Hi Everyone,

This past Saturday (21 Mar 09), I met Tom Feild at his place in Howard County for a full and fun day of birding.  Tom had a location where we could try for American Woodcock in Howard, but my arrival time didn't get us to the site until about 6:40 am--possibly a bit after woodcock prime time.  We didn't hear or see any woodcock, but an EASTERN PHOEBE was singing in the area.  We met up with Jim Brighton around mid-day, and he joined us for the rest of the fun.

A summary of our birding highlights follows...


ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

Tom showed me Oxbow Lake (my first visit--very cool!), where we had some nice ducks and a couple other highlights:

Mallard--6
Green-winged Teal--36
BLUE-WINGED TEAL--2 (1 male, 1 female)
Wood Duck--10
Ring-necked Duck--5
Hooded Merganser--2
Wilson's Snipe--22
Tree Swallow--10


PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY

A quick stop at Schoolhouse Pond in Upper Marlboro yielded:

Green-winged Teal--11
BLUE-WINGED TEAL--3
Great Egret--1--finally!  my first of the year
American Coot--2
Wilson's Snipe--2
Eastern Phoebe--2
Tree Swallow--2
RUSTY BLACKBIRD--1

We searched the cluster of spruces near Schoolhouse Pond in case luck would deliver a White-winged Crossbill or two.  Nope.


ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY (again)

We didn't cross paths with any crossbills on Wrighton Rd either, but we had a NORTHERN HARRIER, an EASTERN PHOEBE, and a BROWN THRASHER there.

Birds at Jug Bay (in AA Co only unless noted otherwise) included:

Mallard--10
American Black Duck--57 in AA, 10 in PG
Northern Pintail--4
Green-winged Teal--88 in AA, 30 in PG
Osprey--1 in AA, 2 in PG
Greater Yellowlegs--1
Wilson's Snipe--2 (PG side)
Tree Swallow--about 100 back and forth across county line
Hermit Thrush--1


CALVERT COUNTY

North Beach (in Calvert Co only unless noted otherwise):

Green-winged Teal--13
Greater Scaup--about 100
Common Goldeneye--1 in AA
Bufflehead--30
Red-breasted Merganser--2
Common Loon--1 in AA
Horned Grebe--10 in Calvert, 1 in AA
Northern Gannett--2 in Calvert, 1 in AA
Osprey--1


ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY (yet again)

Herrington Harbor:

Tundra Swan--1
Greater Scaup--30
Bufflehead--ca. 100
Long-tailed Duck--3
Surf Scoter--30
Osprey--2


CALVERT COUNTY (again)

Chesapeake Beach:

Greater Scaup--20
Long-tailed Duck--3
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER--1
Surf Scoter--ca. 100
Common Loon--1
Horned Grebe--1

Smoky Road:

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH--1 (first heard by Jim B.)
Horned Lark--2

Solomons (at boat ramp by the bridge over the Patuxent):

Common Goldeneye--1
Bufflehead--20
Long-tailed Duck--1
RED-THROATED LOON--1 (in the middle of the river: Calvert and St Marys)
Common Loon--2
Horned Grebe--1
RED-NECKED GREBE--1
Osprey--1
American Coot--1
Tree Swallow--1


CHARLES COUNTY

Benedict (on the Patuxent River, just south of Rt 231):

Lesser Scaup--ca. 100
Common Goldeneye--2
Double-crested Cormorant--4
Osprey--1
American Coot--31

At 7:30 pm, near Benedict, we added our last bird of the day:  AMERICAN WOODCOCK.


LISTING FUN

By the end of Saturday, I was up to 135 species and 987 ticks for spring break.  By the way, a friend who has read my posts was wondering why I was counting ticks instead of just brushing them off.  I only encountered one tick (not 987 thankfully!) of that type during the week.  If anyone else is confused about the "ticks" that I've been counting, I will gladly explain; feel free to send me an email...

Tomorrow I'll hope to send the Sunday report and a few comments about the week.  Thanks for reading!

Have fun,

Ron Gutberlet
Salisbury, MD