Hi All,

Nancy and I finally were able to go down to Chesapeake Farms to look for 
The Sparrow this morning. Several others were present on site when we 
arrived including Jim Green, Helen Patton, and Joe Hanfman. It took a 
bit of waiting but the bird showed up around 9:15 with four White-crowns 
and a White-throat next to the yellowed pokeweed in the hedgerow about 
50 to 100 feet south of the break in the honeysuckle hedge. I expect it 
may wander up and down the hedgerow quite a bit as it arrived from the 
south whence we first heard its calls. As Bill Hubick wrote the contact 
call note is distinctive. I'd place its quality somewhere between Swamp 
Sparrow and Hooded Warbler, musical, quick offset, not as weak and 
high-pitched as White-crown.

The Rough-legged Hawk found by Jim Gruber on Sunday on Reese's Corner 
Road also continues. It's a light morph young female with light breast 
and head, dark belly, and a white tail with a broad dark terminal band. 
Joe Hanfman told us it was still there and Nancy and I saw it kiting and 
hovering north of the road at 9:45. The hawk is hunting a field just 
east of the sheep pastures at the west (MD-445) end of the road behind 
and around some big grain elevators on the north side.

Good birding,

Walter Ellison

Observing Nature is like unwrapping a big pile of presents every time 
you take a walk.