Hi Folks,

It was a lovely evening of reduced humidity and pleasant temperature,
prompting Elaine and me to spend a couple hours at Southwest Area Park.
Most of SWAP lies in the Relay NE atlas block, but the eastern fringe of the
park along the Patapsco River is in the Curtis Bay NW block.  We decided to
spend some time in this eastern section, mostly by sitting at a picnic table
right on the river, where fishermen usually park themselves.  We saw quite a
few birds, and picked up one new one for Relay NE (RE/NE), and four new ones
for Curtis Bay NW (CB/NW).  A rundown:

Canada Goose--both blocks--new for CB/NW (X)
Mallard--CB/NW--P (though already confirmed here)
Great Blue Heron--RE/NE--O
Great Egret--both blocks--O
Herring Gull--both blocks--O
COMMON TERN--new to both blocks--O; flew up river, then back down again
Rock Pigeon--RE/NE (already confirmed)
Mourning Dove--both blocks (already confirmed)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo--RE/NE (already confirmed)
Chimney Swift--both blocks
Downy Woodpecker--both blocks
N. Flicker--both blocks
WILLOW FLYCATCHER--RE/NE--X (here every year; so far scarce this year)
Tree Swallow--RE/NE; not common here during safe dates, but already
confirmed in block
N. Rough-winged Swallow--CB/NW--X, new to block
Barn Swallow--both blocks; new to CB/NW--P
Brown Thrasher--CB/NW (previously P-coded)
Cedar Waxwing--both blocks (already confirmed)
Yellow Warbler--several singing in RE/NE; already confirmed
Common Yellowthroat--both blocks; DD in CB/NW, though already confirmed
Yellow-breasted Chat--RE/NE--two singing (already confirmed)
Indigo Bunting--both blocks
Red-winged Blackbird--both blocks; T-code for CB/NW (upgrade)
Orchard Oriole--both blocks--singing first-year males

We're looking forward to the next few days with lower temperatures.

Stan Arnold
Glen Burnie