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Re: Sandy Point Year-end-birding

From:

Ross Geredien

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Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:59:18 -0800

Favorite MD bird for me this year was a tossup between the Hudsonian Godwit at Blackwater (a long-awaited lifer), and the Sandhill Crane last week up in Kent County.  The Scissor-tail was probably the best rarity, but b/c both of his plumes were missing by the time I saw him, it was a rather anti-climactic sighting.
AA County Bird:  Northern Gannets at Thomas Point this spring. 
2010 will hopefully be the year I reach 300 in MD.  Hope to see you all afield much more often this year!
Ross

--- On Thu, 12/31/09, Dan Haas <> wrote:

From: Dan Haas <>
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Sandy Point Year-end-birding
To: 
Date: Thursday, December 31, 2009, 3:30 PM

Happy New Year!

Warren Strobel and I decided around 8:30 AM to make one last trip
around Sandy Point and finish up 2009 in birding style.  It was
relatively slow at the park, but the birding was enjoyable all the
same.

The GOLDENEYES were all Common, but lovely... all 24 of them (only 2
females).  The LONG-TAILED DUCKS and BUFFLEHEADS worked the shelf a
few hundred yards off the point.  The COMMON LOONS were stoic,
floating on the relatively-smooth waters of the Bay.  There were
hundreds of CANADA GEESE, but no sign of the recent SNOW GOOSE today.
And only the DARK-EYED JUNCOS gave the CAGO's a run for their money,
population-wise, with well over 50 of them scattered throughout the
park feeding actively.

The best bird of the morning: a GRAY CATBIRD meowing in the phrag.

Around 11AM, we drove down Pleasant Plains in St. Margarets on the way
back to Annapolis.  There we found one CACKLING GOOSE sitting quietly
amongst a few dozen CAGO's.  A COOPER HAWK watched over them from a
snag, despite some pleasant harassment from an AMERICAN CROW.

Finally, we did some drive-thru birding at Greenbury Point.  Of note,
75 (likely more) CEDAR WAXWINGS worked the young trees in the meadow
next to where the giant brick building once stood.  One worries what
might soon become of that vacant spot of land in 2010?  Perhaps the
Navy is designing a state-of-the-art containment pond for Anne Arundel
County birders to collect rare shore birds and waders?

So, about 2009... what was your favorite bird in the State?  Your County?

But really, I want to know just how many people crushed the old Big
Year record for our state, and of course... who is new record holder
and what is the new number?

Most of all, I hope everyone has a very Happy 2010.

All the best,

Dan Haas
West Annapolis, MD