Hello all.

I celebrated the equinox with a 4 hour survey of the Swan Creek Dredge 
Containment Facility in Northern Anne Arundel County. I started before dawn 
and despite the raw cold, I managed to find some excellent species for this 
time of year. 

I also had a probable SORA. It responded to a call-back CD and I managed to 
hear it for about 6 minutes. Given the cold weather and the fact that this 
would be an early bird, I am holding at 'possible' for the ident. I'm going to 
check out the area tomorrow and see if it calls. This would beat my earliest 
Sora by 2 weeks.   

Totals:

Pied-billed Grebe: 2   Non-mitigated wetland
Double-crested Cormorant: 28  Scattered around non-mitigated wetland 
Great Blue Heron: 11  Roosting around the non-mitigated wetland
Mute Swan: 2
Canada Goose: 50
Mallard: 29
American Wigeon: 16  Non-mitigated wetland
Gadwall: 8  Non-mitigated wetland
Green-winged Teal: 19  In both major wetland areas
Bufflehead: 2  1 m, 1f  Dredge cell number 1
Lesser Scaup: 12  Non-mitigated wetland
Ring-necked Duck: 21  Both major wetlands
Red-breasted Merganser: 1 female, mitigated wetland
Wood Duck: 11  5m, 6f  Perched and in water at non mit. wetland
Turkey Vulture: 6
Cooper's Hawk: 1 migrant
Osprey: 3  One had nesting material
American Coot: 35  All over the non-mitigated wetland
Killdeer: 4  Dredge cell number two
Ring-billed Gull: 42
Herring Gull: 33
Great Black-backed Gull: 8
Mourning Dove: 12
Belted Kingfisher: 1 flyover
Red-bellied Woodpecker: 3
Downy Woodpecker: 6
Hairy Woodpecker: 2  m,f
Northern Flicker: 1
Eastern Phoebe: 2  Bottomland leading to the non-mit. wetland
Blue Jay: 18
American Crow: 7
Fish Crow: 2
Crow sp.: 4
Tree Swallow: 5  In a group over the mitigated wetland
Carolina Chickadee: 8
Tufted Titmouse: 6
Carolina Wren: 11
American Robin: 6
Hermit Thrush: 2  Calling and foraging
Northern Mockingbird: 2  Parking lot area
Northern Cardinal: 18
Eastern Towhee: 3
Song Sparrow: 14
Savannah Sparrow: 4
Swamp Sparrow: 3  A
Fox Sparrow: 1  Always nice to see
White-throated Sparrow: 37
Dark-eyed Junco: 12
Red-winged Blackbird: 495  Many in phrags and in flyover flocks
Common Grackle: 1400+  Flyovers
House Finch: 15
American Goldfinch: 3

Matt Grey
Pasadena