I spent the day on the Lower Shore today birding a few sites in Worcester
County. I ended with 79 species for the day, which made me pretty happy,
especially given the cool, damp, dreary morning. Highlights included:

*Along Mt. Olive/Mt. Olive Church Rd, just after sunrise:
            -many Yellow-Throated Warblers, Ovenbirds, and Black-and-White
Warblers, and singles each of American Redstart and Louisiana
Waterthrush (all FOYs)
            -Pine Warblers, Chipping Sparrows, and Brown-Headed Nuthatches
were abundant at all stops along the road (and at all the sites I checked in
the county today)

*Truitt's Landing:
           -about a hundred Bufflehead in the Bay, with a similar number of
Green-Winged Teal back in the marsh
           -several Great Egrets
           -a single Black-Necked Stilt (seen in flight, FOY) and a single
Willet
           -calling Clapper Rail
           -15 flyover Glossy Ibis
           -Yellowlegs, both sp.
           -5 Forster's Terns

*Assateague - Life of the Forest Trail
           -2 Red-Breasted Nuthatches (seen and heard)
           -1 White-Eyed Vireo (seen, not heard...FOY)
           -about 20 Yellow-Rumped Warblers swirling around
           -many E. Towhees

*Assateague - Life of the Dunes Trail
           -4 or 5 Field Sparrows
           -very cooperative Yellow-Throated Warbler in a mixed flock (with
Pine and Yellow-Rumped Warblers, and a single Red-Breasted Nuthatch) that
dropped down to just feet above my head for great photos

*Assateague - South Beach
          -Gannets feeding just offshore...as close as 50 feet out

*Ocean City Inlet: a marine layer held here that wasn't present at
Assateague (where I got a sunburn) It was so misty that I couldn't see the
South Jetty. Very cold.
          -1 Common Loon, almost fully molted into breeding plumage
          -2 Gannets actually flew into the Inlet...maybe disoriented by the
fog? Too bad I couldn't get a shot in those conditions
          -a pair of ducks flew by in the haze, that I'm calling Black
Scoters based on size, flight, and silhouette. They were definitely not Surf
Scoters (wrong head/bill).

*Skimmer Island and environs (back in the sunlight):
         -full breeding plumage Common Loon
         -10 Red-Breasted Mergansers
         -2 A. Oystercatchers
         -1 adult Little Blue Heron (FOY)
         -several Snowy Egrets (FOY)
         -6 Black-Crowned Night Herons
         -gobs of Cormorants and gulls


A good day--can't wait to get back when there are even more goodies around!

-Jake Hall
 Washington, DC

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