Hey everyone,

Today I decided I'd try for WWCR's in Anne Arundel County.  
There is a location close to my home that looks potentially
very good for them as there are many large Spruce trees that
are loaded with cones.  But, the last couple of weekends I've
tried there, & including today, I had no Crossbills.

So, I decided to try for the ones that have been frequenting
southern AA Co. off Wrighton Road. I arrived at the spot at 
11:50 and sat down at the benches by the ball field.  While I 
was waiting for the crossbills to hopefully show up, I had 
several birds flyby or were nearby.  The vigil turned out to be
sort of a mini big sit, as I had the following:

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 ad. flyover
Red-tailed Hawk 1 ad. flyover
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 3
American Crow 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Chickadee 2
Carolina Wren 1
Eastern Bluebird 1 pair
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Eastern Towhee 2
White-throated Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 3
Common Grackle (flock of about 150 flyover)

Okay, so, during this time Ed and Laura Lowe showed up about
1pm.  Shortly thereafter, Fred and Jane Fallon came by and then
Elaine Nakash with her visiting friend Nancy from Arizona stopped
by.  It was right about this time (around 1:30pm) that Laura said, 
"hey, what just flew in?"  We got our nocs on the bird but it
flew deeper into one of the Hemlocks.  We finally spotted 1 low on a
branch.  At first, it was difficult to see as it was within all
the branches and very shaded, but, eventually 2 birds were 
located on the ground! - This was similar to Joel's encounter with
them earlier in the day.  One was a female and the other bird had a
rusty tint to its crown suggesting a young male.  We were all very 
happy to get these birds and a great day to be out!


Peter Osenton
Jessup, Md.