Hi Everyone, 

A group of five of us came together and headed west yesterday (3/9), the
earliest of us departing the Eastern Shore in the nether-time of official
springing forward. As we dropped cars at park-and-rides and pushed west,
the temperatures dropped quickly and the snow began to fall heavily. Just
after dawn, standing in the snow at Mountain Lake, it was me, Jim
Brighton, Tom Feild, Hans Holbrook, Mikey Lutmerding, and a Sandhill Crane
- a suspicious gathering if ever there was one.

Mikey had been there waiting for us low-landers, gesturing, as we arrived,
that the crane had just flown. This joke will never, ever get old. 

Watching the crane slowly strut among the geese in the falling snow was a
memorable sight. It is also an excellent sighting for the county. We
understand this to be only the second record for Garrett (first in 1989?).
As Matt Hafner and I discussed last night, hopefully a prospective mate
will join this bird--the habitat actually isn't bad. Matt noted, however,
that the northwestern PA birds nest off of the Allegany Plateau. Still,
it's a long shot worth keeping an eye on.

After enjoying the crane as long as possible in the biting wind, we moved
on. Our route took us to many of the best water areas between Oakland and
western Frederick County. Most water in Garrett was frozen, including
Broadford, most of Deep Creek, and Piney Res. 

Mountain Lake, Garrett Co.

Canada Goose--125
American Wigeon--2
Mallard--55
American Coot--1
SANDHILL CRANE--1
Ring-billed Gull--1
Fox Sparrow (Red)--1

Feeder area in Oakland, Garrett Co.

Hairy Woodpecker--1
Carolina Wren--1
American Tree Sparrow--3
Fox Sparrow (Red)--2
Common Grackle (Purple)--3
House Finch--32

Broadford Lake, Garrett Co. (nearly all frozen)

Mallard--4
Hooded Merganser--4
Red-tailed Hawk--1
Killdeer--1

Trout Run WWTP, Garrett Co. (open)

Mallard--2
Canvasback--3
Redhead--15
Ring-necked Duck--5
Lesser Scaup--2
American Kestrel--1
Killdeer--1
Ring-billed Gull--1

Deep Creek Lake, Garrett Co. (nearly all frozen)

Red-bellied Woodpecker--1; feeder north of the Discovery Center
Fox Sparrow (Red)--2; Discovery Center

Piney Reservoir, Garrett Co. (mostly frozen)

Canada Goose--68
Hooded Merganser--7

Pinto Pond, Allegany Co. (all ponds open outside of Garrett)

Canada Goose--1
CANVASBACK--4; actually resting on the shoreline outside of the pond
Bufflehead--1 drake
American Kestrel--1
Killdeer--1

Terminus, Allegany Co.

Mallard--2
Green-winged Teal (American)--1 drake
Hooded Merganser--3
Killdeer--6
Ring-billed Gull--1
Common Raven--4; soaring over cliffs north of Cumberland

North Branch--PPG Ponds, Allegany Co.

No sign of any lingering Greater White-fronted Geese, but of course they
move around.

Canada Goose--74
Pied-billed Grebe--1
American Kestrel--1
Killdeer--4

Mason Road Pond, Allegany Co.

Canada Goose--16
Mallard--6
CANVASBACK--1 drake
Ring-necked Duck--38
GREATER SCAUP--1 hen
Lesser Scaup--5
Bufflehead--5
Northern Harrier--1
Killdeer--28; field just west of the pond

Little Pool, Washington Co.

Canada Goose--13
American Wigeon--2
COMMON GOLDENEYE--1 hen
Hooded Merganser--6
Pied-billed Grebe--1

Fort Frederick SP---Big Pool, Washington Co.

The excellent Big Pool waterfowl gathering - particularly of Aythya ducks
- continues. Most of the birds have been present for over a week. Fox
Sparrows were also nice, as they're tough-to-find migrant in the county.

Swan Goose (exotic)--1, continues
Canada Goose hybrid--1 (probably x Graylag)
Canada Goose--65
Gadwall--12
American Wigeon--5
Mallard--2
Green-winged Teal (American)--1
CANVASBACK--20; my county closeout
REDHEAD--11
Ring-necked Duck--350
GREATER SCAUP--2
Lesser Scaup--45
Greater/Lesser Scaup--50
Bufflehead--12
Common Merganser--4
American Coot--11
Killdeer--1
Fish Crow--1
Golden-crowned Kinglet--1
Eastern Bluebird--2
Field Sparrow--3
Fox Sparrow (Red)--2; Jim's county closeout
Song Sparrow--5
Swamp Sparrow--2
White-throated Sparrow--6

Kershner's Pond, Frederick Co.

Canada Goose--400
American Black Duck--4
Mallard--25
Canvasback--32
GREATER SCAUP--2
Lesser Scaup--2; my county closeout
Greater/Lesser Scaup--6
Bufflehead--6
Common Merganser--16
Ruddy Duck--26
Red-tailed Hawk--1

Potomac River at Weverton, Washington (WA)/Frederick (FR) Counties

Tom won the MVP award for this stop, picking out three distant ducks well
on the Frederick side of the county line. They were three COMMON GOLDENEYE
heading upriver, county birds in Frederick for most of us.

Wood Duck--2; flushed from the flooded area along the river from WA into
FR
Mallard--4
COMMON GOLDENEYE--3 (WA/FR)
Common Merganser--1 drake; flew upriver and then back down (WA/FR)
Black Vulture--1
Turkey Vulture--1
Pileated Woodpecker--1
Non-avian: First Red-backed Salamanders of the year (~12)

Dusk on the Potomac River across from Harpers Ferry, in Washington Co.
It's hard to beat spending dusk along nearly any waterway during
migration. 

Canada Goose--8
American Wigeon--2
American Black Duck--2
COMMON GOLDENEYE--1 hen; flew up river at dusk
Common Merganser--16; flying back and forth down river; several drakes
apparently displaying to one hen
Double-crested Cormorant--1 adult
Black Vulture--10
Turkey Vulture--21
Bald Eagle--2; Nesting on the island on the south side of the river
Red-tailed Hawk--1

Good birding!

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com