12-31-06 Prime Hook/Cap Henlopen CBC, DE

Quite an exhausting day, but certainly worth it. I added a few birds to my Delaware list: Northern Shrike (a gorgeous adult), LeConte's Sparrow (definitely not a cooperative bird, but a great one for the mid-atlantic), and Eastern Screech-Owl. The boat trip to the breakwaters off of Cape Henlopen produced a few goodies including 3 Harlequin Ducks, all three scoters, a gorgeous alternate Lesser Black-backed Gull, and many Brant and Purple Sandpipers. After the count I ran down to Indian River Inlet and was lucky enough to see the 1st-year Little Gull among the Bonies. Wow! I've been wanting this bird for some time, so it was very nice to find it on the last day of the year. It was the second this in a single week I've made great use of Olsen and Larsson's Gull book that Annie bought me for christmas.

Red-throated Loon Common Loon Northern Gannet Double-crested Cormorant Great Cormorant Great Blue Heron Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Snow Goose Canada Goose Brant American Black Duck Mallard Green-winged Teal Greater Scaup Harlequin Duck Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Bufflehead Red-breasted Merganser Bald Eagle Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon Northern Bobwhite Common Snipe Little Gull - Lifer! Bonaparte's Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Great Black-backed Gull Forster's Tern Rock Dove

Mourning Dove Eastern Screech-Owl Great Horned Owl Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike Blue Jay American Crow Carolina Chickadee Brown Creeper Carolina Wren Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird European Starling Cedar Waxwing Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Le Conte's Sparrow Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird American Goldfinch

12-29-06 Rock Run CBC (Conowingo Dam and north end of Susquehanna SP), Harford Co., MD

I ended up doing most of this count by myself but it was still fun. Highlights were seeing a red-phase Screech-Owl sitting on the ground while I was out in the early AM, a Peregrine Falcon stooping after pigeons, a first-year Lesser Black-backed Gull, and an extraordinary number of Winter Wrens (27). At one point it felt like I was more of a Winter Wren count than a CBC. Had to use a vacation day for it, but I'd much rather be doing a CBC than sitting at work : )
My day list:

1 Double-crested Cormorant 97 Great Blue Heron 1 Black Vulture 5 Turkey Vulture 80 Canada Goose 47 American Black Duck 43 Mallard 96 Bufflehead 50 Common Goldeneye 8 Common Merganser 57 Bald Eagle 1 Cooper's Hawk 4 Red-tailed Hawk 2 American Kestrel 1 Peregrine Falcon 755 Ring-billed Gull 79 Herring Gull 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull 65 Great Black-backed Gull 91 Rock Dove 12 Mourning Dove 5 Eastern Screech-Owl 1 Great Horned Owl 1 Belted Kingfisher 10 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 14 Downy Woodpecker 3 Hairy Woodpecker

4 Northern Flicker 3 Pileated Woodpecker 3 Blue Jay 18 American Crow 2 Horned Lark 23 Carolina Chickadee 3 Tufted Titmouse 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 11 Brown Creeper 28 Carolina Wren 27 Winter Wren 15 Golden-crowned Kinglet 10 Eastern Bluebird 1 Gray Catbird 7 Northern Mockingbird 2 Brown Thrasher 588 European Starling 2 Eastern Towhee 5 Field Sparrow 12 Song Sparrow 38 White-throated Sparrow 7 Dark-eyed Junco 17 Northern Cardinal 500 Red-winged Blackbird 5 House Finch 17 American Goldfinch 25 House Sparrow

12-26-06 Memorial Lake, Lebanon Co., PA

Thayer's Gull! Lifer! I know that Thayer's Gull is a difficult bird to see in the east because of the possibility of natural variation and hybrids, but this bird was quite obviously a second-year Thayer's Gull. Also present on the lake at dusk were some Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Common Mergansers and Gadwall.

12-18-06 Newnan's Lake, San Felasco County Park, San Felasco Hammock (Lee Sink), Alachua Co., FL

Birded the morning with Rex Rowan and Greg McDermott. We tried for the reported Franklin's Gull on Newnan's Lake but only turned up a Laughing Gull - the light was coming from the wrong direction. Rex and Greg were kind enough to olige me and stop by San Felasco County Park to pick up Golden-crowned Kinglet for my Florida list. Besides the kinglet, the park was nearly devoid of birds. A San Felasco Hammock we were fortunate enough for great looks at a Grasshopper, a Vesper and a Fox Sparrow. Florida winter is quite extraordinary - I'll take 80 degrees with butterflies and dragons flying anyday.

12-17-06 Gainesville CBC (Paynes Prairie basin), Alachua Co., FL

The CBC was enormous fun as always. I can think of few places I'd rather be than at the end of La Chua trail at sunrise. The obvious highlight of the day was tracking down 2 LeConte's Sparrows! I only had a 2-second look, but that's not bad for a LeConte's. Scoping the feral Bison herd from Persimmon Point was great; I had been dissappointed that I never saw them when I lived in G'ville. A couple other highlights on the prairie basin were Horned Grebe, American White Pelicans, American Bitterns, Limpkins and Sedge Wrens. The water on Alachua Lake was rather shallow, so when we were canoeing in the afternoon it seemed like there were more Alligators, Gar and Bowfin than water. Every time we touched the water, an excited flurry of movement would result.

