Blue Mash Nature Trail, Zion Road Section, Montgomery Co., 11 Aug 05,
0730-0930

John Combs & I walked the BMNT on a warm & muggy morning.  Not a heck of a
lot in the way of birds.  The nest box occupants have all fledged leaving
the 12 boxes empty.  Among the highlights were four Wood Ducks perched on
snags in the pond, several flyover Green Herons, a flyover Great Egret, a
Great Blue Heron perched way up in a tree, a single Brown Thrasher and male
House Finch, and a Willow Flycatcher feeding a juvenile.  Lots of House
Wrens all along the trail.  The best bird was a raptor flapping its wings
while hanging inverted from a branch.  When it finally let go and flew to a
nearby tree, we had a great look at a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk.

Tom Marko
Olney, MD