Nasty weather but lots of great birds at the lake in Berwyn 
Heights, PG County, including a pair of CASPIAN TERNS 
hunting, about a dozen DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, hundreds 
of swallows (TREE SWALLOW, BARN SWALLOW, and NORTHERN 
ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW), my first SAVANNAH SPARROWS in a 
while, a BROWN THRASHER, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, and PALM 
WARBLERS.  I may also have seen a female Blue-winged Teal, 
but I didn't get a good look at it, got distracted, then 
didn't manage to relocate it (it was a small mottled brown 
duck with a distinct pale mark at the base of the bill; 
whether the mark was crescent shaped I didn't notice at the 
time) -- anyone else notice this bird?

Full report follows:

Report Details
Location name: Lake Artemesia
Observation date: 4/8/06
Duration: 1 hour(s) 5 minute(s)
# of people in birding party: 1
Are you reporting all the species you identified? Yes
Total # of species: 38
Observation type: Stationary Count
Start time: 4:20 PM
Distance covered: N/A
Area covered: N/A
Weather had a negative effect on my ability to collect 
birding information: No

Checklist diary notes:
Wet, windy, and chilly at the lake, but some great birds, 
highlighted by Caspian Terns, swallows, a Brown Thrasher 
perched high and singing, my first Savannah Sparrows in a 
while, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and Palm Warblers. A possible 
Red-shouldered Hawk call was closely followed by a Blue Jay 
call, so I'm taking the first to be an imitation. May have 
seen a female Blue-winged Teal (noticeable light mark at 
base of bill). May have heard Brown-headed Cowbird 
(Starling?). Swallow numbers were determined by estimating 
overall numbers, noting Barn Swallow and Northern 
Rough-winged Swallow in roughly equal numbers but far less 
than Tree Swallow.



Species Details
Species Name Number Reported
Canada Goose 10
Mallard 2
Ruddy Duck 3
Pied-billed Grebe 3
Double-crested Cormorant 14
Great Blue Heron 1
Ring-billed Gull 5
Caspian Tern 2
Mourning Dove 2
Belted Kingfisher 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 1
Fish Crow 2
crow sp. 5
Tree Swallow 200
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 20
Barn Swallow 20
Carolina Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
American Robin 30
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 16
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 3
Eastern Towhee 2
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 25
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Common Grackle 5
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 4

D

-- 
Derek C. Richardson, College Park, PG County, MD
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~dcr/Archives/Photos/birds.html