Rob, 

   The previous high I have listed for Little Blue Herons in Montgomery Co. is five at Hughes Hollow in the summer of 1983. So 11 easily tops that. 

Bob Ringler 
Eldersburg MD 
 



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Ostrowski" <> 
To:  
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2010 11:10:22 PM 
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Bonanza of Waders Continues 

The amount of dispersing herons and egrets this week, including today, 
has been amazing. 

This morning, in Upper Marlboro, I found a group of 6 white waders 
flying south. The group was composed of 4 Great Egrets, 1 Little Blue 
Heron, and 1 SNOWY EGRET. Snowy is a tough bird in PG and everywhere 
west of there. This set the tone for the rest of the day. Shortly after, 
I visited the Recycle Pond on Brown Station Road and found two more 
Little Blue Herons, with another Great Egret. 

 From there, I decided to chase Jim Green's WHITE IBIS in Washington 
County. I picked up my brother Mike and we were successful in finding 
the ibis soon after we arrived. It was joined by a Great Egret. After 
that, we checked a few spots in the Hagerstown area for shorebirds but 
only found Solitarys, Spotteds, and Killdeer. 

Heading back east, we stopped at Hughes Hollow to check out the recent 
reports of waders. We found four LITTLE BLUE HERONS along with two Great 
Egrets, three Great Blues, and four Green Herons. 

We then moved on to Riley's Lock to check for the Mute Swan that Jim 
Moore relocated today. While searching for it far upriver, I saw a group 
of white egrets/herons sitting on a branch near the shore of Virginia. I 
decided I had to walk up river to check on them - anything white is 
interesting on the piedmont. After walking about another mile in the 
ridiculous heat, I got my scope on the group of waders and immediately 
spotted a juvenile WHITE IBIS feeding along the shoreline that was 
exposed by the receding water. Presumably, this is the same ibis that 
Dave Czaplak found earlier this week. Accompanying the ibis were 7 
LITTLE BLUE HERONS and two Great Egrets. There was also one unidentified 
small white wader that separated from the group as they took off flying 
(maybe Dave's Snowy from this week?). Unfortunately, I had to stay on 
the main group and couldn't relocate the stray later. This is a 
ridiculous number of Little Blues for Montgomery, perhaps the most ever. 
Bob, can you tell me if it is? 

On the walk back to the car, we found a juvenile Black-crowned 
Night-Heron standing next to the canal. 

Total on the day: 14 Little Blue Herons, 1 Snowy Egret, and two White 
Ibises between Prince George's, Montgomery, and Washington Counties. And 
these weren't the only waders people had today. 

Snowy Egret: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35144142@N04/4825764532/ 

White Ibis with Little Blues: 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35144142@N04/4825150119/ 

Robert Ostrowski 
Crofton