Hi all,
 Blue Mash Nature Trail in Montgomery County was hopping today, with  both 
birds and birders. I arrived early to find the parking lot already half  full, 
as Mark England was leading an ANS walk there today. I got out ahead of  them, 
but then Tom Marko and John Pangborn eventually caught up with me, and all  of 
us birded together off and on all morning. 
 I got 3 birds new to my park list and Tom got 2 including one lifer  which 
he and John saw before they caught up with me (Golden-winged Warbler). We  got 
great looks at a fairly cooperative PHILADELPHIA VIREO (new for my park  
list), which may have been a lifer for some of Marks group, in the log stretch  of 
woods at the back. I also saw a lone Pectoral Sandpiper on the pond (new for  
my list) along with Least and Semipalmated Sands, Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer, 
a  pair of Great Egrets, and a trio of juvenile N. Harriers coursing over the 
 landfill and strafing the pond, putting up all the sandpipers. Later I had  
another adult male Harriew over the landfill. 
 
Other nice finds included many migrating and low-flying Broad-winged Hawks  
(about 50), mostly adults, 3 Red-shouldered Hawks, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, a flyby 
A.  Kestrel, and a low flying juvenile Peregrine Falcon, which zipped by me at 
eye  level heading down the gravel entrance road towards the entrance, as I 
went  around a second time. I also had a single skulking Warbling Vireo in a 
tree  right at the gate near the landfill, another new bird for my park list. We 
had  at least 3 Osprey flying over, as well as large numbers of both vultures, 
 particularly Blacks. While I was heading around again, I got caught up to my 
 rear in mile-a-minute vine in the large field on the left of the road, and 
that  is when I had a flyby adult RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, flying north inside 
the  fenceline. We also saw at least a pair of accipiters, one of which was an  
immature Cooper's Hawk, chasing after a Mourning Dove. 
 
Warblers were rather scarce (except for the notable  Golden-winged), but we 
had Redstarts, Magnolias, Black&White, as well  as a single Yellow, and Mark 
had a Palm or two, as well as lots of  Yellowthroats. I had a flyover 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak and 3 Blue Grosbeaks (male  and 2 young) were seen, but Indigo 
Buntings were scarce.
 
 I counted 63 species by myself, and I didn't see some of the stuff  others 
had, so it was a pretty good morning there.
 
Rick Sussman
Ashton,MD