I was enticed by the reports of Dickcissels and other grassland species out of northern Frederick County on Saturday, so I headed up myself on Sunday morning.  I started at the overgrown pasture at Keysville and Creamery Roads southeast of Emmitsburg that Jim Wilkinson found.  That area was incredibly productive, with at least 6 singing Dickcissels, at least as many Grasshopper Sparrows, a few Indigo Buntings, and 2 Red-headed Woodpeckers moving between the different telephone polls.  A Red-tailed Hawk sat sentinal over the fields from a phone poll deep in the middle of the field on the NE corner of the cross streets.  I didn't have any Bobolinks or Blue Grosbeak.  A big sign on the corner of these fields indicates that they are slated to be sliced up and sold off for development.  It seems that the birds have gotten a temporary reprieve with the slow down in the housing market.  

After getting my fill of Dickcissels at that field, I drove the back roads of the area with my windows down hoping to hear a Vesper Sparrow.  I didn't get any Vespers, but I did drive past at least three Kestrels. 

I stopped at Lilypons later in the morning on my way home.  The only birds of note were two calling Barred Owls, a Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, and a singing Willow Flycatcher.

Max Wilson 
Kensington, Montgomery County, MD
mercretas AT hotmail.com