Howdy all:

Today was cold and windy but beautiful.  The best part was a flock of ten Siskins that came to our feeders and stayed for half an hour (8-8:30 am)!  Interestingly, either two additional ones came by after the flock left, or else two remained here - they fed here all day long, mostly on thistle but occasionally on sunflower chips.   I have not seen one here since Oct 19!  Nothing else unusual, but many species were around, and generally in good numbers.  Much of Jug Bay was frozen.  I birded around the property on and off throughout the day and got 53 species here, and added two when I took a short walk off the property with the kids to PAtuxent River Park.  I would guesss total time birdwatching was about 3.5 - 4 hours.  Numbers listed are most seen at one time.

Cheers!

Canada Goose  450
American Black Duck  340
Mallard 130
Northern Pintail 14
Green Winged Teal  3
Common Merganser 13
Pied-billed Grebe  1
Great Blue Heron  2
Black Vulture  5
Turkey Vulture  4
Bald Eagle  2
Red-shouldered Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Killdeer  8
Ring-billed Gull  330
Herring Gull  28
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Mourning Dove  12
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  3
Blue Jay  6
American Crow  230
Fish Crow  22
Carolina Chickadee  3
Tufted Titmouse  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  2
Brown Creeper   1
Carolina Wren  4
Eastern Bluebird  13
American Robin  5
Gray Catbird  1
Northern Mockingbird  3
Brown Thrasher  2
European Starling  45
Cedar Waxwing 16
Eastern Towhee  2
Savannah Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow   4
Swamp Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow   21
Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco  31
Northern Cardinal   11
Red-winged Blackbird  155
Rusty Blackbird   2
Brown-headed Cowbird  170
Purple Finch  1
House Finch  12
Pine Siskin  10
American Goldfinch   14
House Sparrow  2

The two additional species were Field Sparrow (2) and Fox Sparrow (1).

Good birding to all in 2009!
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD