I took advantage of the nice weather today by birding a few spots in southern Prince George's County.  The first stop was the Recycling Center off Brown Station Road.  Shorebirds included 1 Pectoral Sandpiper, 3 Solitary Sandpipers, 3 Greater Yellowlegs, 5 Lesser Yellowlegs, 8 Killdeer, 3 Spotted Sandpipers, and 11 Least Sandpipers.   Also present were 2 Great Egrets, and several Great Blue Herons.  Towhees, Song Sparrows, and a Mockingbird sung nearby.

Merkle was very slow, with a large flock of Canada Geese in the pond behind the visitors center.  Also present were 2 Killdeer and one Least Sandpiper.  Singing nearby were a thrasher, Common Yellowthroat, and Song Sparrow.  Other birds included a few Purple Martins and Barn Swallows.

Next, I kayaked from Jackson Landing south past Selby's Landing and partway up Mattaponi Creek and back.  The water was smooth and the tide was going out, allowing views of the mudflats.  Shorebirds were strangely absent as I saw only 3 Solitary Sandpipers and 3 Least Sandpipers.  Lots of waders were visible though, although I did not see the Tricolored Heron found yesterday by Rob Ostrowski.  In total, I had 9 Great Blue Herons, 3 Great Egrets, and 3 Least Bitterns.  I saw one bittern in flight south of Jackson Landing and heard two more while on Mattaponi Creek.  Forster's Terns were plentiful and a few cormorants were present.  4 Ring-billed Gulls and 1 Laughing Gull were also along Jug Bay.  And, as expected, the Marsh Wren were singing along Mattaponi Creek.

Fred Shaffer

Crofton, MD