Hi all,
 My daughter Alli and I arrived at the spot along Club Hollow Rd  shortly 
before 8 AM, where there was already a small gathering of birders down  by the 
fence line. We were waved over hurriedly to see the bird perched up in  the 
grass and singing, not far from the (now) famous single thistle flower. We  
watched it on and off, while it continued to sing, until about 10 AM, when we  left 
for a quick trip to Hughes Hollow.
 
The sparrow seemed to sing and show itself more earlier, and as the morning  
wore on it sang but did not show as much, but when it did it would move from  
place to place. It did seem to prefer the area just to the right of the 
thistle.  We also heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and saw a distant E. Meadowlark, as 
well  as Bluebirds and Chipping Sparrows.
 
 At Hughes Hollow we saw an immature (young of the year) Hooded  Merganser, 
about 5 Great Egrets and 4 Great Blues, a few Green Herons, and Alli  scanned 
the distant dead trees and picked up at least one, maybe 2 adult  Red-headed 
Woodpeckers.
 
Also, it was very nice to run into some of my old friends from the  
Montgomery Bird Club!
 
Rick Sussman
Woodbine,MD
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