Paul and I enjoyed our first weekend atlasing in Garrett County,
despite the wet Saturday. We've taken the Grantsville SW block. We
have some of Savage River State Forest (Negro Mountain) in our block.
Main roads that we birded are Amish Road, Bittinger, Durst and Dung Hill.
The population of birds was quite different than our Baltimore City/
Baltimore County Blocks. With a day and a half of birding, we were
unable to locate a single House Sparrow in our block. Field Sparrows
were numerous and very vocal in all four quarters. Blue-headed Vireos
were also frequently encountered. Am having really good exposure
to their song for the first time. Most of the warblers we encountered
were not in the safe dates, but every one is a possible for Garrett County:
NASHVILLE WARBLER, YELLOW WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED
BLUE WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, PINE WARBLER,
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, OVENBIRD, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH.
Other birds we saw and may have a chance to confirm include: RUFFED GROUSE,
KILLDEER, COMMON RAVEN, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE,
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, HERMIT THRUSH and DARK-EYED JUNCO.
The rufous morph Ruffed Grouse was a life bird for both of us. Paul braked
for
it as it delicately crossed the road. It showed off its tail band flying
into a leafless
tree; and was not nearly as well hidden as it might have been had we not
known it
was there. It was thrill, too, hearing the call of a Hermit Thrush in the
forest.
Elise Kreiss
Baltimore City |