I met up with Jim Stasz and Matt Hafner this morning to do some Harford birding.

Jim and Matt reported 2 Fox Sparrows at the entrance to Swan Harbor while waiting for me to arrive.  The gate remained closed through the morning, unfortunately.

I met up with Matt and Jim at Oakington Farm/penninsula.  This is shortly past Swan Harbor, behind the golf course and just South of Ashley, the drug rehabilitation center.  The area was very birdy.  Highlights include:

Winter Wren     2
Nashville Warbler    1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker     2
American Tree Sparrow    1  (JS, MH)
Hermit Thrush    5
Gray Catbird    2
Bald Eagle    3

I found the Nashville Warbler and got Matt and Jim on it shortly before the bird dove into the brush right in front of us, never to be seen again.  It was a tail-pumper, which is characteristic of the western subspecies, ridgwayi.  No other field marks were obtained to differentiate between the two subspecies due to short length of observation and not knowing what to look for.  Maybe it will stick around.  

In Swan Creek, there was a flock of gulls which included a handfull of Bonaparte's.  A group of Bufflehead and a Hooded Merganser were seen also.

We then visited the Perryman area to look for sparrows, etc, and then the Clubhouse Road for waterbirds.  Highlights include (sparrow numbers approximate):

Perryman Area:
Wood Duck     1
American Kestrel     1
White-throated Sparrow     15
Song Sparrow     15
White-crowned Sparrow     35
Savannah Sparrow     12
American Tree Sparrow     1
Myrtle Warbler     2

Clubhouse Road Pond:
Red-tailed Hawk     1
Gadwall     8
American Black Duck     2
Mallard     80
ABDu x Mall hybrid     1 male
American Wigeon     2

Good Birding,
Mike Burchett
Churchville, MD
Morgantown, WV