My Saturday birding started early -- up at 1am to make the 2-hour trek to 
Cecil County.  I got kind of a sick feeling when I crossed the Bay Bridge and 
realized most of the upper Eastern shore was fogged in.  Fortunately, I was 
able to find a few clear spots in the southern part of Cecil and heard 2 of the
Great Horned Owls I was searching for.  At dawn, I was at Turkey Point and 
had a few birds not mentioned by Walter in his report -- 1 Cape May Warbler, 
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush, and 4 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.  I did not get Red-
breasted Nuthatches at Turkey Point, but I had half a dozen (the first being a 
county close-out) up the road at Elk Neck State Forest off of Irishtown Rd.  I 
also saw my first Brown Creeper of the season there.

Sunday morning, I slept in until the luxurious hour 4am before heading to 
western Howard County, where I heard two Great Horned Owls and 4 Barred 
Owls.  At daybreak, I went up to Piney Run in Carroll County hoping for the 
birds reported last week by Matt Hafner.  The birds there included 2 Great 
Egrets, 1 Green Heron, 3 Gadwall, 6 American Wigeon, 3 Green-winged Teal, 1 
Northern Shoveler, and 1 Ruddy Duck.

John Hubbell
Washington DC