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Subject:

Blue Mash Nature Trail

From:

"Marko, Thomas L. GS BUMED"

Reply-To:

Marko, Thomas L. GS BUMED

Date:

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 11:39:10 -0400

Blue Mash Nature Trail, Zion Road Section, Montgomery County, 20 Apr 06,
0730-0930

It was nice to return to Blue Mash after a 2 week hiatus in southern Spain.
As hard a I tried, I didn't see any flamingos flyover this morning as I did
in Spain.  There were several new birds for the season among the 41 species
observed to include the following of interest:

1 Green Heron
2 Am. Black Duck
2 Green-winged Teal
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
2 Barred Owl (1 calling & 1 seen flying low through the woods)
Tree Swallow (9 of 12 nest boxes contained partiallly built TS nests)
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 
4 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
8 E. Bluebird (1 nestbox contained 4 BB eggs)
8 Brown Thrasher 
5 Palm Warbler (yellow)
1 Common Yellowthroat
3 Chipping Sparrow 
2 Field Sparrow 
8 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow 
1 White-crowned Sparrow
3 Purple Finch (all females)
  
A work crew, citing extensive tree and bank damage, were in the process of
tearing apart the beaver lodge located along the outside pond shoreline.
Those critters did fell quite a few trees along the trail this past winter.
I have mixed feelings over seeing them go.

BTW, there was a single Wild Turkey in one of the fields along Zion Road.

Tom Marko
Olney, MD
Montgomery Bird Club