Hi Everyone,

The following is posted on behalf of Brad Lanning:

"Hi guys, just wanted to let you know what we found this weekend.  Highlights from my trip to Big Pool on Saturday were several hundred ducks and 20 or so Gulls coming and going with a few Herring amongst the Ringers.  Among the ducks were a flock of 54 Canvasbacks, representing a new personal high count for the county, a nice flock of Goldeneye (23), lots of Gadwall flying around calling.  The Mute Swan was still present and all 3 Mergansers were present with a bright Red-breasted in the mix.  Also, there were Ravens flying around the river and I had a surprise at the boat ramp when a Barred Owl decided to vocalize several times. Next, it was on to Blairs Valley where there was one more male Canvasback, bringing my day's total to 55! On Sunday, I birded the neighborhood with my Grandfather.  We had 3 separate flocks of White-winged crossbills numbering 19-20 ind. in total.  One of the flocks allowed us to video and digi-scope them at fairly close range.
  At one point, I was able to see both the male and female feeding on Hemlock cones together.  This made for a truly memorable experience, what we have been after for the last month or so.  These birds were all working around Fairfax Rd., Rolling Rd., and Preston Rd.  Two of the three flocks flew towards the Hemlocks along the road near the Golf Coarse entrance.  While searching for the Crossbills, a juv. Northern Goshawk flew high overhead the neighborhood.  All in all, a great weekend of birding in Washington County.  I'll keep you all posted if I find a white-winged gull at the landfill next week."

Good birding,

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com