This weekend I birded around home and Upper Marlboro doing fall chores.  
Yesterday on a "dump run" to the Brown Station Landfill, I checked the pond 
at the recycle pad, which is nearly dry now due to the severe drought.  To my 
surprise I found 4 shorebird species there: 3 Killdeer, 2 Least Sandpipers, 1 
Semipalmated Sandpiper and 1 Western Sandpiper.  The Western is very 
uncommon here.  Also present were two Canada Geese, 2 Green-winged Teal, 
a Great Egret and 1 Great Blue Heron.

At Mt Calvert Manor (Jug Bay area) I found 2 White-crowned Sparrows, 3 
Field Sparrows, 5 Song Sparrows, 2 Juncos, and many White-throated and 
Chipping Sparrows (20+ each).  I flushed 2 sparrows from the pasture that I 
did not see well, but heard them and am pretty sure they were Savannahs.  
Also A Coopers Hawk that was so big I thought it was a goshawk at first.  I 
had an excellent view of it though.  Nothing else noteworthy to report, except 
for a late Forster's Tern that was hunting over the river.

Today I found a Marbled Salamander as it was crossing the road (Mt. Calvert) 
near our house, and mention it because it is the first one I have ever found in 
PG County.  There are many on the other side (AA Co.) of the river, but I 
have looked for many years here and never found one on this side.  The brief 
rain (~1/4 inch) Friday night (late) produced a big salamander migration 
Saturday at Jug Bay Wetland Sanctuary (AA Co.).  They caught about 150 
Saturday morning in their ongoing salamander study.

Also an excellent weekend for butterflies here!

Cheers-
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD