Important Field Trip Pointers
Code of Birding Ethics 

Highlights: Georgetown Reservoir disappointed again this year, with not a single duck and very few gulls when we gathered at 8 a.m. The pond at Constitution Gardens was however quite rewarding, with an unexpected drake Red-Breasted Merganser in with Ring-necked Ducks and a male Wood Duck snoozing with Mallards. A perched Red-tailed Hawk near the Tidal Basin gave some excellent digiscoping opportunities. Hains Point was pretty quiet – apart from a friendly but noisy group of sports car drivers – but did give us a close view of 3 and a distant view of hundreds of Lesser Scaup, and of a sub-adult Bald Eagle overhead. There were a dozen Black-crowned Night-herons at the roost in the Washington Channel, more than in recent years. Our next port of call was the LBJ Memorial Grove on the D.C. side of the Boundary Channel by the Pentagon, which once again gave us some excellent birds, including a male Pine Warbler, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Hermit Thrush and numerous Golden-crowned Kinglets. The trip ended with a stop at Roaches Run near National Airport, where for the second year in a row we found a nice flock, some 40 in all, of Hooded Mergansers.

RESULTS:  Weather: In the 30’s, but the forecast rain magically held off until dusk, cloudy skies turned sunny and the wind was gentle – delightful conditions for a winter field trip.  Species count: 60
 
Highlights: 3 Grebe species, with a few Horned, 1 Pied-billed, and a quite rare Eared Grebe off 33^rd St. in Ocean City. Common and Red-throated Loons gave us very good looks. 7 Great Cormorants were at Indian River Inlet (highest number the leader has ever seen there), and we had terrific, close views of soaring and diving adult Northern Gannets at the O.C. Inlet. Our 20 species of waterfowl included mind-blowing views of a huge and noisy Snow Goose flock at Fenwick Island (at least 5000 birds), a mass of Canvasbacks at the West O.C. Pond, and about a dozen Redheads in with puddle ducks at the Bayside Development Pond, a new site for most of us. There were easily seen Long-tailed Ducks several places. Winter is not generally a great season for shorebirds, but we clocked 8 species, with the least expected being 3 (Western) Willets at the Eagles Nest Campground; the most roundly applauded were the more than 20 gorgeous American Oystercatchers just off Hooper’s Restaurant by the Route 50 bridge. Purple Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones were amazingly tame and approachable at the O.C. Inlet. Bonaparte’s Gulls showed well at several locations and we had a single Forster’s Tern. This trip is not designed to garner lots of land birds, but some sharp-eyed participants spied a nice Brown Creeper at the Eagles Nest Golf Club, and a Pileated Woodpecker was a most unexpected flyover near the bridge to Assateague Island. The day ended with a slight disappointment when we missed Short-eared Owl in the rain at Broadkill Beach Rd., and had to be content with two Wilson’s Snipe instead.

January 21 (Wednesday), 7:30 p.m. “The Colorado Chicken Run of 2007.” Sally Wechsler. Prairie-Chickens and their grouse relatives are the stars of Sally’s fascinating movie from her two-week trip through Colorado.

RESULTS: We met along the Cambridge waterfront at the end of High Street. The first thing everybody did is put three extra layers on once they were out of their cars. The temp was barely thirty degrees and was accompanied with 15-20 mile winds throughout the day. One new right away that land birds would be far and few between. We signed in so that we could walk out on the marina docks and catwalks. Shortly after we headed out on the docks we found the male Tufted Duck. It was very cooperative and allowed great scope views by all. Most of the time it was in the vicinity of Lesser Scaup which made for some nice comparisons. Shortly after that we also found the female Barrow’s Goldeneye which was less patient with us; however, most people in the group had good views of it before it disappeared under the docks from our view. We visited several other locations along the waterfront. Some of the other waterfowl species that we saw included American Wigeon (but no Eurasian), Canvasback, Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Long-tailed Duck and Bufflehead. After a quick vote we decided to backtrack into Talbot County and headed to the town of Oxford and searched for the Snowy Owl that had been reported there. Our attempt was futile and after closein views of a Long-tailed Duck we headed towards Blackwater NWR. There was a flock of 15-20 Chipping Sparrows at the intersection of Egypt Road and Key Wallace Drive. We then headed for the visitor’s center where we found two white-crowned Sparrows under a feeder and it was here that we had our only E. Meadowlark. The beginning of the wildlife loop was still closed due to construction. We entered one of the woodland trails and quickly turned around after not seeing any birds and hearing only the wind. Birds of note along the wildlife loop included 12 A. White Pelicans, a pair of N. Pintail awasnd a very distant flock of Snow Geese on the Blackwater River. We left the Refuge and drove down to Hooper’s Island. Near the causeway we found sanderlings along a sandy- edged area. We saw one Horned Grebe and several very distant Common Loons. We pulled over onto Creighton Lane and found a raft of ducks. Upon closer examination we were looking at a conservative estimate of 900 Redheads. Mixed in the flock were small numbers of Canvasback, A. Wigeon and Gadwall. In the distance were quite a few Tundra Swans (approx. 500). Our last stop of the day was Cedar Creek Road. The woodland areas remained quiet. A Brown-headed Nuthatch was heard by a few and we had a single flyover Yellow-rumped Warbler. When was the last time anybody had only one Y-R warbler in Dorchester County at this time of year? We reached the end of the road, parked and scattered about walking the roads and scanning the marsh. We saw a total of 3 American Bittern (and had a 4^th one earlier before reaching Cedar Creek Road). One of the bitterns pulled down into the marsh grass so that only the end of its bill could be seen. As we were watching this the bittern came to full attention with its bill pointed skyward as two Short-eared owls exploded up from a roosting position in the marsh within several feet of the bittern. The owls put on a delightful but very quick show before dropping back into the grass. We did not realize it at the time but this would be our only view of the owls. We waited until just past dusk for them to reappear and begin hunting but we never saw them again. After putting up with horrible winds and a bitter cold day we decide to call it quits. Total species: 67

February 13 to 16 (Friday to Monday): Great Backyard Bird Count. Anyone can take part, from novice bird watchers to experts, by counting birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and reporting their sightings online at www.birdcount.org. Additional online resources include tips to help identify birds, a photo gallery, and special materials for educators.

RESULTS:  13 participants plus leaders. Temperature: 28-40F but the breeze made it seem colder. Visited: Lilypons Water Gardens, Oland Road, Bishop Clagett Center. As the group gathered at the Monocacy River Bridge, a Bald Eagle perched up for good views. A rather cold wind kept field bird activity down along Oland Road, and we were lucky to have a couple of Horned Larks fly in almost in front of the group for close views and photos. Landbird activity was also low at Lilypons although a good number of waterfowl were tallied, including Hooded Merganser, Black Duck, Wood Duck and Pintail. We flushed a Wilson’s Snipe that did a nice fly-by. Other birds of note included a pair of Killdeer and a Phoebe near the white house. Sparrow numbers were low and we only saw three species (Song, Swamp and White-throated), the Fields and White-crowns seen by the leaders while scouting Friday (in even windier weather) eluded us! Everyone valiantly walked for about two hours (although we covered barely 1/3 of this huge area) before deciding that we needed to find a birdier place. En route to the Clagett Center, 20 Tundra Swans graced a field along Route 85. At the Center, good views finally of White-crowned Sparrows, about 20 in total in two locations, plus a few other species for the list. A strange list indeed, Pileated but no Downy Woodpecker, and NO Starlings! (45 spp.)

FEBRUARY 22 (Sunday) LOIS Y. GREEN CONSERVATION PARK. Half Day. Explore the varied habitats of this new 204-acre Montgomery County park. Wintering songbirds/sparrows, woodpeckers, raptors, and waterfowl possible. Meet 7:30 a.m. at parking lot on Snouffer School Rd, Gaithersburg. Reservations required. For detailed directions and reservations call LEADER: Mark England, 240-252-4218 (home) or 240-375-4500 (cell).

RESULTS: Participants:  9 plus leader, Weather:  Overcast with some snow flurries, a constant 37 degrees.

Although the birding was slow (26 species), everyone liked this new Montgomery County park. Seven people were seeing it for the first time.  We had hoped for a good sparrow day, but saw only Field, White-throated, and Song, though Janice Brose and Brad Beukema had good looks at a Fox Sparrow as well.  We also saw a Red-shouldered Hawk, Hermit Thrush, a Killdeer, and a Great Blue Heron.  The two large ponds held small flocks of Hooded Mergansers and Ring-necked Ducks, with great scope views.  A probably female Greater Scaup was the most unusual bird.  New MBC member Jim Moore correctly questioned the leader’s premature i.d. of Lesser Scaup, usually the default inland scaup.  Taking a second look, all agreed that the smoothly-rounded head shape did not fit a Lesser Scaup.

February 28  (Saturday). CHARLES COUNTY*. Half day trip with Gwen Brewer and George Jett.  Locations to be determined based on the waterfowl or winter bird concentrations.   Some walking may be required.  Dress for the weather and bring food and drinks.  Scopes would be useful.  Limit 12.  For reservation and directions e-mail CO-LEADERS: George Jett and Gwen Brewer gmjett@comcast.net