Hi all -

An early start for Esther Smith's home and a hoped-for rendezvous with the
WHITE-WINGED DOVE which we had missed on an earlier visit. This time we were
successful, at about 8 AM, seeing the bird in with about 25 Mourning Doves
both sitting in the bare trees nearby and at the feeder. In fact it was the
only dove that actually landed and fed on the hanging tray feeder while we
were there. All scattered at one point when a Pileated Woodpecker came in
and clung incongruously to a small suet feeder.

We then did a run around some of the in the southern county. Only a few
Horned Larks scattered here and there. The most promising area -- although
hard to stop and scan due to the road narrowness and sharp drop-off -- was a
farm field with spread manure on east side of Cap Stine Road just north of
its intersection with Manor Woods Rd. Some distant larks were seen, but
again, only a few. However well worth re-checking this area.

Otherwise all seemed very quiet and snow-bound. A bare front yard along Cap
Stine hosted 6-8 White-crowned Sparrows in with House Sparrows. All raptors
seen were either Red-tails or Red-shoulders. The Monocacy is almost frozen
and Bear Branch is solidly frozen-in. As is all of Lilypons and other local
ponds. 

Stopped by Black Hills on the way back -- the only large expanse of open
water is west of the Rt. 121 bridge and hosted about 20 Canvasbacks, a dozen
Ring-necked Ducks and maybe 50 Ruddies -- possible more birds were hidden
against the bank but numbers obviously way down.

We need a thaw!

Gail Mackiernan and Barry Cooper
Colesville, MD