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Subject:

Garrett County on Tues., 10/12

From:

jim green

Reply-To:

jim green

Date:

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 23:23:01 -0400

Hi Everybody:
     I spent the day birding in Garrett County today. I was unsuccessful
trying for Great Horned Owls at Finzel and on Pea Ridge Road. My first real
stop after daylight was at Piney Reservoir. The only waterfowl were a pair
of Mallards among the Canada Geese. I walked counterclockwise along the foot
trail (after crossing over the reservoir). There is alot of overgrown weeds
and undergrowth and small bushes for several hundred yards until you reach
the edge of the forest. I had 6 species of sparrows including
14 WHITE-CROWNED (mostly immatures), 10 SWAMP and 2 LINCOLN, Near the tree
line was a singing Blue-headed Vireo. The only warblers I encountered here
were Yelllow-rumped.

     Motivated by the nice report from Matt Tillet several days (or more)
ago about the Youghiogheny Reservoir "GRASSLANDS:at the end of Old
Morgantown Road W. I hightailed it clear across the county and arrived there
just before 10:30 AM. Having just been there several months ago it was quite
a difference. I first drove out the road through the grasses and back but
had very little to show for it. The majority of the sparrows that flew up
and quickly dropped out of sight were Swamp Sparrows. I returned and parked
my car and spent the next 90 minutes walking through the grass among the
willows and deciduous trees that once marked the edge of the reservoir.
Highlights included:

Cedar Waxwing     18
Blueheaded Vireo     2 (again both were singing)
Yellow-rumped Warblers were everywhere; I conseratively counted 42
Tennessee Warbler     2
Blackpoll Warbler       1
Palm Warbler (both western)
Swamp Sparrow    40
White-crowned Sparrow     3
Lincoln Sparrow     1

I did not find any Pipits that Matt had reported; the only raptors were a
pair of Red-tails and the only shorebirds were 12 Killdeer. I was lucky in
that having seen only 4 warbler species the last 3 were all county birds for
me.
It was a beautiful fall day and the contrast of the sea of green and yellow
colors of the grassland with the many colors of the changing leaves of the
forest on either side of the Yough was spectacular!

My  next and last stop before heading home was at Trout Run (Norris Welch
Rd.) near Oakland. I found 2 more White-crowned Sparrows, another Palm
Warbler (Eastern). The only waterfowl at the sewage treatment ponds were a
pair of mallards and a lone wood duck. I walked up along the path at the end
of the road on the edge of the fields and was lucky enough to spot a
low-flying Northern Harrier (a county bird).

On the way home I quickly scanned Meadows Lake in Garrett County and Lake
Habib (at Rocky Gap St. Pk. - Allegany Co.). Neither stopped produced any
waterfowl.

It was a beautiful day to be in western Md.

Jim Green
Gaithersburg, MD

work in moderation, BIRD IN EXCESS!!!