Happy New Year everyone,

My wife Colleen and I spent the morning chasing lingering rarities.
Our first stop was at the Golden-crowned Sparrow spot at Chesapeake
Farms in Kent County.  Within minutes of pulling up I heard the birds
distinctive chip notes but it never came out.  One of the cars blew
its horn and the birds scattered and the chipping stopped, so we left.
 Our next stop was to see the Rufous Hummingbird in College Park.  The
hummingbird made a nice appearance without too long of a wait.  It was
very vocal as well.  Thanks to Rick for allowing us to come over on a
holiday.  On the way back to Easton, we stopped to look for the
Pickering shrike.  We soon ran into John Dennehy who informed us that
the shrike had moved over to the field south of Presquile Rd.  I soon
saw the bird working the shrubby ditch, often feeding on the ground
out in the field.

Jim Brighton
Easton, MD