This morning I went out looking for shorebirds in my home county 
(always a challenge in Prince George's), with the thought that I 
would also keep a lookout for the immature White Ibis that has been 
seen in the Jug Bay area.  I checked Mt. Calvert, Patuxent River 
Park at Jug Bay, and Depot Pond and Schoolhouse Pond in Upper 
Marlboro without seeing anything very unusual (although a Lesser 
Yellowlegs riding a floating log downstream at Jackson Landing was 
a first).  

On my way home I decided that I might as well check the pond at 
the recycling center on Brown Station Road, across from the county 
landfill.  As I pulled into the parking lot, at about 12:45 PM, the 
skies opened up and started pouring rain.  I scanned the pond 
through the windshield, and there was the WHITE IBIS!  It was 
foraging along the far edge of the pond, on the left side, as seen 
from the parking area.  A pretty cool year bird for me!  (In case 
anyone is wondering, I DID get out of the car to look at it - 
fortunately, I had my rain slicker in the trunk.)

Actually, my first stop of the day was at Bladensburg Waterfront 
Park, where I saw a greater diversity of birds than I usually do 
there, including the following:

Great Blue Heron - 3
Great Egret - 1
Green Heron - 1
Osprey - 3
Killdeer - 6+
Solitary Sandpiper - 1
Laughing Gull - 4
Ring-billed Gull - many
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Fish Crow - 2
Barn Swallow - many

Plus the usual Canada Geese, Mallards, and blackbirds.

Elaine Hendricks
Greenbelt, MD  (PG County)



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