Early this morning, July 23, I went to Hughes Hollow - McKee Beshers
WMA in Montgomery County to see if I could find a Snowy Egret,
reported yesterday -- and earlier this year, too,
Thanks to Paul Woodward, who was there when I arrived at around 9
a.m., we found not only one but three Snowy Egrets, all in juvenile
plumage -- dirty green/yellow legs and bicolored bills. We could not
see the yellow/green lores very well when looking into the sun. All
three birds were perched with Great Egrets on a tree on a small
island within the larger impoundment. (They were still there when I
stopped by again at noon -- you could see their smaller size even
with the naked eye.)
Even better -- since I have never seen one in July in Montgomery --
we had a ten-second view of an adult American Bittern flying from one
part of the large impoundment to another. Dark flight feathers and
direct, slow-flapping style seen well. Was this a local breeder? I
hope so, but I don't know if it really was. Does anyone?
Mike Bowen
Montgomery Bird Club, MOS
Bethesda, MD
D.H. Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, MD 20817
Telephone: (301) 530-5764
e-mail: dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom
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