Greetings,
   
  The Howard County Middle Patuxent Environmental Area seemed very quiet this morning.  I did not have any warbler flocks walking the trail from the Trotter Rd parking down along the river and back from 7:30 am to 10:00 am.
   
  The best birds were one each of
   
  Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl (at the meadow off Trotter Rd)
Belted Kingfisher
White-eyed Vireo (heard only)
Northern Parula 
   
  Some MPEA trail notes are below.
   
  Scott Berglund
  Ellicott City
  business250 at yahoo dot com
   
  Trail notes: 
   
  I was not able to find an MPEA map of the Trotter Rd trails on the internet.  There is one of the Southwind trails.  My notes refer to the nice map found at the trailheads. 
   
  1. The pipeline construction is finished in the woods according to a worker but continues by Trotter road. There is a new broad swath through the woods that veers off to the right before the meadow (#1 on the Wildlife Loop trail).  It appears to go for at least several hundred yards and has been covered with straw and grass seed.  It does not connect to any trail off the Trotter Rd parking that I can tell.  Birds were already flitting about so it may be an interesting side walk.
   
  2.  There appears to be a new official trail that takes off about 150 feet past #2 (on the way to #3 on the Wildlife Loop trail) which goes through a meadow to #17 on the red trail.  This is a nice wide mown path.  which gives the opportunity for a short meadow loop.
   
  3.  The official trails are in good shape.  The rough trail along the river between the end of the orange trail (starts at #2) and #11 of the red Wildlife Loop trail is not mown and has knee high, wet grass in many places and some deep equipment ruts hidden by the grass.
   
   

       
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