Last weekend, Paul and I took what might be our last atlasing trip 
to our Grantsville SW block in Garrett County.  At this point we 
have 101 species; 45 of them confirmed and 30 probable.   

Two bird calls & some bird behavior were among the new 
experiences that made an impression that weekend.  

Saturday at the mine reclamation center that is popular with nesting 
Red-winged Blackbirds, I heard a syncopated, four-noted call (oo oo aa aaaa!)
(up, down, back up, even) I  previously associated only with Yellow-headed 
Blackbirds.  (Hear the call on the Stokes' CD without the howl or other 
miscellaneous notes.)  Rhythm & tune were the same.  We did not locate 
the bird making the call; but I am assuming it was a RWBL.   Is that 
something they do and I just haven't heard it before?   

Also, that evening, we heard a tune of four to five light, clear notes, 
with an additional drawn out note rising in pitch.  It was unfamiliar, 
repeated numerous times, and we speculated what birds were around 
that might be able to produce such a song.  While looking for the bird 
it occurred to me that if you only paid attention to the rhythm and tune, 
it could be a match for a Black-throated Blue Warbler.  We located 
the bird, and that's exactly what it was.  No burry quality. 

Lastly, in a clear cut area, we saw a Common Yellowthroat with its tail 
held up at an acute angle, moving in hops about a tree limb, and making 
short flights to other limbs, and moving in jerky fashion; wings drooping.  
It looked like a jerky dance with sharp pauses.  The bird was joined by 
a Chestnut-sided Warbler on the same branch, not far apart, tail also 
cocked at an acute angle, making movements that were similar to the 
Yellowthroat's.   They moved separately to various nearby limbs 
in the same close area, and the Yellowthroat flew off first.  It was 
great to watch; but so fleeting the details are already gone.  

Highlights included a trip to Bear Hill Road. where at one point we could 
see both an Orchard Oriole male and Black-billed Cuckoo making 
repeated trips carrying food across the road. At the mine reclamation site, 
we had nice close looks at a single male Turkey. We heard gobbles, a 
yelping call (sometimes like "wicca") that the Stokes' CD attributes 
to females, and also the sharp put-put-put call that the 
same CD describes as the alarm call of a hen with chicks.  

It was a nice trip.


Elise Kreiss
Baltimore City