Early morning today (4/9) I saw some interesting birds and mammals from Brush Run (street) to Forebay Pond and the upper end of Lake Elkhorn in east Columbia. There were still a few Rusty Blackbirds at Forebay. The female Red-breasted Merganser was near the bridge at the upper end of Lake Elkhorn. I found six Blue-winged Teal (4 males and 2 females) plus eight female Hooded Mergansers in the back part of Forebay; visible from the grassy area under some power lines on the north side of the pond. Along the path near Forebay were three Pine Siskins and two Palm Warblers, one of which was singing. A Brown Thrasher and a Blue-headed Vireo were near the end of Brush Run. Mammals were also a highlight: a beaver was stripping bark from a branch at Lake Elkhorn and a River Otter (only my second sighting in Howard County) was chasing and eventually catching a small sunfish at Forebay.
Jim Wilkinson
Columbia, MD |