12-16-06 Viera Wetlands & Manatee Hammock, Brevard Co., FL

Today was a chase day: First on the agenda - driving cross-state to Viera Wetlands for the Masked Duck. I had been looking forward to this for a month. Definitely a lifer and quite an attractive bird! I had never been to these wetlands and were pleasantly surprised. Other good birds there were Purple Gallinule, Limpkin, American White Pelicans, thousands of both Teal, Mottled Ducks, etc. While we were nearby, I also stopped by Manatee Hammock campground near Camp Canarveral to pick up Long-tailed Duck and Surf Scoter for my Florida list.

12-15-06 Kings Bay, Citrus Co., FL

Snorkeling with Manatees! I never got to do this when I lived in FL, so this year's CBC trip was a great opportunity (plus great fun with Annie, Melanie and Josh) These guys are like puppy dogs - they like to be scratched. A couple were following Annie around since she has finger nails. Spotted a few 4+ ft Tarpon too. It felt great to be back in the sunshine state (despite the cold and clouds) - Anhingas, Pelicans and Terns were plentiful.

12-10-06 Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center, Queen Anne's Co. & Sandy Point State Park, Anne Arundel Co., MD

I wasn't sure where I should go birding today and ended up deciding that I wanted to scope some ducks. Was fairly successful with 19 species for the day. All except for C. Goldeneye were at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center. The huge raft of Canvasbacks (hundreds) and Ruddy Ducks (hundreds too) there is impressive. The non-waterfowl highlight were 6 Brown-headed Nuthatches. At Sandy Point State Park I found 12 Laughing Gulls and 13 Common Goldeneye among the hundreds of Greater Scaup, Bufflehead and Ruddy Ducks.

Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Canada Goose Mute Swan Tundra Swan Gadwall American Wigeon American Black Duck Mallard Northern Pintail Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Surf Scoter Long-tailed Duck Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Ruddy Duck Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Lesser Yellowlegs

Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Rock Dove Belted Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Carolina Chickadee Brown-headed Nuthatch Carolina Wren Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin Northern Mockingbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Towhee Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird American Goldfinch

12-2-06 Blackwater NWF and environs, Dorchester Co., MD

Went on Howard County's bird trip to Blackwater hoping to pick up some birds for my MD list. I was really crosing my fingers for Rough-legged Hawk, but we came up empty handed. Bird highlights were many Brown-headed Nuthatches, 13 American White Pelicans and great looks at a few Short-eared Owls. A few late birds (Eastern Phoebe, Brown Thrasher, Gray Catbird, Tree Swallows) may have been evidence of our relatively mild winter thus far.

Red-throated Loon Common Loon Horned Grebe American White Pelican Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Snow Goose Canada Goose Tundra Swan American Wigeon American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Surf Scoter Long-tailed Duck Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Ruddy Duck Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Merlin American Coot Killdeer Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Dunlin Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Forster's Tern

Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Short-eared Owl Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Phoebe American Crow Fish Crow Horned Lark Tree Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Brown-headed Nuthatch Brown Creeper Carolina Wren Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher European Starling Cedar Waxwing Yellow-rumped Warbler Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark American Goldfinch House Sparrow

11-30-06 Centennial Lake, Howard Co., MD

Stopped by Centennial this afternoon looking for the reported Cackling Geese and found 4.  There are many Canada Geese present, including what appear to be Lessers (parvipes).  It's really interesting to see the variation in the regular Canadas (size, bill shape, breast color, neck length, chinstrap extent) - wish I had my scope with me so I could have taken some pics.

11-29-06 Loch Raven Reservoir, Baltimore Co., MD

Took off work a little early so I could check out the lake before dark. Nothing exceptional, though I found my first-of-the-season Common Mergansers.

11-26-06 Bombay Hook & Port Mahon, DE

I went looking for a reported Trumpeter Swan at Bombay Hook, but only found Tundras. I found one funny swan (photos here). This bird had a relatively straight bill, no yellow on lores, and wider than average "black" in front of the eye. However, the size and rounded head feathering edge (not pointed on the forehead) points to Tundra Swan. The bird had no leg bands on the tarsi. The highlight of the day was an American Bittern which flew past at Port Mahon while I was watching the sun set. No Short-eared Owls tonight.

Bird list:

Double-crested Cormorant American Bittern Great Blue Heron Black Vulture Snow Goose Canada Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan Wood Duck American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Bufflehead Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck

Northern Harrier Clapper Rail American Coot Dunlin Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Mourning Dove Northern Flicker Horned Lark Northern Mockingbird European Starling American Pipit Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark

11-24-06 Gifford Pinchot St. Park, York Co & Conjahela Flats, Lancaster Co., PA

Today I found 5 Red-throated Loons at Gifford Pinchot State Park. Pics here. The only other waterfowl were a few Ruddy Ducks and Pied-billed Grebes. A Yellow-rumped Warbler was nice (for here).

