Hello birders,
Paul Noell, Steve Sanford, Mark Linardi and I visited Lily Ponds yesterday.
With several stops along the way, we managed to tally sixty-eight species on
the trip there and back. Highlights included: several singing Horned Lark on
Underwood Road; fourteen Wilsonıs Snipe, nesting Great Blue Herons, Tree
Swallows and an American Tree Sparrow at Lily Ponds; Common Mergansers and a
low flying Bald Eagle at Nolands Ferry; and a nice collection of ducks along
Marriottsville Road.
Barred Owl highlight (3:30 pm): While driving along a two lane highway (?),
in Frederick County, we spotted a Barred Owl in the grass on the shoulder of
the road and quickly made a u-turn to get a better look. By the time we
stopped on the opposite side of the road another car had zipped past the
owl. The owl just sat there, turning its head this way and that. Then it
flew over the road and straight at us as if intended to pluck Steve from the
passenger seat. Zipping past the car it landed on a little sapling stump and
sat there while Mark and Paul got pictures ...maybe 103 pictures. It was
really amazing.
Take care.
>
Location: Route 99/Underwood Road Area [9 AM - 9:15]
Observation date: 3/15/08
Number of species: 9
> Turkey Vulture 1
> American Kestrel 1
> Rock Pigeon 18
> Horned Lark 3
> American Robin 4
> European Starling 5
> American Pipit 2
> Song Sparrow 1
> Red-winged Blackbird 2
Location: Lilypons Water Gardens [10 AM - 2 PM]
Observation date: 3/15/08
Number of species: 51
> Canada Goose 30
> Wood Duck 8
> Gadwall 4
> American Wigeon 19
> American Black Duck 4
> Mallard 11
> Wild Turkey 1
> Great Blue Heron 8 (7 on nests in large Sycamore)
> Black Vulture 3
> Turkey Vulture 7
> Bald Eagle 1
> Cooper's Hawk 1
> Red-shouldered Hawk 2
> Red-tailed Hawk 1
> Killdeer 2
> Wilson's Snipe 14
> Ring-billed Gull 8
> Mourning Dove 5
> Belted Kingfisher 1
> Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
> Downy Woodpecker 1
> Hairy Woodpecker 1
> Northern Flicker 3
> Blue Jay 2
> American Crow 6
> Fish Crow 12
> Tree Swallow 11
> Carolina Chickadee 2
> Tufted Titmouse 4
> White-breasted Nuthatch 1
> Carolina Wren 4
> Winter Wren 1
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
> Eastern Bluebird 2
> American Robin 13
> Northern Mockingbird 9
> European Starling 17
> Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2
> American Tree Sparrow 1
> Field Sparrow 1
> Fox Sparrow (Red) 4
> Song Sparrow 21
> White-throated Sparrow 10
> Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 8
> Northern Cardinal 8
> Red-winged Blackbird 6
> Common Grackle 5
> Brown-headed Cowbird 2
> House Finch 2
> American Goldfinch 1
> House Sparrow 5
Location: C&O Canal, Nolands Ferry [2:00 PM - 3:30 PM]
Observation date: 3/15/08
Number of species: 38
> Mallard 2
> Common Merganser 16
> Double-crested Cormorant 5
> Great Blue Heron 1
> Black Vulture 15
> Turkey Vulture 18
> Bald Eagle 2
> Cooper's Hawk 1
> Red-shouldered Hawk 1
> Red-tailed Hawk 2
> Ring-billed Gull 10
> Great Black-backed Gull 1
> Mourning Dove 4
> Belted Kingfisher 1
> Barred Owl 1
> Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
> Downy Woodpecker 1
> Northern Flicker 3
> Pileated Woodpecker 2
> Eastern Phoebe 1
> Blue Jay 3
> American Crow 5
> Fish Crow 2
> Carolina Chickadee 3
> Tufted Titmouse 2
> White-breasted Nuthatch 1
> Brown Creeper 3
> Carolina Wren 2
> Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
> American Robin 4
> Northern Mockingbird 1
> European Starling 17
> Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
> Song Sparrow 18
> White-throated Sparrow 2
> Northern Cardinal 3
> Red-winged Blackbird 1
> Common Grackle 3
> House Finch 2
>>
Location: Pond at Marriottsville Road and Barley Field Way [5:00 PM
6:30 PM]
Observation date: 3/15/08
Number of species: 6
> Canada Goose 60
> Gadwall 2
> American Wigeon 6
> Mallard 2
> Ring-necked Duck 22
> Bufflehead 2
>
Location: Powells Run Road [6:45 PM 7:30 PM]
Observation date: 3/15/08
Number of species: 7
> Canada Goose 2
> Mourning Dove 1
> American Robin 1
> Eastern Towhee 1
> White-throated Sparrow 5
> Northern Cardinal 2
> Red-winged Blackbird 1
Keith Eric Costley
Randallstown, Baltimore County, MD |