Hi All,

Nancy and I did a mid-to-late afternoon tour of southwestern Kent County 
yesterday. Snowy road shoulder birds were lower key than back in 
December, but there were rewards for getting out. We spent the bulk of 
our time at Chesapeake Farms and in Rock Hall with slow road touring in 
between.

Our highlights included an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the back 
harbor ice among the usual gull suspects in Rock Hall. There were also 
two wintering DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS on the docks in Gratitude. 
Waterfowl were pretty low key but we located both scaup, only one 
Canvasback, 5 goldeneye, and 9 Red-breasted Mergansers among others. We 
had an adult Red-shouldered Hawk north of Rock Hall on MD-445 and an 
immature at the east end of Reese's Corner Road. We had AMERICAN PIPITS 
in several places including 7 on the Chesapeake Farms HQ entrance road. 
We also had BROWN THRASHERS in several locations, two of these were also 
on the HQ entrance road. The best birds at Chesapeake Farms were the 28 
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS on the HQ entrance road. The snow producing a 
nice count. On Fairlee Lake on Fish Hatchery Road there were some 
waterfowl on the open water including 70 RING-NECKED DUCKS, and 2 Common 
Mergansers. Just a nice solid afternoon out in the bright sun, snow, and 
cold.

Good birding,

Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin

23460 Clarissa Rd
Chestertown, MD 21620

phone: 410-778-9568
e-mail: rossgull(AT)baybroadband.net

Observing Nature is like unwrapping a big pile of presents every time 
you take a walk.