Then I decided to check out the river at Turkey Hill (the park south of Washington Boro in lancaster co) and didn't find any waterfowl other than decoys.  However, it was impressive to see 15,000+ gulls on the flats.  I couldn't find anything other than Great Black-backed, Herring, and Ring-bills among them though.

11-18-06 Frederick Co., MD

Tried again for the Northern Shrike - and got it! Only had to wait about an hour before it suddenly appeared on a fencline. Got great views, and it was a thrill to see it fly across the road and alternately fly straight up and hover - a lot like a Lark.
Photos

11-17-06 Loch Raven, Baltimore Co., MD

Pied-billed Grebe American Wigeon American Black Duck Redhead Ring-necked Duck Bufflehead

American Coot Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet

11-15-06 White Marsh, Baltimore Co., MD

Noticed a Greater Yellowlegs while installing a rain gauge near a wetland that is slated to be "restored."

11-13-06 Cape Henlopen & Prime Hook, DE

Been working too many hours recently, so I took monday off. Mostly to visit my grandparents, but I was hoping to see a few birds. Unfortunatly I was raining rather hard almost all day. Notables below - nothing unexpected, though its been a while since I've seen a Bobwhite. Finding a Cricket Frog in the evening was rather nifty.

Northern Gannet Snow Goose Gadwall American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Northern Harrier Northern Bobwhite

American Coot Black-bellied Plover Greater Yellowlegs Ruddy Turnstone Sanderling Least Sandpiper Dunlin Winter Wren Brown Thrasher Field Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco

11-11-06 Frederick Co., MD

Chased after a reported Northern Shrike on Shriver Rd near Emmitsburg without any luck. There was a flock of Horned Larks and Pipits that occassionally were visible, plus many White-crowned Sparrows. We stopped by Piny Run Reservoir on the way home and found PB Grebe, Coots, Bufflehead, Black and Ruddy Ducks, and Hooded Mergansers doing that cool raised-crest head-knock that they do.

11-4-06 Millersburg & Waggoner's Gap, PA

I was able to add two ornithologists to my life list today: David Sibley and Scott Weidensaul. Annie and I visited the Ned Brinkly Center in Millersburg where a gallery of original Sibley artwork was on display. Very cool to see the plates I've studied so much up close and personal. On the drive home we stopped by the Waggoner's Gap hawk watch. Arriving at a hawk watch at 3:30pm it not the best way to see many hawks. However, it was enough time to see two Golden Eagles fly by.

11-3-06 White Marsh, Baltimore Co., MD

Had to download datalogger data after work. Unfortunately by the time I got to Whitemarsh Run, it was dark. Fortunately this ordeal was (nearly) worth it because I was able shine my flashlight on a beaver casually swimming around under the bridge. The stream is flashy enough that I doubt any beaver would set up territory on the stream (all of its efforts would be washed downstream). It must have been a young beaver exploring upstream from the Bird River.

10-31-06 Delaware Shore

Took the day off work to go looking for a mystery Martin outside of Assateague Island, MD.  I couldn't find any swallows at all, so I figured I'd head north.  I ended up with a number of good birds in Delaware.

Marsh south of Indian River Inlet:
I was hoping to find and (wishful thinking) photograph some of the sparrows reported from the DOS sparrow trip.  This turned out to be rather difficult.  The water was very low - making the marsh easy to walk through, but also easy for the sparrows to run away instead of flushing.  I saw numerous sharp-tailed sparrows doing just this - running between the hummocks.  Eventually (with great patience), I was able to find a few semi-cooperative birds (or at least get a few to flush). Photos here.

Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow - 5 (prairie race - nelsoni)
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow - 1 (acadian race - subvirgatus)  I only got a brief view of this one, which is unfortunate since it was new for me.
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow - 1
other sharp-tailed sp. - 6
Seaside Sparrow - 3

While walking through the marsh, I also found/flushed
Tricolored Heron
2 large rails - appeared to be Clapper
Northern Harrier
and a Short-eared Owl - flushed right in front of me.  Tremendous look

The Inlet itself had an imm. Great Cormorant and at least one Purple Sandpiper

Gordon's Pond was nearly gull-less.  Then I found an American White Pelican casually feeding in that distinctive manner that white pelicans do.  The ducks (Gadwall, Am. Wigeon, Shoveler, Black, Mallard, GW Teal, Snow goose) were very distant and in bad light, so I could not pick out the eurasian wigeon.  However, while I had my scope on them I noticed some Boni's fly in.  One was huge - and with a lot of dark under the wings - Black-headed Gull - lifer!  I followed it in the scope until it eventually was directly in front of me.  It obliged by briefly resting on the water and scratching its head - just showing off those gorgeous red feet and bill.  As the sun was setting, a Merlin flew over - a great way to end the day.