Jim Green asked me to forward the following sightings he made yesterday to MDOSPREY:

"Yesterday (1/12) after observing the Harlequin Duck (in Cambridge) and 2 of the White Pelicans (at
Black Water NWR) I ventured to Elliott Island Road for the late afternoon. Among the birds seen included one ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, one SHORT-EAR OWL (seen at 5 PM approx. 1 mile after leaving the village and heading back down
the road). Several CLAPPER RAILS were heard calling in the marshes along with one SEDGE WREN. Numerous Great Horned Owls could be heard calling from several locations. As I approached Savannah Lake area, I pulled over to
dismantle my scope and head home and all of a sudden I heard PEENT, PEENT nearby. A few minutes later an AMERICAN WOODCOCK was up in the sky in its flight display. I witnessed this from 5:20 to 5:40 PM. There were at least 2
possibly 3 A. Woodcocks displaying. They had a mild January evening and a full moon as well. In previous years I have heard displaying woodcock as early as Jan. 20, but that was on the Outer Banks. This is a record for me
(especially in MD.) I picked the right day to take off work and go birding!"

"Also if you could mention the following: January 15 marks the first safe date for Barred Owl for the Breeding Bird Atlas. As most of you know the safe date for Great Horned Owl was Dec. 15. For all of those block leaders
out there (especially in Montgomery County if you have Monday off) it is a great time to get out and do some early A.M. owling before the sun comes up."

Andy Martin
Gaithersburg