 20 March 05:
Pond 14 (eastern-most pond on Belle Grove Rd.) AA Co.:
DC Cormorant--1
B. Kingfisher
Pond 13 AA Co.:
Hooded Merganser--1 drake
B. Kingfisher
Pond 12 (western-most of Belle Grove ponds), AA Co.:
Pied-billed Grebe--1 (a.m. only)
Mallard--pair
Hooded Merganser--1 drake (a.m. only)
Osprey--1 (p.m. only)
Am. Woodcock--1 (p.m. only)
NORTHERN SHRIKE--1 seen a.m. and p.m.
Pond 11 (Nursery Rd. just west of B&A Blvd) AA Co.:
B. Kingfisher
(there are usually GW Teal here, but they are very skittish and may have
been flushed by the afternoon when I visited; they are usually present in
the early morning)
Pond 10 (near BW Parkway at Nursery Rd.) AA Co:
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose--3 pairs
Wood Duck--a pair plus a lone drake
Gadwall--1 drake
Mallard--ca 10
N. Shoveler--11
Ring-necked Duck--2 drakes
Hooded Merganser--2 pairs
Pond 9 (behind Oregon Business Center, Nursery Rd.) AA Co.:
Ring-necked Duck--5 (2m 3f)
SW Area Park, Baltimore Co.:
Great Blue Heron--1
Am. Black Duck--2
Mallard--10
Fort McHenry, Baltimore:
DC Cormorant--3
Canada Goose--present
Am. Wigeon--22
Mallard--present
Canvasback--4
Bufflehead--25
Harbor Hospital, Baltimore:
DC Cormorant--5
Gadwall--5
scaup, sp--35
Bufflehead--220
Red-breasted Merganser--1 (imm?) male, perhaps same one seen at Ft. McHenry
on Friday
Bill Hubick should be posting some N. Shrike photos shortly.
Stan Arnold
Glen Burnie
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