Hi all,

It sure didn't look as if it was going to be a good day, being very dark,
dank and a bit breezy. Barry was off to Poplar Island but I had to
puppy-sit. Got to the Gardens late and they were quiet. Walked over to Pine
Lake and then, the Shorefield Picnic area and it started to liven up. (It
might have been even better if I had hung around until the clearing weather
and sun arrived about 10 AM!) Lots of Blue Jays flying over in small flocks,
Robins and Catbirds are getting thin on the ground. Two active feeding
flocks led by Chickadees yielded most of the interesting passerines. Lots of
Kinglets about of both species. Quite a big push of Phoebes as well, but the
best bird was a bright male CAPE MAY WARBLER near Shorefield parking lot -
at eye level -- first of this species for me at this site!

Birds of interest:

Great Blue Heron - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 2
Mallard - 25+ (suddenly arrived from ?)
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1 immature
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD - 2 (in the walled garden at Brookside, feeding on
blue Salvia -- might be a good place to check later for vagrant hummers as
lots of the right flowers and a protected area)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 3
Northern Flicker - 10
Eastern Phoebe - 12 (at least, they were everywhere)
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 10+
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 8+
Catharus thrush sp. - 1
Gray Catbird - 6 (only...)
Brown Thrasher - 1
House Wren - 3
BROWN CREEPER - 2
Red-eyed Vireo - 5
Blue-headed Vireo - 2
Black-throated Green Warbler - 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 2
Black-and-White Warbler - 2
CAPE MAY WARBLER - 1 (male)
Magnolia Warbler - 1
TENNESSEE WARBLER - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 6
(Oddly, no Yellow-rumps or Palms)
SWAMP SPARROW - 2
White-throated Sparrow - 15+
Chipping Sparrow - 6
Indigo Bunting - 1

Gail Mackiernan
Colesville, MD