I had a nice hike at Overbrook Park and the old landfill in Bowie this
afternoon. The highlights included several early warblers and an adult
Broad-winged Hawk. The warblers were all in an area of pine trees near the
old landfill. Present were a male and female Pine Warbler. The Pine
Warbler approached within several feet of me. Also present were two Palm
Warblers (one "Yellow" Palm Warbler and one "Western" Palm Warbler),
bobbing their tails constantly.
Another highlight was along the service road to the recycling center. I
came upon a noisy group of songbirds. When I stopped to investigate, an
adult Broad-winged Hawk flushed out of the woods, flew across the road, and
landed on an exposed perch within the woods, where I got good looks at the
bird. A Mockingbird then harrassed it, and it flew to a more distant perch
within the woods, but was still visible. It then remained motionless on
the perch, watching the woods below. These were some of the better looks
I've had of a Broad-winged Hawk. I can see how they are easily missed when
the leaves are on the trees and they sit motionless on a perch.
Other birds included several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a Brown Creeper, and a
flyover Osprey.
Fred Shaffer
Patuxent MOS
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