Lilypons is in Frederick Co. Always has been. So is Sugarloaf Mountain.
> Common error but an error nevertheless.
> Helen

Folks,
    Helen is right but not by much. The county line practically runs right
past the front gate to Sugarloaf. Lily Ponds is much further north. It's in
Frederick County by a few miles - maybe 5.
    Ok so I lied. I said I wasn't going to do the whole Yellow Trail at
Sugarloaf today. Once you make it to half way around you might as well keep
going. The distance is the same either way. Impressed by the time I was
making, I finished the whole thing in 3 hours. That's a half hour less than
it took me to do the Blue Trail on Monday and the Blue Trail is listed at 5
miles, the Yellow is supposed to be 7. However, the Blue Trail covers some
rougher terrain. Most of the Yellow is more of a road than a trail and the
only time it goes up much is where you cross the Blue Trail back there
toward White Rocks. Then you descend down to Mt Ephraim Road and it stays
fairly level again.
    Either tomorrow or Friday I will go do the White Trail that starts at
the front gate and wraps around the main peak. I expect it to be the
nastiest of the 3. There are some stretches that it shares with the Blue
Trail, so I will be careful not to double count any birds. It's supposed to
be under 3 miles. Watch it take me a week to finish.

    Today's count was what I expected. I spent a lot of time listening to
the sound of my own footsteps and little else. A few times I found myself
stopping and staring at patches of Mountain Laurel and wondering, "What's
wrong with this one?" No sign or sound of Worm-eaters anywhere.

    WEWA - I did hear the five I needed to get to 20 singing males (the
threshold for an IBA), but one of them didn't quite sound right and  I
wasn't sure. Another one might have been a repeat from Monday. Just as I
marked it down, I looked up and Mt Ephraim Road was coming into view. That's
when I realized it may have been the same bird I heard coming down to it on
the Blue Trail up on my right. So to be sure, I will do the White Trail and
probably add a few more.

   OTHERS - Still no Kentuckies, Hoodeds or Veeries. I did locate another
Waterthrush, bringing that total to 4 birds. No Ceruleans to add to the one
I heard Monday. I will likely hear that one again from the White Trail. I
also got another 25 Wood Thrush. That brings me up to somewhere around 50,
still over a hundred short of the 160 threshold for that species.

    Another 8 Yellow-Billed Cuckoos. I hope they're getting nice and fat on
the Gypsy Critters. I will note that the Gypsy invasion does not seem to be
affecting the eastern side I was on for the first hour and a half. It seems
to be concentrated more at the higher parts of the mountain.

    And how about those Centreville girls - Amanda Spears and her gang?
There are some grad students on this list. Be honest - are any of you doing
anything more advanced than the study Amanda outlined yesterday? For those
of you who missed their display at the MOS conference last year, these girls
are award winners and deserve every accolade they get. If every school in
Maryland had students like them all the ecological problems known would
probably be solved by now.
    Speaking of which, I did hike through an area on the west side of the
Yellow Trail today that was designated as a study area by Poolesville High
School. Any body know what they're studying? I'll be thrilled if its as
impressive as Amanda's group.

    Jerry Tarbell
    Carroll County