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Subject:

Western Maryland - 8/21 and 8/23

From:

Elaine Hendricks

Reply-To:

Elaine Hendricks

Date:

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:54:13 -0500

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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