On my way to a family event in Pittsburgh this weekend, I took the
"scenic route" so that I could do some birding in Garrett and
Allegany Counties. Around noon on Friday (August 21) I made my
first stop at Piney Reservoir in eastern Garrett County. My best
bird there was a female MERLIN perched in the top of a dead tree in
the water along the near shore. I was also quite pleased to find an
OSPREY perched in another tree, and I tracked down a GREEN
HERON in the small marsh on the east side of the road into the
reservoir property. All three were county birds for me.
After that I went to Youghioghengy Reservoir, where I parked at the
end of Old Morgantown Road and walked across the dry lake bed to
the mud flats. There I found that the shorebird diversity was much
reduced from that reported by Jim Green two days earlier. I counted
80+ KILLDEER but otherwise had only 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS
(one more county bird).
On my return trip on Sunday afternoon (August 23), I stopped by
North Branch on the C & O Canal south of Cumberland and finally
found "the tarps," after wondering for a year or two what they could
possibly be. (Yep - black tarps laid out in a field - some kind of
strange agriculture, I guess. Thanks to J.B. Churchill for providing
directions on his Web site.) There I found most of the same
shorebirds reported by David Yeany later in the day. I missed the
Solitary Sandpipers but had a SPOTTED SANDPIPER instead.
Traveling east on Interstate 68, I pulled onto the shoulder quickly
when I saw 4 vultures circling over the intersection with Pleasant
Valley Road (the exit for Rocky Gap State Park). One was a Turkey
Vulture, but the other 3 turned out to be BLACK VULTURES - a much
sought-after county bird for me. Later, just as I was about to leave
Allegany County, I spotted an OSPREY being harassed by crows
as it soared over the road just west of Sideling Hill Creek. An
unexpected county closeout!
In all, I added a dozen county birds. Not bad for a weekend that was
heavy on interstate driving and family visiting.
Elaine Hendricks
Greenbelt, MD (PG County)
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