I had a pleasant first opportunity to bird in Harford County this afternoon scouting Harford Glen with Debbie Stewart of the Harford Bird Club for a field trip we will co-lead at the MOS Conference. I had 42 species, most of which were already reported by Ruth Bergstrom. Of the additional birds we saw, the highlight was a first-of-year Broad-winged Hawk. Before Debbie arrived, I heard two Barred Owls calling in the woods. Other additions to Ruth's list -- Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Swamp Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, and American Goldfinch.
Several of the ponds had very low water which enabled us to see probably a dozen very large Snapping Turtles; there were eight in one pond alone. Several times one of the Turtles appeared to try to mount another -- mating??
Jim Nelson
Bethesda, MD |