The last two days have been amazing at the shore but not without some
misses. The winds were perfect for sea watching on Friday but terrible today
(Saturday). My final estimate is over 10,000 Bonaparte's Gulls on Friday but
I saw none on Saturday. I first saw Little Gull and Black-headed Gull with
Bonaparte's Gulls at the Inlet thanks to Paul DuMont showing a novice birder
around in the early 1980's. Too bad Paul couldn't have seen Fridays birds.
Fridays big miss was 4 alcids fly past the Ocean City Inlet. They appeared
large but my quick view of them was not good enough to lock down the id. I
suspect Razorbills but I can't rule out murre so they will have to go down
as alcid sp. They appeared too big for Dovekies and not as brown as a Common
Murre.

After Jane and I found the Ash-throated Flycatcher, which is showing adult
plumage, at Bayside Dr this morning we re-saw it in the afternoon when Mike
Walsh re-found it at the Life in the Marsh parking lot. If you search for
this bird look low. Most of the time it was about a foot off the ground. We
next re-found the Northern Shrike near the campground bathrooms across from
the Life in the Marsh parking lot.

If you have a Duck Stamp you can pay an additional $15 at Assateague
National Seashore for unlimited visits for a year. The year ends on June
30th. If you go to Assateague State Park you will need a Maryland State Park
Pass ($75 per year) or pay the $3 honor system entry fee. I get my moneys
worth out of both of these passes.

-- 
Joe Hanfman
Columbia, MD