I too spent all day at Blackwater NWR (Wildlife Loop, Tubman Trail,
Shorter's Wharf Rd) and saw a lone Am. White Pelican, three pairs of
Hooded Mergansers, a Virginia Rail standing next to the road along the
Wildlife Loop near the Marsh Trail, large numbers of Brown-headed
Nuthatches, Swamp Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes, both Kinglets, Brown
Creepers, a yellow Palm Warbler, four Eastern Meadowlarks, a
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, three Hairy Woodpeckers, three Winter Wrens,
five Forster's Terns, 30+ Greater Yellowlegs, 20+ Dunlins, 15+ Killdeers,
two Belted Kingfishers, 30+ Bald Eagles, two American Kestrels, three
Cooper's Hawks, two Sharp-shinned Hawks, four Red-tailed Hawks, 15+
Northern Harriers, 7!! Short-eared Owls in the air at once around 4PM
(performing aerial displays/combats with each other, with Harriers, and
even with Bald Eagles), and 2-3 Great Horned Owls hooting at dusk. I did
not succeed finding Cedar Creek Rd, so I missed the owls and Rough-legged
Hawks there. At the visitor center I had non of the finches or lark
sparrow reported earlier this week, only the usual Golden Finches,
Mockingbirds, White-throats, and Cedar Waxwings.

A large hollow snag along the Tubman Trail had a snoozing Raccoon inside
of it.

Pictures will be posted on Flickr soon.

Good birding,

Frode Jacobsen
Ten Hills, Baltimore, MD


> I don't want to steal Stan Arnold's thunder, but wanted to get word out on
> above.
>
> Stan Arnold led a very successful trip to Blackwater NWR today.  The
> highlights were:
>
> Rough-legged Hawk, one spotted on soaring by the Wildlife Loop by Wes,
> which
> gave magnificent looks.  Another was on the snag at Cedar Creek Rd.
>
> Short-eared Owls:  Four flying in broad daylight on Cedar Creek Road,
> about
> 3:00 p.m.
>
> White Pelican - 1 or 2 visible from Wildlife Loop.
>
> Snow Bunting:  1 seen on Wildlife Loop by Stan and Elaine only.
>
> Lots of other good birds were present, but not so highly sought after.
> Hopefully Stan will give a more complete posting later.  But those hoping
> for the Pelicans, they remain.
>
> Kurt Schwarz
> HowCo
> goawaybird at comcast dot net
>
>
>