I spent this past Monday and Tuesday on the lower Eastern Shore, 
mostly in Somerset and Worcester Counties, working on some 
end-of-the-year county closeouts (to my surprise, I managed to get 
ten - mostly ordinary birds like Mallard, Blue Jay, robin).  Some more
interesting sightings included the following:

On Monday morning, December 29, along Old Cordova Road in Talbot 
County, I found several PALM WARBLERS (both varieties) foraging in 
a hedgerow and on the ground with bluebirds, Chipping Sparrows, and 
a lone Yellow-rumped Warbler.  Later, at Janes Island State Park in 
Somerset County, the pines around the parking lot were filled with 
BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES.  Near the park entrance, a GREAT 
HORNED OWL was calling repeatedly - at 3:30 in the afternoon.  I ended 
the day on Rumbly Point Road, where my best bird was an AMERICAN 
BITTERN, which posed for several minutes about ten feet from the 
road before flying off.  Nearby, from the direction of Irish Grove, 
a pair of SHORT-EARED OWLS called to each other just before and 
just after sunset.

Early the next morning, December 30, I birded the Pocomoke sand 
pits area in Worcester County.  Near the end of Unionville Road a 
flock of 5 WILD TURKEYS crossed from a field into the woods.  A 
short distance away 5 BALD EAGLES - 4 adults and 1 immature - 
were checking out a cornfield.  The highlight of a stop at Pocomoke 
River WMA was an immature GOLDEN EAGLE, which passed overhead 
low enough to give me a great look.  On the way home, in Wicomico 
County, an adult RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was perched on a wire 
across Route 50 from the borrow pits - a nice way to end the day.

Happy New Year and Good Birding to all!

Elaine Hendricks
Greenbelt, MD  (PG County)



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