I went to Merkle for about an hour and a half yesterday with my two sons.  I saw Dave Brenneman and Bob Ringler, who were both there when I arrived.  There was a light rain when I arrived but it let up and light was not good but it was adequate for scoping the fields.  I was mainly looking for shorebirds.  The conditions continue to be good there and there were numerous birds but low diversity, which is expected by now.

We saw Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs (I did not count them, but estimate 20 and the majority were GRYE's), Killdeer (over 100), Dunlin (13), and 1 White-rumped Sandpiper.  The WRSA was difficult to find.  Bob spotted it out in the field but I could not locate it.  Then a feral dog (coon hound) came along and passed through the field, which of course moved the birds around.  I am staying away commenting on this, as there has been much posting about it recently.  Anyway, when the birds settled down, I rescanned and was able to find the WRSA.  Th eview was very poor but adequate enough fror an i'd.

Caution:  There was a Dunlin present that at first I thought was a second WRSA, as it had very conspicuous white feathers showing on its rump.  The bird was actively feeding and did not show a profile well, plus the distance made it challenging anyway.  When Bob got on the bird he was able to quickly i'd it as a Dunlin, and I agreed.

Other birds seen in the field included Starling, Wilson's Snipe (several), Horned Lark (several), and Am. Pipits (one small flock).  There were only a few geese present.

****Important Also:  The park staff there advised us that we are not allowed to walk around at this time of year in the fields or adjacent area, in order to protect the migrant birds.  She said the trails are only open on Sunday, during the period when the Critical Area Driving Tour is open (10am - 3pm).  However, after speaking with us, she gave Bob and I permission to walk out on one of the service roads that goes along the edge of the field, which is where we saw the WRSA and the DUNL.  She asked us not to go to far on it, but said we could go to a point where we could view the field from.

Cheers!
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD