I spoke to soon about missing it.  Today I went out near home again at 
11:00 in the steady drizzle to try another look for a winter wren or gray 
cheeks.  No luck with either, so I went over to Mt. Calvert to have a look 
at the river there for grebes, rails, moorhens, shorebirds, or anything 
else excitng.  Nothing unusual on the river, but I was highly surprised.

It was not a major fallout by Friday's measure, but there were countless 
MYWAs, it seemed there were a few in every tree there.  In an hour, I 
looked at about 100 but every warbler I looked at was a yellow-rumped.  I 
estimate there were about 200+ present and they never stopped moving or 
left during the hour I was there; it was quite a spectacle.  The only 
other warbler present were two female common yellowthroats that decided to 
come out of a bush just before I left.  I was a bit surprised not to find 
any palms; I ordinarily find them here during their migration.  Maybe they 
are all in D.C.?!!

Excited by the warblers, I decided to look for winter sparrows.  I was 
pleasantly surprised to find 8 species.  I saw seven in one spot!  I found 
a mixed flock feeding busily; it would frequently flush to hide but would 
come back out quickly and settle back to feeding.  It had white-crowned (1 
ad and 4 HY), white- throated (6), chipping (3), song (15), sc junco (1), 
and swamp (5).  I also saw 3 towhees that were not with the flock but were 
nearby in a hedgerow.

I stayed a while hoping they would draw some other migrant (clay colored, 
Lincoln's or vesper would be great!) but had no luck.  Still, it was great 
to see this mixed bunch of sparrows.  I stopped on the way out to look at 
one more spot and found a bunch more sparrows; I added savannah (1), with 
more chipping (23!) and song (3) sparrows.

This afternoon at home I counted (on the river ) 160 Canada Geese, 52 
pintails, 20 black ducks, 19 mallards and 2 wood ducks, along with 3 great 
blue herons and 3 geater yellowlegs.  There was also a flock of 15 juncos 
and 3 WTSPs under the pines.  Nice day considering the drab weather - I 
look forward to tomorrow!

Jeff Shenot
Croom MD