I had a great day birding with my brother and son on the eastern shore today.  I was planning to lead a Patuxent MOS trip, but perhaps owing to the 1 degree temperature at our 7 AM meeting time, there was only the three of us.  Our first stop was the Cambridge Marina, where we got spectacular early morning views of both the Barrow's Goldeneye and Tufted Duck.  Both birds were inside the marina and in view at close range.  

Our next stop was the Salisbury Landfill, where we ran into Hans Holbrook and Matt Hafner.  Hans and Matt had found a 2nd year Glaucous Gull which gave us great views and allowed a very close approach.  It had been a few years since I last saw a Glaucous Gull, and we all enjoyed the close views of this pale 2nd year bird.  Also present were a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls, including one that looked suspiciously like a possible Lesser Black-backed X Herring Gull hybrid.  The sheer number of gulls at the landfill was pretty impressive as well.

Next we went on to Vessey's Orchard.  Among the many goldfinch and Savannah Sparrows, we saw a bright Pine Warbler and the Lark Sparrow, which I had missed in December.  The Lark Sparrow was feeding on the ground with a large flock of Savannah Sparrows, often walking on the black tarp or plastic that covered sections of one of the fields.  As we walked the edge of the field, a Wilson's Snipe flew closeby, and a large group of Snow Geese passed overhead.

We then went on to Ocean City, which was a little bit slower.  We did not see the Earred Grebe, but the ice on the bayside had pushed most of the waterfowl pretty far out.  Ocean City Inlet had lots of loons (Common and Red-throated), Long-tailed Ducks, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Mergansers, Brant, a few Black Scoters, several Double-crested Cormorants, 1 Great Cormorant, Purple Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, American Oystercatchers, and a few Bonaparte's Gulls.  The loons were swimming up and down the inlet, often quite close to shore.

All in all, it ended up being a very rewarding day birding.

Fred Shaffer

Patuxent MOS