Hi Everyone,

I headed to western Maryland this weekend to do some bird blitzes for the IBA program. I focused on the Youghiogheny River area in northwestern Garrett County in the mornings, then generally wandered for the rest of each day. As part of the Ohio River drainage, the Yough lacks many of the avian specialties of Garrett County, but has a wild, edge-of-the-world feel to it. When the river is low and you can walk along the floodplain off Old Morgantown Road, it strikes many of us as a place where any ridiculous rarity could turn up. This is also where you can find several very local Garrett breeders, such as Prothonotary and Yellow-throated Warblers. Although most of us typically access the Yough from the west side, my first bird blitzes in this area took me to the east side of the river. 

Friday, 6/12

The weather was overcast and drizzling when I arrived around dawn, and stayed pretty miserable throughout the day. The river is very high, and the hiking was muddy and challenging. I tallied 11 forest-interior species (FIDS) of interest to the IBA program, the most noteworthy of which was a good density of singing LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHes. I also had a single CERULEAN WARBLER on Mill Run Road, a new location for me. The only western MD specialties in this area were ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKs, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEEs, and BLACK-THROATED GREENs. The real highlight of Day One's survey efforts, though, was a nesting COMMON MERGANSER. I watched the hen take off from the lake at the end of Mill Run Road and enter a cavity in a large sycamore, which is just northwest of the main water access. This species is not reflected in any of the Maryland BBA data for Garrett County, but Matt Hafner seemed to remember hearing of a breeding season observation in that area,
 maybe in 2007? Can anyone confirm whether this species has been confirmed breeding in the county?

By late morning, I moved on to Garrett State Forest and Swallow Falls State Park, slowly working roads like Maple Glade and Snaggy Mountain. There were no surprises here, though Maple Glade Road alone surpassed threshold for IBA status with 12 singing male BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERs. A thorough survey done on foot could easily net a higher total, as demonstrated by the 37 singing birds found by Mikey Lutmerding on a late May morning. Although that was before the BLKW safe date (6/10), my total of 12 was found with just a handful of stops on 6/13, in the rain, in the middle of the afternoon. Other expected species on Maple Glade Road were BROWN CREEPER, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, VEERY, HERMIT THRUSH, BLUE-HEADED VIREO, LEAST FLYCATCHER, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, MAGNOLIA, and CANADA WARBLERs, PURPLE FINCH, and so on. Snaggy Mountain Road added three more singing BLACKBURNIANs, taking the low-effort total to 15 breeding pairs, easily exceeding IBA threshold.

When the weather finally improved in the late afternoon, I worked Jennings-Randolph, Potomac State Forest, and Combination Road. I relished the attractive light for photography and spent most of my time photographing common species like Yellow Warbler and Yellow-breasted Chat. 

Combination Road held a nice suite of grassland species including BOBOLINK (3), EASTERN MEADOWLARK (7), GRASSHOPPER SPARROW (6), and SAVANNAH SPARROW (13), as well as two singing LEAST FLYCATCHERs. I didn't make it down to where there should still be a few HENSLOW'S SPARROWs nesting.

Mount Zion Road at Jennings-Randolph is a strange place, and I still don't understand why FIDS species such as CERULEAN and HOODED WARBLER are regularly singing side-by-side along the road with scrubland species like chats. In the final stretch of road, in the last 20 minutes of nice light, I had four CERULEANs, two HOODED WARBLERs, and three each of REDSTARTS and BLACK-and-WHITEs, all on the edge amidst singing chats and Indigo Buntings. There's something funny about this place. Mikey Lutmerding has also found it to be unusually reliable for rare-in-Garrett wintering species during the Garrett winter counts. 

Saturday, 6/13

Saturday morning was slightly less gloomy than Friday, and today's bird blitz route took me south from Friendsville along the Youghiogheny River, birding the eastern shoreline and floodplain. This route was very promising, yielding an additional seven LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, more WOOD THRUSHes, and four KENTUCKY WARBLERs. Unfortunately, the threshold for Kentucky Warblers is currently 30 PAIRS, which is a pretty lofty target for even our most prime areas in Maryland. Also present were Black-throated Greens (4), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (2), Baltimore Oriole (pair), and as Matt might say it, Susquehanna-type warblers. I did not have Protho or Yellow-throated Warbler on these two routes. Red-spotted Newts were in the larger puddles along the trail.

In summary, my Yough surveys from this weekend suggest that the area might qualify for IBA status based on significant numbers of Louisiana Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler, and Wood Thrush. Based on conservative extrapolation, the immediate area easily exceeds the Louisiana Waterthrush threshold of 20 pairs. 

I spent the rest of Saturday checking many of the old strip mines and large field habitats in eastern Garrett and western Allegany. The rest of day had a theme of habitats that could hold Clay-colored Sparrow or Western Meadowlark. ("And don't forget Lark Sparrow..." says Hafner, still one of the most active day-to-day Maryland birders despite the slight disadvantage of living in Florida.)

