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Subject:

Short-eared Owls, other birds in NW Carroll County

From:

Jim Wilkinson

Reply-To:

Jim Wilkinson

Date:

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:22:44 -0500

I had a rewarding day counting birds in the northwestern part of Carroll 
County as part of the winter bird count on January 19. The day ended around 
5 PM at an overgrown field along Keysville Road with two Short-eared Owls 
and 8 Northern Harriers (four females/immatures and four silvery males).  One 
of the owls buzzed a harrier that was perched on the tip of a cedar tree. A 
nearby singing White-crowned Sparrow added a nice touch. The field can be 
accessed from a muddy pullout near an abandoned house and barn just before 
the sharp curve as you are heading north from Keysville.

Other highlights included four adult Red-headed Woodpeckers along Ruggles 
Road about a mile west from Route 194, a Common Raven a little ways farther 
on the same roadway, and approximately 50 White-crowned Sparrows feeding 
in a flock along the shoulder of Bullfrog Road near the Monocacy River.

Jim Wilkinson
Columbia, MD