Hi Everybody:
I spent most of the day in Charles County. I hiked into the Cedarville State Forest accessing it off of Poplar Hill Road at the intersection of Cedar Forest Road and walked into the pond. When I arrived there was not much on it or around it. The far end is gradually drying up and looks good for shorebirds but there were none there. I did see a total of four Black and White Warblers and two of them were singing off and on.
I stopped by the Courthouse at Port Tabacco and did not see the immature White Ibises but did not spend alot of time looking for them. There was one Solitary Sandpiper there. I did talk to George Jett later in the day and he relocated the 2 WHIB's in the Courthouse pond at about 1:45 PM. The Rt. 6/Rose Hill Pond had several Great Egrets along the edges.
I then headed over to the Port Tabacco Marina. Before I even got out of my car I saw 2 Mute Swans and then a smaller white heron/egret that immediately flew up and disappeared in the marsh grasses without having a chance to get a look at it in the binoculars. Once I scanned the same area I saw a juvenile TRI-COLORED HERON actively feeding and moving from left to right. I observed the bird from about 9:45 to 9:55 AM until it reversed direction and moved up a small channel blocked by the vegetation. It appeared once again for 6 or 7 minutes about 10:05 and then disappeared again in the same location. I would not see it again while I was there.
There were at least two MARSH WRENS singing while I was there. At about 10:40 AM a small white wading bird flew out of the marsh grasses and landed on the flats. This one was a SNOWY EGRET. I did not see any shorebirds while I was there and then left about 11 AM. I know that George Jett tried unsuccessfully for the Tri-colored before he located the Whit Ibises but had no luck. There is alot of the marsh that is not visible because of the grasses and vegetation growing. Anybody that tries needs to be patient and your best bet is to be there several hours before low tide (low tide today was at 11:35 AM. There easily could have been more herons and egrets there that just never showed themselves.
After leaving the marina my day was fairly uneventful. I stopped by Chapel Point St. Pk. and walked the shoreline and found only several DC Cormorants. I hit Allens Fresh at low tide; only wading birds were Great Blue Herons (7) and only shorebirds were Least sandpipers (2) and Killdeer (3). I scanned several vantage points from Cobb Island and had nothing exciting. My last stop was along the water at Morgantown Road. I counted 28 Forster's and 32 Royal Terns.
Jim Green
Gaithersburg, MD
work in moderation, BIRD IN EXCESS!!!
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