Hi Everyone,
   
  After our great first stop to see the WHITE IBIS on Saturday morning, which Stan described so well, I headed south with Tom Feild and Matt Tillett. It was a very satisfying day to be out birding. Here are some of our highlights:
   
  Schoolhouse Pond, P.G. Co.
   
  Trumpeter Swan--#962
  Black-crowned Night-Heron--still there
   
  Merkle, P.G. Co.
   
  Great Egret--1
  Ruby-throated Hummingbird--3
  Eastern Phoebe--3
   
  Patuxent River NAS, St. Mary's Co. (restricted access)
   
  Great Egret--5
  YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON--1 immature at Fresh Pond
  Killdeer--8 
  Semipalmated Plover--1
  Least Sandpiper--10  (county bird #4,000!)
  Spotted Sandpiper--1-2
  Common Tern--260+ in two large groups
  Forster's Tern--80+ in two large groups
  Royal Tern--8
  Caspian Tern--3
  Brown Pelican--100+ in several large groups; 3 viewed in Calvert waters
  Eastern Wood-Pewee--2
  White-eyed Vireo--1
  Summer Tanager--2
  Grasshopper Sparrow--1 at airfield*
   
  * Scanning for grass-pipers, where we heard the latter, resulted in our being questioned extensively by the Navy SPs. They were quite professional, but it was definitely an experience. They took down all our information to be thorough, including the field on their form which asked to list any tattoos or scars. Under the "reason for presence" field, a guard wrote "Looking for rare birds". He later asked me to write the specific birds we were hoping to find. I had Tom and Matt more than a little uncomfortable afterward when for a couple minutes I had them convinced I'd written "Demoiselle Crane and Little Auk". The guard summarized saying it's actually OK to scan from the road near the flight lines, but that photography is prohibited. 
   
  Pax River bugs included abundant Halloween Pennants, Blue Dasher, Slaty Skimmer, Black Saddlebags, Cloudless Sulfur, Monarch, Tiger and Black Swallowtails.
   
  Beauvue Ponds / Abell's Wharf Road, St. Mary's Co.
   
  Mallard--1
  Great Egret--1
  American Kestrel--2
  Killdeer--3
  ROCK PIGEON--15 (county closeout)
  Blue Grosbeak--2
   
  North Beach Marsh, Calvert Co.
   
  Mallard--female with 8 recently hatched young
  Great Blue Heron--4
  Snowy Egret--32
  Forster's Tern--10 near the beach and over the marsh
  Royal Tern--2 near the beach opposite the marsh
  Caspian Tern--1
  Killdeer--2
  Semipalmated Plover--1
  Solitary Sandpiper--2
  Least Sandpiper--15
  Semipalmated Sandpiper--1-2
  Western Sandpiper--1
  Short-billed Dowitcher--1 hendersoni
   
  Good birding!
   
  Bill
   
  Bill Hubick
  Pasadena, MD
  
  http://www.billhubick.com