Greetings,

Not sure if this bird has been reported yet (I've been away for the past week) but on a very quick stroll down to the Patuxent River and back at Hall Creek NRMA in Dunkirk early this afternoon, I heard a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER singing brightly from the pines. The only other bird of note was a single EASTERN PHOEBE. I was also looking for butterflies and found the following:
Eastern Comma - 2
Spring Azure - 1
Mourning Cloak - 1

In my yard (Dunkirk), the PURPLE FINCH flock is still present (from November 5, 2004 on) with as many as five birds. The two male PINE WARBLERS were joined by a female sometime in the last week and a CHIPPING SPARROW arrived on 3/21.

A single AMERICAN WOODCOCK was displaying on the field north of the parking lot at the American Chestnut Land Trust in Port Republic on 3/17.

Sorry for the lateness of some of my reports.

Happy Spring!

Arlene Ripley
Calvert County, MD
piwa AT comcast DOT net
<http://nestbox.com>