Helen Patton, Joy Bowen, and I spent a distinctly warm but enjoyable
day in Washington, Frederick, and Montgomery Counties today, with an
interval spent in nearby Franklin County, Pennsylvania (sightings
there are of course not reported here -- but rest assured, nothing
extraordinary!).
One highlight was rediscovery of the previously reported Loggerhead
Shrike near the new Hagerstown Shopping Center, just west of I-81, in
the area by a drainage pond as posted by many others. We had been in
the vicinity for at least 20 minutes just before 10:00 a.m. this
morning (August 17) before first sighting the bird. It was quite
restless and flew often, perching at intervals fairly low down on a
tall, rod-like plant whose name I don't know, then disappearing for
many minutes. The pond had Killdeer and a Spotted Sandpiper and we
were frequently buzzed by low-flying Chimney Swifts.
Next good bird was a single Upland Sandpaper in the short grass field
southwest of the intersection of Route 85 and Oland Rd., a few miles
south of Buckeystown in Frederick County. There may have been other
"Uppies" nearby, but we couldn't spy any. This was at some time
after 3:30 p.m. Many of the fields next to Route 85 that last year
had short-grass turf this year are planted to corn -- maybe a
reflection of the downturn in housing starts.
Third good bird for the day was a single Black-bellied Plover (I
judged it to be an adult female in pretty near to full breeding
plumage) in the south part of the polo fields along Hughes Rd., north
of River Rd. in Montgomery County, together with numerous Killdeer
and Horned Larks. We tried hard to make this plover into an American
Golden-, but it eventually flew, showing the telltale black "armpits"
of the Black-bellied. Checking my records, which go back to the late
1960's :-[ , I find that this is my first of this species in Montgomery.
Good Birding!
Mike Bowen
Montgomery Bird Club, MOS
Bethesda, MD
D.H. Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, MD 20817
Telephone: (301) 530-5764
e-mail: dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom
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