Hi all, 
 I led my last-of-season birdwalk for The Backyard Naturalist, in  Olney, to 
Blue Mash today. It was a lovely morning to be out (and not home  packing) and 
our small group of 6 saw or heard 58 species. Best finds were the  many 
Singing Yellow-breasted Chats, Yellow Warblers and Willow Flycatchers, as  well as 
many Cedar Waxwings and Orchard Orioles. We also saw a single female RT  
Hummingbird feeding au natural, a beautiful male Scarlet Tanager right over the  
parking lot as we were tallying, 5 flycatcher species (Willow, Phoebe, E. Wood  
Pewee, GC Flycatcher, and E. Kingbird). Our only hawks were Red Tailed and Red 
 shouldered, and we had both Green and Grt Blue Herons. Perhaps the most  
surprising find were the 2 species of shorebirds we saw;  a rather late  Greater 
Yellowlegs and a Spotted Sandpiper, both on the small pond.
 
Odd misses were Black Vulture and Tufted Titmouse, and we saw only 1  Chimney 
Swift (though we did have a Peter Swift on the walk).
 
Hope some of you can join me again in the fall when we start a new series  of 
walks. We are moving to Woodbine in Carroll County next week, so will be  
starting  new yard and county lists. Hope to still be birding at Blue Mash,  
though.
 
Cheers, 
Rick Sussman
Ashton (soon Woodbine) MD



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