Hi all,
 
 On Tuesday afternoon, while Jill was at work, I decided to go birding, as I hadn't been in a while.  So I thought that I would hit the NCR trail off of Paper Mill Rd.
 
 I drove up Paper Mill Rd. and passed the parking lot, as I decided I would go and check out the area near the bridge.  I stopped and parked in the pull-oof, and just as I was getting out of the car, a Red-tailed Hawk flew over and circled around.  In the water were Canada Geese and Gadwalls.  On my way back to the car, I crossed the road and went down the "hill" to the water, where I saw more Canada Geese, some Mallards and a smal group of Canvasbacks.  A Northern Harrier flew over the water to my right, causing all the ducks to scatter.  Deciding I'd seen enough, I made my way back to the car.
 
 I got in the car and headed east.  I turned north on Phoenix Road and kept going until I got to the parking lot.  I got out of the car and looked in the pond across the street.  I saw American Black Ducks, Gadwall, two Hooded Mergansers and a lone Ring-necked Duck.
 
 I got back in the car and headed back toward the parking lot on Paper Mill RD.  At the trail, I crossed the street and took the path into the woods.  On the way toward the water, I saw several Tufted Titmice, including one with a berry in its mouth.  When I got to the water, all was quiet except for a trilling Carolina Wren and a solitary Eastern (Drink your tea) Towhee.  To my right, I saw movement in the leaves, off where the water had carved a gully in the ground.  I looked thru my binocs along the rim of the gully, and I saw a bird walking along the ground with a bold eye ring and a GRAY hood.  I thought of the posibilities:  Ovenbird, Fox Sparrow, or Connecticut Warbler.  I ruled out Ovenbird and Fox Sparrow based upon the gray hood.  I decided it must have been (?) a Connecticut Warbler, an elusive warbler of the forest floor, according to Kaufman.  Shortly after this (it was around 3:30 pm), I heard "Who cooks for you?"  to the west across the water, somewhere
 on/near the bike path.  I then heard a fainter answer, coming from the woods to my right.  Then, another "Who cooks for you?" from across the water, followed by a response from his friend.  After this, I had to call Jill.  While I was on the phone, the Barred Owl across the water called again.  I decided this wasn't two birders with tapes, as I have yet to meet any other birders on the NCR trail (in Texas, on the other hand, everywhere you went, you encountered other birders...), but was two Barred Owls calling each other.  Since I failed to relocate my Connecticut Warbler (I believe he flew off when I tried to get a closer look), I decided to make my way back to the bike trail.  
 
 As I was heading west through the woods to the bike path, I saw a Hermit Thrush flicking its wings, alarmed, with a berry in its mouth.  Once on the path I saw the usual suspects, until I got nearer the water, when all of a sudden, all the ducks scattered, and I looked to the east and saw a Bald Eagle fly over the reservoir.  He made his way toward the bridge and shortly after a Great Blue Heron landed on a dead tree.
 
 I finished the trail to the south parking lot, turned around and made my way back to the car.  All in all, it was a good day, as I saw 40 species, including Barred Owls, a Pileated Woodpecker (near the golf course in Cockeysville), Eastern Bluebirds, a Bald Eagle, and a possible (?) Connecticut Warbler (if it wasn't a Connecticut, I don't know what else it could be, and I know that there are going to be doubters out there.  I'm posting this in the hope that someone else can go and find it).
 
 Good birding,
 Richard
 
 
 
Richard L. Wood, Ph. D.
Computational Chemist
Cockeysville, MD 21030