Hi all-

I birded southern St. Mary's County Friday and Sunday, including Pt. Lookout, Elms Beach, Pax River NAS, and a few typically birdy roads off 235 south of Lexington Park. Here are some of the highlights:

A nice fling of photo-friendly LEAST and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS combed through the rotting bay vegetation Friday at the beach on Elms. Two adult BALD EAGLES fought over a perch at the pond.

At the back of a field on Longneck Road (south of Dameron, before Rte 5), six CATTLE EGRET grazed with the cows. AMERICAN KESTRELS were plentiful on nearly every back road telephone wire. 

A Black Vulture fed on a dead COW-NOSED RAY at the pet beach just north of the causeway at Point Lookout SP Friday before Hanna arrived. Sunday, I returned early in the morning to catch Patty Craig counting SOOTY and SANDWICH TERNS cross the point east and into the bay. One more SOOTY and a couple more SANDWICHES flew over before George Jett & Gwen Brewer walked up- coincidentally,  the tern flight ground to a complete halt. 

We (Patty, George, Gwen and I), breezed through the wooded area north of the picnic sites for a few warblers: NORTHERN PARULA, MAGNOLIA, BLACK-AND-WHITE, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. Also present were a couple of VEERIES and a SCARLET TANAGER. 

I finished the day at Patuxent River NAS (limited access), finding only one shorebird, a SPOTTED SANDPIPER, and good numbers of ROYAL, COMMON, and FORSTER'S TERNS at the pier across from the campground. I believe one or two of the group were SANDWICH, but I'm not bold enough to actually make the tick in pen.

Have a great week-
Matt

 
Matt Tillett
Linthicum, MD
www.flickr.com/photos/mattyfioner (updated)