Greetings all.  I was out of town this week and quickly noticed some changes since last week ... staging for fall migration has begun!  After work yesterday, I checked the Patuxent River at Mt Calvert for a Common Loon that I was told about, but had no luck.  Apparently one is over-summering here at Jug Bay but I have not seen it yet this summer.  It was reported to me by the Park naturalist (Greg Kearns), who saw it at point blank range (it surfaced a few feet from him last Wednesday at the Park's boat dock at Jackson Landing, and he watched it in all its splendor for a brief moment at point blank range).  As I arrived at Mt Calvert, teh first thing I noticed was the obvious mass of swallows perched on the lines along the drive.  Right on schedule, the swallows have arrived for staging prior to migration.  A nice variety can often be seen staging here starting around the first week of July.

From 6:00-6:15 pm I viewed them with a scope and counted them (twice):  204 Barns, 32 Trees, 5 N. Rough-wings, 1 Purple Martin and 2 Banks.  Between 6:00-6:45 pm, I observed the following 51 species either at Mt Calvert or my house:  Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, American Kestrel, Mourning Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Marsh Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Scarlet Tanager, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Orchard Oriole, House Finch, American Goldfinch, and House Sparrow.

I also noted lots of recently fledged birds begging and hanging around, both at Mt Calvert and in my yard.  Missing, was the Baltimore Orioles nesting at our house.  They apparently departed this week, it was the first time I did not hear or see one here since early May 7th.

Cheers-
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD

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