I made a short lunchtime visit to the Back River area near Essex today (March 
13). The winds were strong southeasterly and the tide was up. Did not see as 
many Bonaparte's Gulls as did Taylor McLean last Sunday (maybe 75), but 
seeing them flying overhead near the bridge in the bright sunlight was a treat. 
Unfortunately I found no other species of small gulls with them. Other spring 
migrants were two Ospreys, one soaring and one flying quickly north, a Tree 
Swallow, and an Eastern Phoebe that paused briefly in a tree along Diamond 
Point road and then continued north. There was also a Bald Eagle perched on 
a log and four male Common Mergansers riding the choppy water.

Jim Wilkinson
Columbia, MD