Jonathan Balcombe (Germantown) and I drove to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge from Gaithersburg yesterday, 12/30/2009, stopping off at the Choptank River fishing pier en route.  Below is the list of birds we saw. Most were seen at Blackwater, some at the Choptank, and some along the way.  The Peregrine and Surf Scoter were seen at the Choptank.

We didn't count individual birds but anyone interested in approximate abundances (or locations) should feel free to contact me.  


Double-crested cormorant  
Great blue heron  
Tundra swan  
Mute swan  
Canada goose 
Mallard  
American Black Duck 
American Widgeon  
Northern pintail  
Northern shoveler
Ring-necked duck
Surf scoter 
Common goldeneye 
Bufflehead 
Common merganser
Red-breasted merganser
Turkey vulture 
Black vulture  
Northern harrier
Bald eagle 
Red-tailed hawk 
American kestrel 
Peregrine falcon  
American coot  
Killdeer  
Yellowlegs sp. 
Laughing gull  
Ring-billed gull
Herring gull  
Great black-backed gull
Rock dove 
Mourning dove 
Belted kingfisher
Red-bellied woodpecker
Northern flicker  
Downy woodpecker 
Eastern phoebe  
Blue jay  
American crow 
Fish crow  
Tufted titmouse
Carolina chickadee 
Brown-headed nuthatch
Carolina wren  
Golden-crowned kinglet
Ruby-crowned kinglet  
Eastern bluebird  
Northern mockingbird 
European starling  
Song sparrow  
Swamp sparrow 
White-throated sparrow 
White-crowned sparrow
Dark-eyed junco 
Northern cardinal
Eastern meadowlark 
Red-winged blackbird
Common grackle  
American goldfinch 
House sparrow  


Marty Stephens
Clarksburg, MD