I spent?a few hours?at Blue Mash in Montgomery County this morning, mainly to check out the shorebirds and waders at the big pond. Which was a good thing, because passerine migrants were virtually non-existent. The pond, though holding very little water, still had some birds of interest:

Canada Goose - 6
Mallard - 10
Green-winged Teal - 4
Great Blue Heron - 6
Great Egret - 2
LITTLE BLUE HERON - 1, the continuing immature bird
Lesser Yellowlegs - 1
Solitary Sandpiper - 1
Spotted Sandpiper - 1 (alone on the small pond)
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 4
Least Sandpiper - 21
Pectoral Sandpiper - 11
Black Vulture - 10, roosting on the ground along the back edge

On?the?walk back from the pond I found:

Broad-winged Hawk - 1 adult, migrant, joined & harassed by a COOPER'S HAWK
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1 female at thistle flowers
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH - 2 birds heard calling, then landed briefly for a good look; one more heard calling from the woods south of the pond.

Finally, on the way home I stopped at Western Regional Park (Howard County). At the soccer fields, park workers were setting up equipment - no birds. The pond at the entrance had only a couple of tiny puddles - no birds.

Joel Martin
Catonsville, MD
 

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