We had no birds at all, neither nightjars nor owls, between our 4:00am start and about 5:30am. Not long after that we saw our best bird of the day, a SALTMARSH SHARP-TAILED SPARROW feeding in wrack on the beach at the mouth of Parker's Creek. We spent (lost) a lot of time watching this bird, as it had looked more orange and Nelsonesque in the light of the rosy-fingered dawn, but the longer bill, well-defined streaking, and ultimately not orange enough breast convinced us it was Saltmarsh. (Photos available.)

(This area is not open to the public and only accessible by permit. Access applications generally take two weeks to process. Land below mean high tide is open to the public in Maryland, so people may access the beach by boat. We did not do so today, and have no idea if the sparrow is still present.

While studying the sparrow, a TRI-COLORED HERON flew over, somewhat unusual for the season and locale.

We tallied a good representation of the summer residents and a few migrants, but like everyone else were hampered by high winds.

Leslie Starr & Joe Turner

Port Republic