Hi All,

Sorry for the delayed posting. Saturday was a (mostly) pleasant day for an outing to the Atlantic shore. We encountered a little bit of spitting rain, and had to contend with a blustery southwest wind all day, but the temperatures were in the spring-like 60s. 

Our first stop of the trip was at the ponds in Ocean Pines off MD-589. We first stopped at the two small ponds at the north entrance to the development (north of MD-90). Nancy spotted an adult orange-billed (probably Greenland race) GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE in the northern pond, we also had three Blue Snow Geese, a CanadaXDomestic goose hybrid, and two small Canada Geese that could have been Lesser Canadas (*parvipes*). At the larger ponds south of MD-90 there were a few Canvasback and Ring-necked Ducks, and three Hooded Mergansers. 

Conditions at the Ocean City Inlet were difficult due to the strong winds; salt spray over the jetty made it an impractical spot to scan with good optical equipment. We had the pleasure of seeing the famous adult PEREGRINE FALCON on the inlet water tower, on a perch judiciously out of the wind. We also had Brant, Common and Red-throated Loons, Red-breasted Mergansers, Bonaparte's Gulls, Purple Sandpipers (hard to see on our second visit), Long-tailed Ducks, Bufflehead, and Sanderlings at the inlet. The area around Skimmer Island had Boat-tailed Grackles, American Oystercatchers, Brant, and Red-breasted Mergansers.

West Ocean City Pond was also a bit low key, lacking the usual big Canvasback flock (they may have been out of sight to be out of the wind), but we added Ruddy Duck, Northern Shoveler, and Gadwall there. We went to the Eagles Landing Golf Course and were happy to find, as advertised, the drake EURASIAN WIGEON with over 50 American Wigeon, plus more Gadwall. Further down the road we found the expected horde of Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers in the wax-myrtles lining the golf course and we had a quick look at a Great Horned Owl that responded to Walter's squeaking in the pines before the campground.

Our last stop was at Indian River Inlet in Delaware (MDOsprey readers stop reading now). In accord with the dictates of Kibbe's Rule (the last stop as time runs out will be the most bird-rich) we had a very nice selection of oceanic and coastal birds including a young drake HARLEQUIN DUCK, 6 COMMON EIDER including an adult drake, a big raft of Surf and Black Scoters, a briefly seen RAZORBILL (seen by Peter Mann), GREAT CORMORANT, a very vocal flock of Boat-tailed Grackles (excellent looks at them eating mussels), Ruddy Turnstones, both loons, Bonaparte's Gulls, and, a pleasant surprise, at least five FORSTER'S TERNS sporting above the Bonie flock. It was a fine outing.

Good Birding,

Walter Ellison

23460 Clarissa Road
Chestertown, MD 21620
phone: 410-778-9568
e-mail: 

"A person who is looking for something doesn't travel very fast" - E. B. White (in "Stuart Little")

"Are there *ever* enough birds?" - Connie Hagar as quoted by Edwin Way Teale in "Wandering through Winter"