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Subject:

Grantsville SW Block (Garrett County)

From:

Elise Kreiss

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Date:

Mon, 30 May 2005 22:20:42 EDT

Paul and I took our second atlasing trip up to Garrett County,
on another weekend of mixed chilling rain and sunshine.  We 
wrote to the three churches in our block and got written 
permission to bird on their properties; and have been made 
welcome by the two property owners we have met so far. 

Highlights of our trip included abundant LEAST FLYCATCHERS, 
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS.   
Least Flycatchers were the most common flycatcher we saw on this trip, 
clustering in two areas.   We had good looks at three and heard several
more.  We saw one bird joining another in what appeared to be mid-flight 
copulation.  We probably saw six or seven Black-billed Cuckoos.   On 
Resh's Hill, we rested while watching two Cuckoos at close range make 
a meal of bagworms in a small flowering tree.  These two birds had the 
brilliant red eyes of adults, but no tail spots, and creamy throat and upper 
breast color contrasting with the whiter color below. (Birds born last year?  
Comments welcome.) We also got our first looks at the round, side 
entrance nests of CLIFF SWALLOWS in a barn.  

All of the birds below were seen in the Grantsville SW Block except 
for the BOBOLINKS whose song lit up the field next to our otherwise 
undistinguished motel outside of Grantsville.   We were again struck 
by the birds we didn't see, as well as the wonderful birds were seeing.   
We had very few woodpeckers; for example, only one Downy in a 
day and a half of birding.   At one point Paul looked at me and said, 
"No Blue-gray Gnatcatchers."  We didn't get a single one.   

May 28 and 29th

Canada Goose
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk (carrying what looked like a rodent over a ridge)
Broadwinged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ruffed Grouse (two red morph together)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher (two sets of two)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker  (pair collecting multiple food items and flying off with 
them)
Northern Flicker
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe (including on nest under bridge)
Great-crested Flycatcher
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow 
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
European Starling
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Blackthroated-blue Warbler
Blackthroated-green Warbler
Black and White Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird 
Common Yellowthroat (including building nest)
Scarlet Tanager 
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow (including building nest)
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow 
Swamp Sparrow
Bobolinks
Red-winged Blackbirds
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole (including one pair where the 
 female held fluff in her mouth, fluttered her wings, 
 and was mounted) 
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Elise Kreiss
Baltimore City