There certainly has not been enough opportunity this winter to check 
bare spots along roadsides after snow storms. A favorite of mine, the 
ultimate in birding laziness. Just make sure you keep one eye on the 
rear view mirror. I squeezed in an hour to drive east along 
Hughes/Sugarland Rds between River Rd and Rt 28.

Plenty of sparrow flocks to check through. Did not find any Fox Sparrows 
or White-crowneds but did find 2 early/holdover Chipping Sparrows along 
Sugarland Ln. Try as I might, I have not been able to find any 
White-crowned Sparrows this winter in any of usual Montgomery locations. 
Not sure why this would be. The previous 2/3 winters they usually seem 
to come back to same spots.

Roadside birds - Hughes/Sugarland Rds
Turkey Vulture     5
Red-tailed Hawk     1
American Kestrel     1
Northern Flicker     2
Blue Jay     1
Horned Lark     9
White-breasted Nuthatch     1
Carolina Wren     1
Eastern Bluebird     5
Northern Mockingbird     2
European Starling     7
Eastern Towhee     1
CHIPPING SPARROW     2
Field Sparrow     3
SAVANNAH SPARROW     7
Song Sparrow     22
White-throated Sparrow     150 est.
Dark-eyed Junco     100  est.
Northern Cardinal     31
Brown-headed Cowbird     1
PURPLE FINCH     15
House Finch     1

Andy Martin
Gaithersburg