I had a great day in Carroll County, highlighted by a Least Bittern at the Union Mills wetlands on Brown Rd and a Prothonotary Warbler at McKeldin.

The day got off to a rocky start.  I arrived at Morgan Run at 5am intending to listen for thrushes, but the dawn chorus had already started and I couldn't hear anything overhead.  Fortunately, when I moved to the back side of Morgan Run off Nicodemus Rd, I came across 2 singing Gray-cheeked Thrushes and 2 Veeries, along with a Northern Waterthrush, a Kentucky Warbler, a Blue-winged Warbler, and 2 Louisiana Waterthrushes.

The next stop was Hashawa Nature Center.  No migrants there, but I enjoyed a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers and a Willow Flycatcher.  At the nearby Union Mills wetlands, I heard a Least Bittern calling several times from the marsh.  I left via Study Rd, which had a Lesser Scaup in with the Mallards.

In the early afternoon, I hiked counter-clockwise around the Switchback Trail at McKeldin.   In the first 10 minutes, I heard and then saw a Prothonotary Warbler along the river on the Carroll side.  (Protho is a good bird in Carroll -- during the last atlas, it was only recorded in 1 block in Carroll.)   The only migrants I found on the loop were 2 Canada Warblers and 1 Blackpoll Warbler.

John Hubbell
Washington DC