Common Raven

Some of the common breeders like Tree Swallows, Yellow Warbler, White-eyed Vireo and Prairie Warblers are back on territory at Blue Mash now. Still a few lingerers like White-throated Sparrows and Green-winged Teal remain but will depart in the next couple of weeks. Plenty of stuff moving through at the moment, the highlights of the past two weeks being a Caspian Tern and Common Raven, the latter being patch bird #155. A very confiding Barred Owl did not seem bothered by my presence at all and allowed for close views. American Bitterns have been sighted by several observers in the last week but have eluded me thus far and seemed to have moved on quickly. What I need next week is a warbler fallout, it's probably not gonna happen.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Blue Mash Double

Blue Mash sure did not look or feel like anything you would expect for the end of march. A thin layer of snow covered the rain soaked ground and temperatures were pretty darn low. Not low enough for a freeze though, and both ponds were ice-free and provided perfect conditions for migrating waterfowl. Sure enough plenty of ducks were around; in particular Ring-necked Ducks were abundant and I counted a staggering 57 combining both ponds. An unexpected single Northern Shoveler was on the smaller of the two ponds, patch bird number 152. Number 151 was Wood Cock by the way that I scored Saturday of last week during an evening visit. Continuing with waterfowl from today though; other ducks included American Black Ducks, Mallard, Green-winged Teal and Hooded Mergansers. Another excellent bird came in the shape of a Eastern Meadowlark that was calling from across the fence, patch bird #153. Other spring arrivals included my FOY Eastern Phoebes, Tree Swallows and Wilson's Snipes. On my way home I stopped by the Agricultural History Park where I had two stunning Horned Larks and fly-over Pipits. The next few weeks will no doubt provide a lot of fun and new year birds.

Rough-legged Hawk

I remember almost exactly 4 years ago chasing and dipping on a Rough-legged Hawk at Blue Mash. Last week, after coming back from Puerto Rico word got out of another RLH at the Mash. After the bird was seen again on Saturday, I rushed out on Sunday morning to see it. It took a lot of patience before the bird showed up hunting in the distance over the landfill. Patch bird #150, one that was overdue.

Puerto Rico

A science conference in Puerto Rico provided a welcome escape from the Maryland freeze and ample opportunities to see some Puerto Rico endemics. Two birding trips took me to the El Yunque National Forest, the biggest rainforest on American territory and the Humacao Nature Reserve, a fantastic place on the coast with fresh-water lagoons. Below are some of the PR specialities (and not not so special birds) I got to see: Puerto Rican Flycatcher, PR Spindalis, PR Emerald, PR Tanager, PR Tody, Caribbean Coot, White-cheeked Pintail, Bananaquit, Loggerhead Kingbird, Grey Kingbird, Red-legged Thrush, Pearly-eyed Thrasher, Scaly-naped Pigeon, Monk Parakeet, Ruddy Duck, Common Moorhen, PR Woodpecker, White-winged Dove.

#149: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

After a painful month of work commitments I finally made it back to the Mash. Nice to see that water levels on the big pond are almost back to normal and we should see waterfowl making a comeback in the near-future. Today only Black Duck and Mallard graced me with their presence on the pond. Best bird of the day was undoubtedly a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, one of my winter nemesis birds. A single American Tree Sparrow also showed, let's see if they are going to be as numerous as last winter. Here are the stats: Total: 149 Year: 126

Creeper & Siskin

The Mash has been all about catching about with some of the more or less difficult winter birds needed for my patch list. Good thing I ran into Mike who helped with finding Pine Siskin and Brown Creeper, that I was after . Fox Sparrows are around in good numbers now and reliably found as are Purple Finches. Northern Harriers are easily seen over the landfill these days. Sharp-shinned Hawks are more difficult and this one appeared right out of the blue and then launched an attack on some titmouse. Total number of patch species now: 148.

Possible OCW

After a night out I went to the Mash this Sunday morning with only a couple of hours sleep in my bag so God only knows how many Tropical Kingbirds were around without getting noticed. Waterfowl is slowly arriving in good numbers although the low water levels surely do not help. Green-winged Teal, Mallard and Black Duck were on the large pond (puddle). Early on I picked up a female Purple Finch and shortly later the first of three White-crowned Sparrows. Bald Eagles are regularly seen over the maintenance yard this fall, let's hope they will stay to nest nearby this winter/spring. I only caught a short glimpse of what I am 90% sure was a Orange-crowned Warbler. Unfortunately the bird was on the other side of the fence so I was forced to stay at a distance, but the sharp bill and overall drab appearance of the bird would be in favor of OCW.

Year: 122 or 84%
Total: 146