Hi Everyone,

Today Mike Walsh and I birded in Wicomico County from about 7:00am to 5:00pm.  We spent most of the day in the southwestern corner of the county between the Nanticoke and Wicomico Rivers and also made a brief stop at the Rt 50 Borrow Pit.

We encountered 74 species, and Mike showed me many great spots that I hadn't known about--fun day!

A few highlights:

Wild Turkey--5 on Senkbeil Rd
Solitary Sandpiper--1 at a small puddle along Whitehaven Ferry Rd (with 2 Least Sandpipers and 10 Killdeer)
Royal Tern--25 at Cedar Hill Marina, 1 at Tyaskin Park
Red-headed Woodpecker--2 adults along Muddy Hole Rd, east of Clara Rd

Conditions of potential interest:

Shorebird habitat was a bit sparse in the areas we covered; the few puddles in fields were pretty small.  The Rt 50 Borrow Pit has been replenished somewhat by recent storms, but could use some more water; we saw no shorebirds or waders there this afternoon.  Our total shorebird list for the day:

Killdeer--31
Lesser Yellowlegs--1
Solitary Sandpiper--1
Least Sandpiper--5

As Bill Hubick posted earlier, Muddy Hole Rd is in great shape; but we were surprised and disappointed to find that the road into Ellis Bay WMA (called Clara Rd in the DeLorme and which leads due south from Muddy Hole Rd) was blocked by a locked gate.

Have fun,

Ron Gutberlet
Salisbury, MD