Hi Everybody: I left my house in Gaithersburg early enough on Wed., August 5th so that I would arrive in Washington County at first daylight. I had already planned on heading in this direction to look for grassland, field and shorebirds with an emphasis on the latter since they are hard to find in Washington county. Since the Yellow-headed Blackbird had been reported at Blair Valley (Indian Springs WMA) this became my first stop. It was a beautiful morning, and my dog Sammie and I walked 3/4 of the way around the lake but had no sign of the Yellow-headed Blackbird reported on Monday. I talked to Hans Holbrook (who used to bird this area extensively when he lived in Washington County) and he felt that the YH BlkB may still be in the area and could have moved into the adjacent fields on the other side of the lake. It could be gone but it could also pop up within the area so if you head up there check out more than just the area where it was originally found.
I then headed east to Hagerstown on Broadfording Road (alot of farm country along the way) slowly checking all fields for sparrows, meadowlarks, etc. It was relaxing but not overly successful; there was hardly any traffic along the way. Once I hit the outskirts of Hagerstown my priority was to check out potential shorebird locations. All of the areas that I would check were shown to me by Hans several years ago. I expected most of the locations I would check would be too full of water but had a half day plus to bird before having to be at work.
Th first location I checked produced the Loggerhead Shrike and my shorebird priorities took an obvious back seat. There were other birds around but obviously my focus was on the Shrike, I later wrote down other species but probably missed a few. My immediate dilemna was directions (I had entered this area from a different direction because I came from the west - Broadfording Road). Before calling Bill Hubick I jumped in the car and headed out to main roads and retraced my steps so that when I called Bill I could give him accurate directions to post. Luckily when I returned the Shrike was still in the same general area; and Bill did a great job in posting the directions.
After leaving this location I headed up to the Hagerstown airport . I scanned the fields for (Upland Sandpipers (no luck) and then checked out some areas behind the airport. I then went back to the Shrike area after receiving a phone call from Joe Hanfman (he and Jeff Culler were looking for the Shrike). When I left Joe and Jeff they had not relocated the Shrike.
Below is an abridged listing of what I saw today - ALL birds and locations are in WASHINGTON County unless listed otherwise:
Blair Valley - Indian Springs WMA
Cedar Waxwing 16
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Black & White Warbler 1 (singing)
A. Redstart 1 (singing)
Field Sparrow 3
Broadfording Road
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Kestrel 1
Wild Turkey 31 (9 in one field, 22 in anothe, lots of young birds with their heads sticking just above the vegetation)
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
E. Kingbird 3
Field Sparrow 3
Grasshopper Sparrow 5
E. Meadowlark 1
Area behind 12608 Sedgwick Way (see Bill Hubick's earlier post for direction) - includes both visits here in the AM
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Killdeer 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Chimney Swift 2
Barn Swallow 4
Rough-winged Swallow 2
Wood Pewee 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Phoebe 1
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE 1 (a county bird)
N. Mockingbird 3+ (including a first year)
Field Sparrow 2
Blue Grosbeak 1 (a nice male, singing and chipping away) (a county bird)
End of Hagers Crossing Drive
Killdeer 52
Field Sparrow 1
Hagerstown Airport Area
Killdeer 2
Grasshopper Sparrow 2
Bobolink 5 ( a county bird)
Oland Road in Frederick County
A. Kestrel 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 2
Jim Green
Gaithersburg, MD
Work in Moderation, BIRD IN EXCESS!!!!
Solitary Sandpiper 1 (a calling flyover)
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