Hello everyone,
Sorry for the late post. I've had a bad cold the last two days that has really bogged me down.
I got out of work early last Friday and decided to bird Southern PG, hoping for my own Neo Corm, White Pelican and whatever else I could find. I decided to start with the Piscataway area, an oft neglected area in the warmer months. The Accokeke Area is buzzing with fleglings and immatures right now, including Canada Goose, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Great-crested Flycatcher, Tree Swallow, Tufted Titmouse, and Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Other highlights were singing Prairie Warblers and Yellow-breasted Chats in the scrubby field along the entrance road, and a Grasshopper Sparrow in the first field beyond the boardwalk.
After Piscataway, I crossed the county to Eagle Harbor where I found, among other birds, a few new families of Canada Geese, totaling 19 individuals swimming around the harbor, Purple Martins, Double-crested Cormorants, two Belted Kingfishers (my first in the county in over a month), Eastern Phoebe, and two distant Laughing Gulls, patiently waiting out the day on some wooden posts in the river.
My final stop was along Aquasco Farm Road. It was my fourth unsuccessful attempt to find Whips there this Spring, but it wasn't for naught. Best birds were: 34 American Crows (amazingly my biggest group this year. My biggest groups of crows this year have been Fish Crows), Prairie Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, and Orchard Oriole.
Saturday, Mike and I birded Montgomery County, namely Blue Mash, Agricultural History Farm Park, Hughes Hollow, and then I stopped by Violette's Lock to study cormorants for a couple hours. We had three adult Yellow-crowned Night-herons fly by us at Hughes Hollow on June 13, but the wader highlight this time was 8 Great Egrets scattered about the left impoundment as you walk in. Also present was an adult Red-headed Woodpecker, our first in awhile.
I capped the weekend off with more birding in PG on Sunday before I quit to attend Father's Day activities. I made two stops, first was at Mt. Calvert and the second was at the St. Thomas Church park. The latter is a Patuxent River Park that I've never heard discussed before. It was my first trip there and I found it to be a nice addition to the Patuxent River Park rotation. A rough mile long dirt road takes you by corn fields and hedges, and eventually you run into some trails that take you into the woods. I ended up taking the Blue trail which eventually took me across Croom Airport Road and towards the river. There were no unusual birds, but the birds that were there were present in good numbers, like 6 Acadian Flycatchers, 3 Yellow-throated Vireos, 6 Red-eyed Vireos, 4 White-breasted Nuthatches, 8 Parulas, 10 Ovenbirds, and 6 Indigo Buntings. The best bird was a singing Hooded Warbler near the second bridge you meet while walking along the Blue trail.
Full lists:
Location: Piscataway Creek--Wharf Road
Observation date: 6/19/09, 4:10-4:30pm
Number of species: 9
Great Blue Heron 4
American Crow 3
Fish Crow 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird 4
American Goldfinch 3
Location: Piscataway Park
Observation date: 6/19/09, 4:40-6:05pm
Number of species: 37
Canada Goose 12
Wood Duck 1
Mallard 3
Great Blue Heron 3
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 4
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 1
Fish Crow 1
Tree Swallow 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 6
Carolina Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 5
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Eastern Bluebird 2
Northern Parula 2
Prairie Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Field Sparrow 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 3
Indigo Bunting 2
Common Grackle (Purple) 5
House Finch 3
Location: Eagle Harbor, 7:05-7:20pm
Observation date: 6/19/09
Number of species: 18
Canada Goose 19
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Osprey 2
Laughing Gull 2
Mourning Dove 3
Chimney Swift 2
Belted Kingfisher 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
American Crow 2
Fish Crow 1
Purple Martin 4
Barn Swallow 4
Carolina Wren 1
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 10
Northern Cardinal 1
Common Grackle (Purple) 1
Location: Aquasco Farm Road
Observation date: 6/19/09, 7:30-9:10pm
Number of species: 24
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 12
Mourning Dove 5
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Eastern Kingbird 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 34
Barn Swallow 3
Eastern Bluebird 1
Wood Thrush 2
American Robin 1
European Starling 7
Prairie Warbler 1
Ovenbird 2
Common Yellowthroat 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 2
Summer Tanager 1
Eastern Towhee 3
Field Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 1
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 2
Common Grackle (Purple) 20
Orchard Oriole 1
Location: Blue Mash Nature Trail
Observation date: 6/20/09, 1:50-3:10pm
Number of species: 26
Canada Goose 4
Mallard 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 5
Killdeer 2
Chimney Swift 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Fish Crow 1
Tree Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 2
House Wren 1
Eastern Bluebird 4
Wood Thrush 2
Gray Catbird 4
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 3
Yellow Warbler 3
Common Yellowthroat 2
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 2
American Goldfinch 3
Location: Agricultural History Farm Park
Observation date: 6/20/09, 3:25-4:35pm
Number of species: 23
Turkey Vulture 3
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 4
Eastern Kingbird 4
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 5
Tree Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 20
Scarlet Tanager 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 3
Indigo Bunting 2
Orchard Oriole 1
House Sparrow 15
Location: Hughes Hollow - McKee Beshers WMA
Observation date: 6/20/09, 6:00-6:55pm
Number of species: 25
Canada Goose 4
Mallard 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 8
Green Heron 2
Mourning Dove 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 2
Tree Swallow 4
Carolina Chickadee 1
Wood Thrush 1
Gray Catbird 2
Cedar Waxwing 5
Northern Cardinal 1
Indigo Bunting 2
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Common Grackle 2
Orchard Oriole 1
House Sparrow 2
Location: Patuxent River Park--Mt. Calvert
Observation date: 6/21/09, 9:55-10:35am
Number of species: 24
Osprey 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Purple Martin 1
Tree Swallow 1
Bank Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 2
Carolina Chickadee 1
Marsh Wren 2
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 12
Northern Parula 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 2
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 2
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Common Grackle (Purple) 1
Orchard Oriole 1
American Goldfinch 2
Location: Patuxent River Park -- St. Thomas Church
Observation date: 6/21/09, 10:45-1:00pm
Number of species: 32
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 1
Mourning Dove 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Chimney Swift 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 3
Acadian Flycatcher 6
Yellow-throated Vireo 3
Red-eyed Vireo 6
American Crow 5
Barn Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Carolina Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Wood Thrush 9
Northern Parula 8
Prairie Warbler 1
Ovenbird 10
Common Yellowthroat 1
Hooded Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Scarlet Tanager 1
Chipping Sparrow 2
Field Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 3
Indigo Bunting 6
Robert Ostrowski
Bowie
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