My favorite three spots in Calvert would have to be Calvert Cliffs State Park, before anyone else gets there, and North Beach marsh, and Flag Ponds. The area around the beach ponds at Flag Ponds is reliable, at least in spring migration, for Salt-marsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow and Seaside Sparrow and often Marsh Wren.
I'm not sure that anyone has addressed St. Mary's County. The obvious spot there is Pt. Lookout State Park. The trails around the old fort can be excellent in migration and the waterfowl between the causeway and the point, in winter, usually has a surprise like the Harlequin Duck and Eared Grebes recently. When you leave the park, turn right at the hard left turn at Rt. 5 and turn onto Scotland Beach Rd. The view from the end of the road looks over a couple of pound nets that often hold a number of gull and tern species as well as cormorants and Brown Pelicans, which are now year-round in St. Mary's.
One fairly unknown area in St. Mary's is the Wildlands section of St. Mary's River State Park off of Indian Bridge Rd. This is accessed through the hunter parking lot closer to Rt. 5. There is a relatively large tract of fairly mature hardwoods which is productive for birds like Hooded Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Worm-eating Warbler and in spring is often very good for Catharus thrushes.
For dabbling ducks, the best place by far is Beauvue Ponds. Take Rt. 5 south from Leonardtown then turn right at the light at Fairgrounds and Medley's Neck Rd. Drive for a couple of miles then turn right onto Breton Beach Rd. then another right onto Abell's Wharf Rd. This is also a good spot for Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Eastern Meadowlark and, if you're lucky, Short-eared Owl and Rough-legged Hawk.
Myrtle Point Park, near the Solomons bridge, has probably the densest population of Yellow-breasted Chats and Prairie Warblers of any place I know. Walk the trails near the water tower in May and you can't miss them. Bad for ticks, though. When you exit the park, drive past Iris Lane and on the right is a section of brambles that ends at a created wetland. This area, particularly at this time of year, is excellent for Woodcocks. Often you will hear Barred Owls closer to the intersection of Mill Cove Rd. and Patuxent Blvd. and in the late spring and summer, Chuck-will's-widow.
Tyler Bell
California, Maryland
>
> Ronald Gutberlet <> wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> My wife Carol and I have recently moved back to Maryland after living
> in Texas for the past 16 years. Since returning, we have joined the
> Tri-County Bird Club and MOS, and I signed onto MDOSPREY a little over a
> month ago. We've really appreciated the great information and the
> friendly birders we've met so far. It feels good to be home!
>
> We've come up with a little game to try to get up to speed on
> Maryland birding and to put a little play into our spring break. (Carol
> unfortunately will miss the first part owing to her school schedule, but
> will join in for the rest). Between 15 and 23 March, we're going to
> attempt to bird in every MD county. And for kicks, we've set
> ourselves the challenge of 1000 total ticks for these nine days of
> birding. We have birded in fewer than half of MD's counties so far,
> but I hope that this big week will produce a few of those "county
> close-outs" that we've been hearing about.
>
> So we're writing for a little help. If you have a favorite birding
> spot in your home county, we'd love to hear about it. If you'd like
> to reply off-list, we'll be happy to post a summary of the responses.
> We have Claudia Wilds' book Finding Birds in the National Capital
> Area, The Baltimore Bird Club's A Birder's Guide to Baltimore and
> Baltimore County, Maryland, and a Maryland/Delaware DeLorme Atlas.
>
> We will keep the list updated about our progress during the week—the
> Home Again Tour we're calling it—and will be sure to post any
> sightings that may be of general interest. We will also be submitting
> all of our observations to eBird.
>
> Thanks for any help you can offer! Have fun,
>
> Ron Gutberlet
> Salisbury, MD
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