Hi Everybody:

After having worked the weekend and Monday, and having read all the great posts on the continuing gathering of shorebirds on the turf farm at Morgantown in southern Charles County, I was hoping the American Golden Plover, Sanderling and Baird's Sandpiper would still be there. I headed their first thing on Tuesday morning. I made a quick stop at Port Tobacco and the only thing I found was high tide.

On Morgantown Road before the turf farm I made 2 stops and found 1 Summer Tanager, 2 American Redstarts, 5 Pine Warblers and 1 singing Yellow-throated Vireo. Along the Morgantown Road side of the turf farm I saw the following:

    15 Killdeer
      7 American Golden Plovers (in various plumages, nice to study through the scope)
     6 Semipamated Plovers
     7 Sanderlings, I also had 5 more fly in overhead towards the turf farm when I was scanning the Potomac River. 
     1 Ruddy Turnstone

I then  spent 20 minutes scanning the Potomar River just after the sharp righthand turn in the road and saw:

     27 Royal Terns
     17 Forster's Terns
      7 Black Terns, they were actively feeding about 100 yards just up river and later perched on a dock.

I scanned the rest of the turf farm field above the pond  from the opposite side and found the BAIRD's SANDPIPER moving left to right 20 feet above the far side of the pond. Luck was with me as I picked up 3 new county birds and was out of there by 9:15.

I later had a Black and White Warbler on Mill Run Road. I made several other stops but found nothing of note. Migrants seemed non-existent.  The marsh at North Beach in Calvert County was full of water and had 2 Snowy Egrets. At the Fishing Creek crossing of Dalrymple Road (Calvert Co.) I could only muster up a White-eyed Vireo and a House Wren, both of which seemed oblivious to me as they continued to scold each other for at least 5 minutes.

Along Karen Place (also Calvert County) on the opposite side of the road from Lake Karylbrook I pished up a male Hooded Warbler and had great looks at it off and on for about 10 minutes.

In Prince Georges County I checked the pond off of Brown Station Road at the Recycling Center in hopes of finding some shorebirds but there were none there. I did not feel I had enough time to head to Swan Creek and give it adequate time so I went to the North Tract of Patuxent NWR (Anne Arundel Co.) instead. I was there from 2:10 to 3:25 and it was fairly quiet. I did find a small pocket of birds about a 1/2 mile from Lake Allen.

     2 Downy Woodpeckers
     5 Carolina Chickadess
     3 Tufted Titmice
     4 Chimney Swifts
     1 Pine Warbler
     2 Ovenbirds 
     1 Magnolia Warbler 
     1 Scarlet Tanager

The  Magnolia Warbler was a county bird and my 116th Closeout. I then drove over to my step daughter's house off of Mink Hollow Road in Howard County for dinner and before leaving had my last county bird of the day - 3 Common Nighthawks which flew over their front yard.

Jim Green
Gaithersburg MD

work in moderation, BIRD IN EXCESS!!!







     

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