Geese were greatly spread out today (Sunday, February 6) in Queen
Anne's County, but where they were found there surely were a lot of them!
First seen was a huge flock of Canada Geese on Central Sod Farms
property east of US 301 and just south of John Brown Rd. One of the
birds closest to US 301 was an immature Snow Goose.
Next, we came upon a giant (5,000 - 10,000) flock of Snow Geese along
MD Route 309 as we drove South, just north of the intersection with
Rolling Bridge Rd. This flock contained at least 1 Cackling
Goose. It was at first easy -- and then very difficult -- to check
it out, as the flock stayed very close to the road on MD-309 until a
vehicle stopped and someone stepped out of it -- at which point the
entire flock rose up in a noisy and unforgettable mass of white and
landed much closer to the Route-309 Pond and away from the main road.
Later in the day we came up Route 309 again, this time heading
North. This time we came upon a very large flock of Canada Geese
near Pemberton Farms. Despite looking extremely carefully, we could
not find any unusual geese like White-fronted or Ross's. There were
7 Tundra Swans and a single male Canvasback at this location. There
is a wide shoulder on the side of the road, but it is still advisable
to park well off the road, as traffic here is light but very speedy.
En route to home, we stopped at Sandy Point State Park in Anne
Arundel County, in the (forlorn) hope of seeing an Iceland Gull seen
here off and on for the last month or so.
Very few gulls were here but lots of Scaup (basically Greater),
Bufflehead, and Common Goldeneye to be seen in the Bay.
Best bird was an American Tree Sparrow feeding with many Juncos on
the grasses around the North Bathhouse. No Snow Buntings, sorry!
Mike and Joy Bowen
Montgomery Bird Club
Bethesda, MD
D.H. Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, MD 20817
Telephone: (301) 530-5764
e-mail: dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom
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