Hi Folks,

Elaine and I spent the past weekend in western Maryland hoping to find the 
Sandhill Crane reported at Piney Reservoir in Garrett Co.  We spent nearly 
four hours searching during three different visits.  No joy.  We did find 
some other interesting birds, though, and I'll run a summary at the end of 
this post.  After seeing the report of ten Sandhill Cranes flying over the 
Patuxent Research Refuge South Tract this morning, I decided to visit there 
after school today.  Not much brewing at the refuge, so I headed over to the 
Beltsville Agrigucultural Research Center (BARC), and drove around there for 
well over an hour, with the ulterior motive of finding my closeout 
meadowlark.  I found neither crane nor meadowlark.  However, there were a 
couple birds of interest, namely WILSON'S SNIPE and N. HARRIER along 
Beaverdam Rd. and a single blue-phased SNOW GOOSE among several hundred 
Canadas along Research Dr.

Well, I guess I paid my Sandhill Crane dues.  When I got home it was still 
light out, but a bit on the chilly side.  I wanted to do some yard birding, 
but didn't feel like being out in the chill, so I parked the car in the 
front yard, facing south, and sat in the car, accompanied by Elaine, 
watching whatever might fly by.  The usual gulls and flocks of blackbirds 
went by, when I noticed a tight group of gulls at a distance.  Through the 
car's windscreen I put my binoculars on them and instantly thought Glossy 
Ibis (after all, we had several sightings last summer, though it is yet 
quite early).  Something looked funny, so I jumped out of the car, put my 
bins on the birds, and screamed to Elaine "SANDHILL CRANE--three of them!" 
We watched the birds glide over in a tight formation for almost a minute.  I 
spent most of that time trying, with futility, to get them in the scope and 
snap a digiscope.  The entire time we watched them we never saw them flap 
once.  They just glided over effortlessly, circled overhead once, and then 
continued on to the north.

It took me a minute, but then I realized that they were headed toward 
Baltimore Co., so that absurd impulse in me forced me to start the car and 
blast down the driveway to see if we could re-intercept them.  We got to 
SWAP just as the gates were being closed, so returned to the Patapsco River 
where we had a fairly good viewing horizon, but never did re-find the birds 
after a short search (it was beginning to get dark).

Anyway, we are now celebrating yard bird #136, and #42 for the year, and a 
new AA county bird and year bird as well.  I wonder if we could get one of 
those abundant Snowy Owls to stop in.  After all, we have a roof top, and 
they seem to like those.

Here's a rundown on some of our finds in W. MD:

Saturday, 7 March

Big Pool, Fort Frederick, Wash. Co., 1015 - 1155 (some of the same species, 
but much different numbers than Bill Hubick and Tom Feild had on Sunday):

Mute Swan--1
Gadwall--9
Black Duck--2
Mallard--3
Canvasback--22!
Redhead--34!
Greater Scaup--6
Lesser Scaup--18
Bufflehead--20
Hooded Merg--6
Bald Eagle--1 imm
Sapsucker--1
Meadowlark--1

Orleans Rd., AL Co., 12:20 - 12:55:

Raven--1 heard
Horned Lark--1 (county closeout)
Pine Siskin--4 at house on corner with Mud Lick Rd.

Rocky Gap State Park, AL Co., 1:15 - 1:55 p.m.

Homo sapiens--about 1000 or more doing some kind of winter plunge (not too 
tough when it's 74 degrees out); No self respecting duck was within a mile 
of that mad house.

Dan's Rock, AL Co., 3:45 p.m., where we met Dave Yeany (we only stayed 5-10 
minutes so as to get to Piney Res.):

Turkey Vulture--3
Golden Eagle--2
Kestrel--1 (on drive down)

Piney Reservoir, Garrett Co., 4:20 - 6:00 p.m.:

Canada Goose--150
Greater White-fronted Goose--1
Wood Duck--1 male
Am. Wigeon--pair
Mallard--11
Lesser Scaup--2
Bald Eagle--1 adult

Sunday, 8 March 2009

Piney Reservoir, Garrett Co., 0755 - 0855

Canada Goose--121
Am. Wigeon--3
Mallard--5
Ring-necked Duck--1 m
Greater Scaup--2
Lesser Scaup--31
Redhead--7
Common Merg--1 m
PB Grebe--1

End of Piney Rd., near I-68, GA Co., 9:00 a.m.

Am. Kestrel--1
E. Meadowlark--1

LIttle Meadows Lake, 0915 - 0925:

Canada Goose--31
Mallard--2
Ring-necked Duck--25
Lesser Scaup--2
Bufflehead--10
Hooded Merg--1 m
Red-breasted Merg--1 m

Jennings Randolph Reservoir--gate closed, no access by car

Broadford Lake, 12:35 - 12:45

Canada Goose--2
Gadwall--4
Hooded Merg--15

Swallow Falls State Park, 1:25 - 1:55 p.m.

RB Nuthatch--1
GC Kinglet--1

Piney Reservoir--GWF Goose had returned, but nothing else new except some 
more Ring-necked Ducks

Rocky Gap State Park, 3:55 - 4:05 p.m.

Canada Goose--12
Ring-necked Duck--8
Greater Scaup--1
Lesser Scaup--85
Bufflehead--2
Red-necked Grebe--1

Sidling Hill Observation Area (I-68), Wash. Co., 4:30 - 5:05 p.m.:

BV--2
TV--11
Red-tailed Hawk--3
Golden Eagle--1

Phew!  My heart is still racing from those Sandhill Cranes!

Stan Arnold
Ferndale (AA Co.)