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Subject:

Anhinga continues and Wilson's Phalarope in Howard County

From:

Jim Green

Reply-To:

Jim Green

Date:

Tue, 8 May 2012 21:15:19 -0400

Hi Everybody: 

After 4-5 workdays of anxiously waiting to chase the Anhinga and hoping it would stick around I arrived at Lake Waterford just after 12 noon today. Based on most of the posts I worked my way around the lake edge trails towards the western end and finally found the ANHINGA perched in a tangle of dead branches about 8 feet off of the ground. This was a state bird for me since I missed one previously in Frederick County (Lily Pons) a few years ago by about 10 minutes. While walking the trails I heard/saw Great-crested Flycatcher, singing Wood Thrush,  N. Parula, about 8 Yellow-rumps, A. Redstart, 2 Blackpolls and Orchard Oriole.

My next stop was at the Swan Creek dredge facility. There was a steady drizzle/mist falling while I was there. I found a few shorebirds in the north cell, the majority of the peeps were quite a distance away and seemed to be all Least Sandpipers (conservative estimate of 130). Also seen were 3 Killdeer, 2 Semipalmated Plovers, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs and 1 Spotted Sandpiper. The woods down to the wetland area were very quiet and the best bird of interest in the wetland area was a Great Egret. There was also a pair of Orchard Orioles fussing about.

On my way back to Gaithersburg I worked my way over to the Fulton Pond  accessed from Rt. 216 (Scaggsville Rd) in hopes of finding my county Semipalmated Plover. I parked at the school  to the west of the pond and walked down the road and set up the scope at a small paved area west of the pond. On the southern edge of the pond walking along the edge was a breeding plumage female WILSON'S PHALAROPE. It was about 4:35 PM when I first saw the bird.  I alerted a number of others and went back to enjoying the bird. A number of Howard County birders quickly showed up while I was there as well as Helen Patton and Jim Stasz.  The phalarope never really entered the water while I was there but moved back and forth along the water's edge, several times flying over to the opposite side of the pond but always quickly returning to the location where it was originally seen.

It is important for anybody that tries for the bird to observe from a distance and NOT to enter the property at all.

Thanks to all who posted updates about the Anhinga the last several days. I am happily off to Washington County tomorrow!

Jim Green
Gaithersburg, MD

work in moderation, BIRD IN EXCESS!!!

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