Chris Murray and I started our adventures quite yesterday morning.  He
finished his shift at 49 West just after 2 AM.  By 2:30 AM, we were on
our way East.  First stop: Tanyard Marsh (3:45 AM)

King Rail
Common Moorhen

Then we ventured off to seek out some more night creatures, before
enjoying a most impressive sunrise over the marsh on Elliott Island
Road.

Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Glossy Ibis
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
European Starling
Yellow Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Field Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
American Goldfinch

The traffic signs told of back up on Route 50, suggesting 90 as an
alternate.  So we flipped our plans and headed to Salisbury Airport

Canada Goose
Turkey Vulture
Killdeer
UPLAND SANDPIPER     2
Mourning Dove
YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER     1
Eastern Kingbird
Horned Lark
Barn Swallow

And then off to Truitts Landing.

Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER     1
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Royal Tern
Downy Woodpecker
White-eyed Vireo
BLUE-HEADED VIREO     1
Red-eyed Vireo
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
SEDGE WREN    1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Black-and-white Warbler
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch

It was now time for the hiking portion of our trip: Assateague State
Park.  Chris and I both thought for a moment that we saw a DUNLIN (fly
right in front of us).  We both saw a plump peep (larger than the
constantly-sprinting Sanderlings) with a black belly. The shape was
not right for BB Plover, but... for now... it's identity will remain a
mystery. We hiked for about 1.5 miles to the North is search of a
Piping Plover.  We had no luck, but we realized it's quite awkward to
have a high-powered scope and a camera at that end of the beach.  Who
knew people needed to tan in so many places?

Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Semipalmated Plover
Willet
Sanderling
Least Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Ruby-throated Hummingbird

On our way to Hoopers to scan Skimmer Island, I checked my iPhone's
email to see if there were any interesting reports on the OSPREY.  I
was like a kid a Christmas when I read about Bill Hubick's sighting of
the BLACK SKIMMER on it's namesake island.  The post was 40 minutes
old and upon our arrival, the skimmer was... skimming on the back side
of the island towards the North end.  What a sight!  Thanks Bill &
Matt for the post!

Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Osprey
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
American Oystercatcher
MARBLED GODWIT     2
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Least Tern     1
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
BLACK SKIMMER     1
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove

After reading Matt's post about Bill's sightings, we quickly made our
way to the West OC Horse Track.  Place your bets?  Did we see the
Buff-Breasted and the Upland Sandpipers.  The good money is on YES.
We saw 3 UPLAND SANDPIPERS and 1 BUFF BREASTED!  What a day. We were
joined by Dave Brenneman and Winger West. Dave and Winger had been
birding in Delaware all day and we were delighted to have them join
us.

Turkey Vulture
Killdeer
UPLAND SANDPIPER     3
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER     1
Herring Gull
Horned Lark

Finally it was off to the famous Berlin WWTP. We decided to try to
find the recently reported YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.

Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Lesser Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Carolina Chickadee
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
BOBOLINK     1
Red-winged Blackbird

Sorry to have missed the Western Meadowlark this evening.  For now...
it's time to get some sleep.  Enjoy your Labor Day.

Good Birding,

Dan Haas
West Annapolis, MD