I guess they call it Soldier's DELIGHT for a reason.

Attracted by some nice posts earlier in the week we were there by about 7
AM. I think there were as many birders out as birds. Some human sightings:

John Taylor of Harford Co. Nice meeting him- directed us quickly to the
Summer Tanager location for this year (Folks there is no reason to be at
this place at this time of year of you don't get the resident SUTA's)
Frode Jacobsen and a friend from Norway. We were with them as they snapped
off a few hundred shots of a Bay-Breasted Warbler. I hope he posts them so
we can all see what they got. With the lenses they were using they might
have got the feather mites on the birds.
Chuck Stirrat and a friend from Howard Co. We took in a Black-and-white
Warbler that was adding some strange stuff at the end of his usual Squeaky
Wheel bit.
John? Russell and some friends who were trying to figure out if it was a
Cape May. My take on it was Black-throated Green, but then it wasn't giving
us the best views either.
A group led by some workers from the Nature Center there who were
enthusiastically taking it all in.

Our highlights included some BLACKPOLLS, CANADA WARBLER, the BAY-BREASTED,
MAGNOLIA WARBLER, possible BLACKBURNIAN and BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, the
SUTA, and best of all a very nice look (that enabled us to study it well) at
a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH. We probably haven't had this bird more than half a
dozen times before this. I always have to do it by process of eliminating
all the other suspects - Swainson's, Veery, Hermit, etc. However I will not
try to go as far as separating it from Bicknell's. Only the pros can do that
and I'm not real convinced they can do it reliably unless they have it in
hand and hold a banding license.

plus some like nice looks at locals like YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, GREAT-CRESTED
FLYCATCHER and our little buddy the ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. But no definitive
flutter call. Maybe they save that for later.

Good day to be out. Now I'll go watch the race.

Jerry Tarbell
Carroll County and parts of Bicknellia. Wherever that is.