Rob Ostrowski and I birded Worcester and Somerset County on Saturday and found a few interesting birds in addition to seeing lots of recently arrived breeders.  We started at Truitt's Landing in the morning where we ran into Jared Fisher and a visiting birder from New Jersey.  Many shorebirds were present on the south side of the road, but the main highlight was a very early White-rumped Sandpiper!  Certainly my earliest ever in the state and there are only a few documented earlier records.  Typical arrival dates are after the first week of May.  Also interesting were 2 Stilt Sandpipers, 89 Semi Plovers, and a minimum of 5 newly arrived Semi Sandpipers.  



In the afternoon, at Castaway's, we found a Caspian Tern (quite uncommon in the Spring in Worcester), a Bonaparte's Gull, and 3 lingering Western Willets.  At Skimmer Island, there were 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosting with the Herrings and a male Greater Scaup between the island and Hooper's.  


A quick stop at West OC Pond produced a Nashville Warbler in with the Myrtles along the pond edge.  Besides Myrtles, the Nashville was our only non-breeding warbler of the day and one of the rarer Spring migrants on the Eastern Shore.  


Good birding,


Matt Hafner
Forest Hill, MD

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