Paul joined me for two hours on our Windsor Hills community trail
(in Leakin Park) proceeding from the trailhead on Clifton Avenue 
this morning.  I continued on down Weatheredsville Road, to Winans 
Meadows, up to the model railroad and dump area, down behind the 
tennis courts to Hutton Avenue, taking short cut back to Weatheredsville.   
A list of birds is below, the highlights were probably  the WORM-EATING 
WARBLER among the 13 warbler species and SOLITARY SANDPIPER.  
A single BLACKPOLL was also a bit unexpected.  We also found a 
Blue Gray Gnatcatcher on a nest in plain view on the community trail.   
Let me mention I was at the Gwynns Falls on work day cleanup yesterday, May 6
- very frustrating with bird sounds all about.  Yesterday started with a 
PURPLE FINCH at the feeder.  Once on the community trail I had run into, 
simultaneously, an agitated Ovenbird and a very agitated Wood Thrush with 
crest raised who flew off to a bank, flew back, back to the bank and back 
again.  
Egg dates for both species are listed in the Yellow Book starting on May 7.   
The Thrush looked to me like it could have been a bird with a nest.  Went back
today, same spot, and found an agitated Ovenbird, and a Wood Thrush down 
the path several yards in front of us.  This bird displayed no particular 
concern.  

Leakin Park -  May 7
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk
SPOTTED SANDPIPER (sharing a small muddy puddle in the leaf dump with two 
mallards)
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (including on nest)
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
NORTHERN PARULA
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER
BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER
BLACKPOLL WARBLER
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER
AMERICAN REDSTART
WORM-EATING WARBLER
OVENBIRD
LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT
CANADA WARBLER
SCARLET TANAGER
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (1 female)
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
BALTIMORE ORIOLE
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

On each of the last six times (over about three weeks) I've been in the 
Park  I've had Louisiana Waterthrush seen and/or heard on Hutton Avenue
just up from Weatheredsville Road.  On the first occasion Paul and I saw a 
pair.   So, that's a pretty good bet for seeing one right now.   Today, 
Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Black and White Warblers 
and Ovenbirds were easy to locate.  Still plenty of White-throated Sparrows; 
only one Song Sparrow heard.   Wood Thrush and Veery were easily seen today.  
  

Red-shouldered Hawk Nest:  Last Tuesday, May 2, the Red-shouldered 
Hawk on our neighborhood nest was behaving like someone on a lumpy 
couch.  After it flew, we saw for the first time two moving whitish 
lumps in the nest.   On Wednesday we visited towards evening.  On this 
occasion, the Hawk flew over to a pine tree close to us, and picked up a 
carcass apparently already there and began plucking the long furry tail 
of what appeared to be a squirrel.  It ate for a while, carried the carcass 
to the tree which held the nest, ate some more, and carried the carcass 
to two additional trees, eating more each time.  We had to leave, and 
don't know if the fledglings got fed on this occasion, or the purpose 
behind the moveable feast.  

YCNH:  Since seeing the pair of Yellow-crowned Night Herons on 
April 1, across from the Leakin Park parking lot on Windsor Mill Road, 
we have seen a single heron on four different occasions, most recently 
Saturday.  Usually we can find no herons in the tree.  This bird appeared 
to be alone, with its back feathers raised slightly.  We could not find 
any other bird in the tree, although it has begun to leaf out.  We've seen 
no nest building activity since April 1.

Delmarva Birding Weekend:  Didn't see any post from last weekend's 
trips, sponsored by Worcester County Tourism.  We had pretty 
decent looks at PIPING PLOVERS (Assateague Island from a boat), 
an evening chorus of CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOWS (en route to Vaughn WMA), 
and the numerous, reliable PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS along the 
Nassawango.    

Elise Kreiss
Baltimore City near
Leakin Park