I visited the Granite Area of Patapsco Valley State Park on Sunday and
tallied 32 species.

I came across a male Downey Woodpecker excavating a hole in a dead tree near
the quarry. It had it¹s tail sticking out of the hole when I first saw it;
working in what must have been a 4 inch deep cavity. The Downy turned and
started to clean the hole. I could still see it¹s back as it reached down to
pick up the wood chips before scattering them from the entrance hole.

Other highlights included close encounters with two Pileated Woodpeckers,
two Owl species and two Sparrow species.

  2  Black Vulture
  7  Turkey Vulture
  3  Canada Goose
  3  Ring-billed Gull
  4  Mourning Dove
  1  Great-horned Owl
  1  Barred Owl
 12  Red-bellied Woodpecker
  1  Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
  3  Downy Woodpecker
  3  Hairy Woodpecker
  8  Northern Flicker
  2  Pileated Woodpecker
  4  Blue Jay
 13  American Crow
 14  Carolina Chickadee
 17  Tufted Titmouse
 16  Red-breasted Nuthatch
  8  White-breasted Nuthatch
  4  Brown Creeper
 12  Carolina Wren
 15  Golden-crowned Kinglet
  3  Eastern Bluebird
 17  American Robin
  2  Northern Mockingbird
  1  Cedar Waxwing
  5  Eastern Towhee
 14  Song Sparrow
 96  White-throated Sparrow
 48  Dark-eyed Junco
 23  Northern Cardinal
  7  American Goldfinch

Keith Eric Costley

Randallstown, Baltimore County, MD