Hello everybody:

I spent Tuesday morning (10/14) at Elk Neck State Park in Cecil County. I arrived at Turkey Point about 7:45 AM. I did a fairly rapid walk out to the point feeling optimistic after perusing through the results of their Big Sit this past Sunday. On the way out I sensed that it would be a slow day for migrants as they were few and far between. The only migrant warbler I saw on the walk to the point was a male Black-throated Blue.  My best species was a LINCOLN'S SPARROW sitting up and preening about 30 feet from the trail. Once I arrived at the point there were 6 Palm Warblers (all were of the yellow race) working the brush at the edge of the cliffs. Other than numerous Yellow-Rumps and a few Common Yellowthroats that was it for warblers. After 2 1/2 hours wondering around the point I headed back and stopped at the hawk watch. I met Pat Valdata for the first time who had already set up camp. She was extremely eager to share her expertise with me and we had an enjoyable time. There we
re enough raptors moving through to keep things interesting. 

For anybody that has not been here it is a great place to observe the hawk migration. I was surprised how many individual birds seemed to come right over our heads.

Here are the highlights of the birds I saw or heard:

Osprey
Bald Eagle
Nothern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
 Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Merlin
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
5 Woodpeckers (no red-headed or yb sapsucker)
Cedar Waxwing
 Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
 Common Yellowthroat
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow (they were everywhere)

Thank you Pat for an enjoyable morning and your subtle tips on IDing the accipiterrs.

My next stop was a midafternoon visit driving through Elk Neck State Forest off of Irishtown Road. As expected for the time of day it was very quiet. The only  birds of note were 3 yellow race PALM WARBLERS and 2 BROWN CREEPERS.


Wednesday morning (10/15) I started at Hugg-Thomas WMA in Howard County. The best birds seen here were:
 Field, chipping and  white-throated sparrows, numerous yellow-rumps and a beautiful Blue-headed Vireo.

My next stop was Study Road in Carroll County. This has become one of my favorite roads in the county. There is a farm pond by the side of the road and alot of great sparrow habitat. Besides, how can you not like a dirt road?

The pond had Canada Geese, Mallards, 3 Green-winged Teal and one Great Egret at the edge.
Birds seen after passing the pond included:

Red-tailed hawk (1)
American Kestrel (1)
Catbird (2)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (3)
N. Flicker (2)
Red-headed Woodpecker (1)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
Song sparrow (18)
Swamp Sparrow (1)
Field Sparrow (5)
White-crowned Sparrow (2)

I parked at the end of the road and walked left on Halter Road up to the bridge over Big Pipe Creek; birds observed here included 2 Ruby-crowned kinglets, 2 Belted Kingfishers and a Red-tailed hawk being harassed by numerous crows.

My last stop of the day was Babylon Road. I drove and walked up the road between 1/2 and 3/4s of a mile and birded the left side of the road which was once again excellent sparrow habitat. 

Highlights here included:

A. Kestrel (1)
Sharp-shinned hawk (1)
Red-tailed hawk
Common Raven (1) Initially heard and then seen circling several times above me
Palm Warbler (1) also yellow race
Field Sparrow (16)
Song Sparrow (12)
Lincoln's Sparrow (1)
 White-crowned Sparrow (2)

All in all it was a great day to be out. But, enough of summer, bring on those cooler days.

Jim Green 
Gaithersburg, MD.


work in moderation, BIRD IN EXCESS