Lots of great birds on the Paint Branch Stream Valley Park
path from Cherry Hill Rd to the University today (May 4/05).  
I birded for 3 hours on foot (usually I bike the route),
starting around 7 am, tallying 50 species.  The list follows
below, with new year birds for me on the path in all caps.  
A request: I have two sound recordings that I couldn't
positively identify:

   http://www.astro.umd.edu/~dcr/xfer/unknown/sound1.wav
   http://www.astro.umd.edu/~dcr/xfer/unknown/sound2.wav

The first one sounds to me like Clapper Rail, which would be
very cool for the location, the second like Great-crested
Flycatcher, but I can't rule out Eastern Towee.  Any help
appreciated!

Great Blue Heron 1 
Canada Goose 32 (of which 15 were goslings)
Wood Duck 2 
Mallard 5 
Killdeer 2 
Solitary Sandpiper 2 
Wilson's Snipe 3 
Mourning Dove 15 
Chimney Swift 2 
Red-bellied Woodpecker 6 
Downy Woodpecker 4 
Northern Flicker 4 
Eastern Kingbird 1 (year bird yesterday)
White-eyed Vireo 1 (year bird yesterday)
Red-eyed Vireo 5 (year bird yesterday)
Blue Jay 4 
American Crow 1 
Fish Crow 2 
Carolina Chickadee 1 
Tufted Titmouse 3 
Carolina Wren 16 
Winter Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 11 
American Robin 10 
Gray Catbird 5 
Northern Mockingbird 1 
Brown Thrasher 1 
European Starling 16 
Northern Parula 5 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 
OVENBIRD 2 
Common Yellowthroat 9 
Eastern Towhee 3 
Savannah Sparrow 1 
Song Sparrow 14 
Swamp Sparrow 6 (a record for me!)
White-throated Sparrow 17 
White-crowned Sparrow 1 (in resplendent plumage)
Northern Cardinal 27 
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK 1 (1st time seen by me from the path)
BLUE GROSBEAK 1 
INDIGO BUNTING 1 
BOBOLINK 2 (1st time seen by me from the path)
Red-winged Blackbird 6 
Common Grackle 14 
Brown-headed Cowbird 6 
ORCHARD ORIOLE 1 
Baltimore Oriole 3 (year bird yesterday)
American Goldfinch 22 
House Sparrow 2 

A dozen gulls flew by at one point, too far for an ID, and I
glimpsed an accipiter at the swamp.  Later in the day I
picked up Green Heron, Bald Eagle, Tree Swallow, Eastern
Phoebe, and Chipping Sparrow on my return.

D

-- 
Derek C. Richardson, Ph.D. (CANTAB) ________
Astronomy, U Maryland, College Park MD 20742
Tel: Office 301-405-8786 Fax 301-314-9067 __
Home page: http://www.astro.umd.edu/~dcr/ __