C&O Nat'l Park @ the Keep Tryst Rd trailhead, 7am.
(new birds in bold only). This is no major news to you coastal birders and
your insane array of coastal plain arrivals...I only had about 30 minutes
and I've been checking each a.m. so I can say for sure that this is the
first day at the Israel Creek / Pleasant Valley tributary to the Potomaca
that LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS have called there.
Other than that it was still a pretty solid mix of residents that you'd
expect, titmouse / chickadeed / robin / caro wrens / yt sparrows /
cardinals and fish crows. Oddly, the single call I didn't 'know' came
from...a titouse and was even more fun to figure out than hearing the first
LA W.thrush. Also, two WOOD DUCKS and a GB HERON took off from the
shoreline as I approached.  I was expecting more arrivals, but you really
need a few good hours to soak it up - I'm sure others are there. Spicebush
flowering packed the understory and bellworts / dutchmans breeches and
spring beauties carpet the floor...fighting of course the the SERIOUS
invasive / exotic plants we've ravaged the floodplains with.

Oddly the first N.MOCKINGBIRD I heard this year was on an arbor vitae...at
Home Depot in Frederick, yesterday.  Just thought I'd hear them at the
house first and I'm offended the N.Mocks would sing to HD customers before
coming to the house first.  Could be picking up some supplies for the
though...

And the first KILLDEER of the year for me was gassing up @ Shell off the
Jefferson exit on HWY 340 - across the road in a huge farmfield.

A RW Hawk just screamed a few audible from the window during this email and
maybe its me, but the yard-area birds seemed to perk up quite a bit -
grackles and RW Blackbirds went mad. But maybe is just me insane with the
fever of spring arrivals...happens every year. There it goes again - anyone
else notice this or am I hearing things. Anyway, glad they're all coming
back.

Kevin Caldwell
Knoxville, MD
Wash. Co.