Hi Everyone,

I spent a few hours birding Somerset County this morning.  It's still a little cold out there, and much of the water is frozen, but I've never met a morning of birding I didn't like!  My highlights are below, and the full lists have been submitted to eBird (www.ebird.org).

Long-tailed Duck--8 could be made out at 60x from the marina in Rumbley
American Bittern--2 in Fairmount WMA
Lesser Black-backed Gull--2 adults and 1 first cycle at the Somerset County Landfill
American Pipit--flock of about 40 flew from one of the grass hills at the Somerset County Landfill
Fox Sparrow--2 on Ford Wharf Rd in Fairmount WMA
Boat-tailed Grackle--2 males in Frenchtown

The pipits and Fox Sparrows were both new county birds for me--only a few more species to reach 200 in Somerset!

The Somerset County Landfill is open Monday through Saturday from 8 am to 3:45 pm.  I asked at the scales, and they said it was fine to come in to look at the birds.  I don't know if this is their standard policy or if I just crossed paths with a nice guy.  This landfill provides easy viewing of ALL its gulls, because you park in an area that overlooks the whole group.  I searched really hard for white-winged gulls but couldn't find any.  Herring Gulls (ca. 1500) were by far the most numerous, followed by Ring-billed Gull (30), Great Black-backed Gull (25), and Lesser Black-backed Gull (3).  The landfill is located along Fairmount Rd (Rt 361) at James Ring Road.  Fairmount Rd is accessed from Crisfield Highway (Rt 413), which is reached from US 13 south of Princess Anne.

Have fun,

Ron Gutberlet
Salisbury, MD