After parting company with Stan Arnold and Ed Carlson at Swan Creek 
yesterday (Friday, July 24), I headed down to Calvert County in 
search of a few birds on my county wish list.  My first stop was at the 
North Beach wetlands, where I ignored the usual rules of etiquette and 
parked briefly in front of the gate that now blocks the access to the 
beach.  Since the tide was high, there were no shorebirds in the marsh - 
only a half dozen SNOWY EGRETS, a GREEN HERON, and 
2 FORSTER'S TERNS.  From the beach I saw more Forster's Terns 
and a couple of LEAST TERNS perched on the pilings, plus a flyby 
ROYAL TERN (one of my target birds).

Next I headed into town and set up my scope on the boardwalk. 
I had very nice views of a COMMON TERN resting on a piling close  
to shore just north of the fishing pier - I could clearly see the gray 
underparts and shorter, more reddish-orange bill, compared to the 
Forster's.  Then I walked further south on the boardwalk and pointed 
my scope in that direction.  On the rocky jetty that that extends out 
from the shoreline at Chesapeake Beach, there were hundreds of 
birds - mostly gulls, including many GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, 
and 2 BROWN PELICANS!  (I don't know how unusual this is, but  
I thought it was pretty cool.)

Finally I drove to the southern part of the county in search of 
open-country birds.  On Cage Road (off of Mackall Road, north of 
Jefferson-Patterson Park) I found several INDIGO BUNTINGS, an 
AMERICAN KESTREL perched on a wire, at least one singing 
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, and a BLUE GROSBEAK (another 
target bird for me).  This is a very nice area (thanks to Bill Hubick  
for mentioning it in an earlier posting), but you may have to explain 
yourself to a concerned local, as I did.

Good birding!

Elaine Hendricks
Greenbelt, MD  (PG County)



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