Hi all,

I spent Saturday (14 April) morning birding around Point Lookout State
Park, Highlights included a silent migrant GRASSHOPPER SPARROW that flushed
from the mowed grass, a BLACK-AND-WHITE  WARBLER that flew in from off the
water a little after sunrise, at least five YELLOW PALM WARBLERs flying
into the scrub at the point and continuing on to the woods to the North,
the SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL called from the phrag pond.  My favorite from
the day was a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD that did some truly impressive
impersonations including Blue Grosbeak, Chuck-Wills-Widow, and
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, they all sounded perfect and I was fooled by the
grosbeak song until I actually saw the mockingbirds bill moving, amazing!!
That evening Jo Anna and I walked the dogs along the red trail at Merkle
and heard two OVENBIRDs.

On Sunday (15 April) I birded on the Eastern Shore starting at Assateague,
birds were certainly on the move evidenced by groups of MYRTLE WARBLERs on
the move most of the morning, mixed in was a single BLACK-AND-WHITE
WARBLER, a couple of PALM WARBLERs, numerous COMMON YELLOWTHROATs, a few
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERs.  WILLET were clearly moving with a total of 123
flyovers in groups as large as 24 birds, mixed in were lesser numbers of
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERs, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERs, and a single WHIMBREL
(another was heard calling from Life of the Forest Trail).  I headed south
to Truitt's Landing and was happy to run into Scott and Jessica pointing
out the two BLACK-NECKED STILTs, a long time county nemesis bird, thanks
guys!!  We worked through the shorebirds and located an impressive total of
18 STILT SANDPIPERs foraging among the DUNLIN and both yellowlegs.  I
birded Hickory Point which was fairly quiet, but I did hear a single
AMERICAN REDSTART.  From there it was on to Fairmount WMA, the shorebird
numbers were pretty impressive when I arrived, but many flushed when a
couple on a golf cart drove around the impoundment, highlights here were 16
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a COMMON GALLINULE that went into a full on
unsolicited, bitttaa-bip-bip-bip-bip rant from the east side of the
impoundment, really exciting!

And this morning (16 April) on the way into work I found a freshly dead
COMMON GALLINULE on 197 not really close to any wet areas and directly
under some transmission lines, it presumably struck the lines on its
descent from a night of migrating, not at all my favorite way to start a
day.

Some photos from the weekend can be seen at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeycerw/

Good Birding!

Mikey

Mikey Lutmerding
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeycerw/
Croom, MD

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