Hi Folks,

I visited the Halethorpe Ponds yesterday afternoon and then again with Bryan
Sykes this afternoon, and they were hopping with activity.  These are the
two ponds separated by an isthmus located at the south end of Halethorpe
Farms Rd. in southwest Baltimore Co. (Ponds 4 & 5).  Bill Hubick joined us
shortly before I had to leave.  Some of the highlights were:

    Wed., 20 April:

DC Cormorant--ca 20
Great Egret
Chimney Swift
E. Kingbird--pair in flight; one seen next day
RC Kinglet
Yellow Warbler singing
Field Sparrow (a scarce bird in this area)

    Thur., 21 April:

Pied-billed Grebe--1
Black-crowned Night Heron--1
Wood Duck (drake on river nearby)
Blue-winged Teal -- drake (on smaller pond)
Osprey--two pairs
Bald Eagle--pair across river
Red-tailed Hawk--1 flyover
Spotted Sandpiper--1 (smaller pond)
Herring Gull--pair
Tree Swallow--dozens
NRW Swallow--dozens
Barn Swallow--1 or 2
N. Parula--1 or 2 singing
Yellow Warbler--1 singing
Yellow-rumped Warbler--dozens
Am. Redstart--one singing
(Yellow) Palm Warbler--3 or 4
Prairie Warbler (Hubick & Sykes only)
Indigo Bunting--one singing across river

Sykes also showed me two Pileated Woodpecker nest holes that are currently
active, though we did not see the birds today.  He also photographed
Warbling Vireo here yesterday.

A great afternoon to be out birding.

Stan Arnold
Glen Burnie