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Subject:

Jug Bay

From:

Jeff Shenot

Reply-To:

Jeff Shenot

Date:

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:58:58 -0400

Yesterday I joined a river clean-up crew at Jug Bay Wetland Sanctuary.  
When I first pulled up, I saw a very large soaring accipiter, at first thinking it 
was so big it may be a goshawk.  I did not get my bins on it fast enough, 
partly because when I looked up with them I was so distracted by a large 
flock of 30 loons.  They were visible to the eye but distant (very high) and 
generally following the river (headed north).  They circled around the area 
which must have caused some dissention in ranks since some really wanted to 
come down, but the majority ruled and persistently moved on.  A group of six 
came down low enough to ID three as Commons (breeding plumage) and the 
others as unknowns (appeared to be mostly winter plumage) but probably all 
of them were commons.  They did not stay and flew off toward the others, 
which were out of sight to me at that point.

I arrived about ten minutes early before the clean-up, and the area around 
the visitor center was really hopping with birds.  Warblers included a F-O-Y 
yellow-throated (singing constantly, what a treat); 3 pines (1 singing, one 
using the tube feeder!); many yellow-rumps (there were many calling, with 
quite a variety of notes); and one yellow palm (seen and heard).  It was great 
to hear the warblers! 

Both yesterday and today the big flock of Red-breasted mergansers were still 
present (~66, w/ 10 males).  Oddly, today there were more males, so I think 
some females left and about the same number of males arrived.  Also present 
today was a single loon landed on the water briefly; it was raining too hard to 
ID, but its profile looked lilke a common.

Today at home I saw 2 FOY birds in the rain (2+ inches as of 4 PM):  a N. 
Rough winged swallow (only one) and a lone Solitary Sandpiper - a nice 
surprise for a rainy day.  The SOSA was out in the pasture working the edge 
of a puddle.  There were also 19 Snipe and two killdeer there, as well as about 
40 robins, and many blackbirds, grackles, starlings and cowbirds.  There were 
many puddles today, I am almost surprised there weren't more shorebirds.  
Tho' it's early, with heavy rain in migration you never know what may show up!

Cheers-
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD