Tuesday morning, 5/16, I heard a Bicknell's Thrush give its flight note in 
Upper Watts Branch Park.   Today a small group of birders got to see the 
Bicknell's.   It appeared to be somewhat small with a flat gray-brown back and plain 
gray face with only a weak eyering.   However there was a wash of buff in the 
throat and rufous in the primary edges and tail.   The primaries seemed a bit 
short but low light and increasing distance prevented a comparison of primary 
extension with tertial extension.   The primary extension is less than the 
tertial extension in Bicknells, but the two are similar in Gray-cheeked Thrush.   
Overall the bird just looked a little stubby, not as elongated as other 
Catharus thrushes.   The minimus subspecies of Gray-cheeked is small also, but is a 
warm brown overall, not simply on the primary edges and tail.   One was seen 
in this park many years ago.

Depending on the weather, this may be a chaseable bird as migrating thrushes 
tend to stay over for a week or more in the spring here.   The park is entered 
at the intersection of Princeton Place and Fordham Street in the College 
Gardens subdivision of Rockville, just north of Montgomery College.   Next to the 
last house on Princeton there is a path that leads you west down a slope into 
the woods.   At the bottom of the slope this path intersects a north-south 
trail that parallels Watts Branch.   In the back yard of the last house on 
Princeton there is a spring where the thrush was first seen this morning.   It then 
moved over to the next yard which has a broad expanse of open woodland with 
abundant leaf litter.   On Tuesday it gave its flight note on the opposite side 
of the stream, no more than 20 yards away from this location.   It would be 
worth a visit if Bicknell's Thrush has been a nemesis bird for you.

Other migrants today were:

Swainson's Thrush (plus breeding Wood Thrush)
Northern Parula 3
Magnolia Warbler 2
Cape May Warbler 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler 2
Blackpoll Warbler 6 (the end is near)
American Redstart 2
Louisiana Waterthrush (possible breeder)

Paul O'Brien
Rockville, Mont. Co., MD

301-424-6491