I spent several hours yesterday (Saturday, April 18) birding in
Charles County. My best bird by far was a stunning RED-HEADED
WOODPECKER that was feeding very actively, sometimes flycatching
large insects in mid-air, all around the pond on Bumpy Oak Road.
Other birds in the same vicinity included an adult BALD EAGLE that
settled on a dead tree to watch us (the dog and me) for an extended
period, a single RUSTY BLACKBIRD (looking a little lost) flushed
from the edge of the pond, and three pairs of WOOD DUCKS. Along
the Indian Head Rail Trail east of the pond, I saw and heard my
first-of-the-year PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. I also heard a
BLUE-HEADED VIREO and WHITE-EYED VIREO (also my FOY)
as well as several NORTHERN PARULAS and many BLUE-GRAY
GNATCATCHERS.
An earlier stop at Chapman State Park yielded singing PINE
WARBLERS, many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and BLUE-GRAY
GNATCATCHERS, and one NORTHERN PARULA. I also found one
distant (possibly two) COMMON LOON on the Potomac.
I took the long route home in order to stop at Benedict on the
Patuxent River. On the wharf pilings were one CASPIAN TERN, two
ROYAL TERNS, one FORSTER'S TERN, and a couple of LAUGHING
GULLS. I crossed the bridge to Hallowing Point on the Calvert side,
hoping to find more terns, but none turned up.
Elaine Hendricks
Greenbelt, MD (PG County)
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