Russell Road was highlighted by a singing male BLUE GROSBEAK, which is actually very rare in Garrett county. When John Hubbell first found one here, John will point out, Stasz chased it for his close-out. (John and I have joked that you can assess a sighting's quality by who chased it.) Alas, I never made it out back then, thinking incorrectly that it should be there in any given year. My many checks over the last two years have shown that not to be the case! The bird was on the north side of the road at 0.5 miles west of the wooded edge on the Allegany end of the road. Some good counts included AMERICAN KESTREL (1), HORNED LARK (1), GRASSHOPPER SPARROW (21 singing), FIELD SPARROW (22 singing), VESPER SPARROW (4 singing, one dust-bathing in the road), EASTERN MEADOWLARK (7). Rounding out the local breeders was my new high count of NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD for Garrett Co., a shocking total of three (a pair and another singing male). It took me several years
 to find this species in Garrett, and I almost scared Tom Feild to death when I spotted one while driving along 495 one summer. What better reason to county list than to have reason to get to triumphantly yell "MOCKINGBIRD!" 

Next up was Aaron Run Road, where I decided to count singing HENSLOW'S SPARROWs, as well as plot each bird on an IBA program GPS. Just driving slowly and stopping for singing birds right along the road (mid-afternoon), I plotted NINE HENSLOW'S SPARROWs. This easily exceeds IBA threshold of five pairs, just on this road. Although now well-marked with "No Trespassing" signs, the prime habitat here is a major Henslow's breeding area . I would estimate 40 or more pairs if one could survey the habitat thoroughly.

I spent much of the afternoon hiking up the eastern side of Dans Mountain from the end of Tom's Hollow Road. Along with wanting to spend more time in this area in general, David Yeany had a couple Ruffed Grouse in this area, and grouse is a nemesis species for me in Allegany Co. Please don't rub it in that you had them at your campsite in Green Ridge or when you pulled off I-68 to top off your gas tank. :)  

As I hiked up, I flushed a WILD TURKEY from a grassy area and then saw a couple poults run off through the grass. Songbird activity was mostly Red-eyed Vireos, Scarlet Tanagers, Ovenbirds, and Worm-eating Warblers. My highlight for the whole weekend came when I looked down the trail, and just 50 yards or so away, I saw a BLACK BEAR with two cubs beyond where the trail bended to the right. Breathless, I gave myself literally one second to get a photo, but I missed the chance and they were blocked by vegetation. Although Black Bear attacks are extremely rare, of course the cub factor is important. I cleared my throat loudly and yelled "Hey!" a couple times and they stopped in their tracks. We all did 180s on the trail and I headed back, excited and wide awake. My best insects were NORTHERN PEARLY-EYE and TAWNY EMPEROR.

Porter's Cemetery Road, an excellent grassland area north of Frostburg held BOBOLINKs (5), EASTERN MEADOWLARK (8), and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWs (5). 

I ended the day at Old Legislative Road, where highlights were six singing HENSLOW'S SPARROWs and a seen-and-heard GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER. 

Sunday, 6/14

I spent dawn at Dans Rock State Park, where I ran into David Yeany and his friend Mary. I did a one-hour hike to pay additional dues for my eventual Allegany grouse sighting, and had just a couple noteworthy sightings: one BLACK-THROATED BLUE (easternmost breeders in MD) and one CERULEAN WARBLER. David probably had more Ceruleans during his formal survey. I worked the rest of the western Dans Mountain road for another hour or so and added another CERULEAN just west of the Dans Mountain overlook.

Burning Mines Road had only expected species.

A circuit of grassland and wooded edge habitats south of Rocky Gap was enjoyable and productive. In particular, I like Breakneck Road, West Wilson Road, and Murley's Neck Roads for field and scrubland birds. The habitat is perfect for Blue Grosbeak, Dickcissel, etc. Best birds were two singing KENTUCKY WARBLERs on Breakneck Road and good numbers of Grasshopper Sparrow and other grassland species.

My last stop I wanted to make was Ruby Road, where Walter Ellison et al. probably had a Western Meadowlark on 6/10/2006. The habitat was as nice as I'd hoped, vast open fields with plantings of small saplings along the edges. Of interest were an AMERICAN KESTREL, WILLOW FLYCATCHERs, both orioles, and many Grasshopper Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks. Of special note were a heard-only bird singing the perfect "bee-buzz" song of BLUE-WINGED WARBLER. Unfortunately, I lament that I won't get away with counting it unseen at this location. Also of note, for the second time now, I stopped my car suddenly for a PERFECT-sounding Dickcissel...that turned out to be an INDIGO BUNTING!

PHOTO HAUL:
http://www.billhubick.com/new_set.html

If you have time, please contact David Yeany or Dave Curson about helping out with bird blitz surveys. The next two weeks are the most important for forest interior species this season!

Good birding!

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com