Hi All,

It was another day of late-lingering fog, abundant cloud, and little 
sunshine till mid-afternoon. The lack of a front and poor migration 
conditions made for a low-key outing to Turkey Point. Nonetheless, 
Turkey Point provided its usual array of small surprises and visible 
migration. The most visible migrants were the Blue Jays as we had over 
450 for the day featuring confused milling flocks at the lighthouse that 
dove for the canopy every time a hawk passed over. The hawks were the 
next most visible evidence of migration as we had 39 of  seven species 
including a harrier,  26 sharp-shinneds, 3 Cooper's, 3 latish 
broad-wingeds, and two kestrels. Land birds were in small pockets, often 
eating fruit such as dogwood and poison ivy, and were a mix of late 
Neotropical migrants, short-distance migrants, and arriving winter 
birds. Among the former were an Eastern Wood-Pewee, three Red-eyed 
Vireos, a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Wood Thrush, and an Indigo 
Bunting. Among the latter were both kinglets, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) 
Warblers, a young sapsucker, and a White-throated Sparrow. Red-breasted 
Nuthatches were limited to just two. We were also pleased to get a great 
look at an Eastern Meadowlark that flew into the grassy meadow 
surrounding the Turkey Point lighthouse. Our complete bird species list 
came to 48, along with 13 butterfly species (including a late zebra 
swallowtail).

Good birding,

Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin

23460 Clarissa Rd
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-778-9568

rossgull (at) baybroadband.net

Trip list:
18 Canada Geese; 2 Double-crested Cormorants; 5 Turkey Vultures; 1 
Osprey; 1 Bald Eagle; 1 Northern Harrier; 26 Sharp-shinned Hawks; 3 
Cooper's Hawks; 2 Accipiter (sp); 3 Broad-winged Hawks; 2 American 
Kestrels; 10 Laughing Gulls; 3 Ring-billed Gulls; 1 Chimney Swift; 11 
Red-bellied Woodpeckers; 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker; 3 Downy 
Woodpeckers; 2 Hairy Woodpeckers; 6 Northern Flickers; 2 Pileated 
Woodpeckers; 1 Eastern Wood-Pewee; 8 Eastern Phoebes; 3 Red-eyed Vireos; 
455 Blue Jays; 2 American Crows; 2 Tree Swallows; 9 Carolina Chickadees; 
14 Tufted Titmice; 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches; 6 White-breasted 
Nuthatches; 11 Carolina Wrens; 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet; 2 Ruby-crowned 
Kinglets; 1 Catharus thrush (sp; probably Swainson's); 1 Wood Thrush 
(eating dogwood); 1 American Robin; 1 Gray Catbird; 3 Northern 
Mockingbirds; 2 Magnolia Warblers; 6 Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers; 1 
Black-throated Green Warbler (eating poison ivy); 1 Blackpoll Warbler; 1 
Black-and-white Warbler; 1 Common Yellowthroat; 1 White-throated 
Sparrow; 12 Northern Cardinals; 1 Indigo Bunting; 1 Eastern Meadowlark; 
3 American Goldfinches.