This morning, pre-dawn, as I prepared to leave the house for my section of
the Patuxent River CBC, I stuck my head out the window and heard my first
bird of the year -- a Great Horned Owl. The second owl of the day was
discovered late in the afternoon--a Barred Owl being mobbed and physically
attacked by four crows. At one point the owl was almost knocked off the
branch but managed to keep a hold with one foot. In between these times
highlights of my 69 species day (in southeast Calvert County) were:
Common Loon
Brown Pelican
Wood Duck
American Black Duck
Ring-necked Duck
Green-winged Teal
Ruddy Duck
Long-tailed Duck
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Peregrine Falcon
Bald Eagle
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Sanderling
Bonaparte's Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Hairy Woodpecker
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Eastern Towhee |