I startled two of them this morning when I went into the front yard to
refill the hummingbird feeder. They haven't been singing much so I hope that
means they are nesting. We do have a cardinal nesting in an azalea bush and
tonight the male was chipping like crazy, so I went out to see what the
problem was, and it was a white-tailed deer in our front yard. In 20 years
at this house, I have NEVER seen a deer in our front yard. I have also seen
the male cardinal defending the nest from a squirrel by landing in front of
the squirrel with his wings half spread and his tail spread. He looked
impressive until the squirrel chased him, at which point I went out and
chased the squirrel. The cardinal has also flown very noisily into the woods
away from the nest, which was a good distraction, and I noticed that he
chips very loudly when the female is skulking back onto the nest, again I
assume to distract from her motion. It's a little hard to see into the nest
from the nearest window, but she has at least two eggs, maybe three. 

Last week I went for a quick ride south of Chesapeake City and saw mostly
chipping sparrows and indigo buntings, but I also saw a brown thrasher and a
female blue grosbeak, all on Augustine Road.

Pat Valdata
Elkton

-----Original Message-----
From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Tony Heatwole
Thank you to those who posted or e-mailed their experiences with Wood Thrush
numbers this year. There was no consensus. Some observers are seeing the
usual numbers, and some, like me, are seeing/hearing fewer (or no) birds.
I'm still puzzled. I miss hearing them!