End of year - tally

2013 is coming to an end. Blue Mash received most of my birding time this year, although way less than what I wanted to invest. The best phase was clearly fall migration with decent warbler numbers moving through and water levels low enough to attract a variety of shorebirds. Altogether 128 species were seen. Highlights were probably White-rumped Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper and a good number of Cliff Swallows in summer. Equipped with a brand-new 400mm the lens the new-year's resolution clearly is to get back into the blogging mode. Happy new year! Below snap-shots of some photogenic birds.

Blue Mash: Stilt Sandpiper

9/2/13

Shorebird assortment at Blue Mash included this uncommon Stilt Sandpiper.

Spring, but still bloody freezing

After a 3-week sabbatical, I made it finally back to Blue Mash. Three species were added to the year list: Killdeer, Tree Swallow and E. Phoebe. Total year tally now 48. Unfortunately, water levels are too high to attract any waders at the moment. The next couple of weeks should bring in some good stuff nonetheless.

New patch ducks

Last weekend, I enjoyed some splendid feeder birding from within the cozy warmth of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithica. We were treated to about 50 or so Common Redpoll and 1 Hoary Redpoll. Great stuff! Back on the patch here though! A morning's outing to Blue Mash produced a couple of new patch birds in the form of House Sparrow, Winter Wren and Gadwall. Only 38 species for the year, so far, it can only get better. A swing-by to Lake Frank produced 2! new Meadowside patch birds (I lump these two together due to proximity) in the form of 1 Lesser Scaup and 3 Common Merganser. The total for Meadowside (life) is now at 134. Mighty fine!

After the snow

It's always somewhat amusing to me seeing the headlines prior and during a snow forecast around here. 'Snowstorm' moving in! Telephone poles toppling, schools closing, government closing early etc.
In Europe a day like today would go down as a 'powdering of snow' when everyone just got on with their bloody lives. Anyway there will be plenty of time to talk about the weather in my life, so I'd rather make this about the birds. Blue Mash first: pretty quiet but we still added 6 new year species. At the pull-over of the north side of Lake Needwood I was greeted to the honking call of 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches that all showed nicely. Down at the edge of the Lake I encountered a Swamp Sparrow which are unusual at this time of the year. From afar I could see a large number of Canadas close to the open water surrounded by ice. I did not take an accurate count but would estimate that around 400 birds were on the lake. The thought of Cackling Geese among them crossed my mind but I could not find any. However when I swung around to the other side of the lake I had a small group of candidate Cacklers. See below in the photographs. Any other opinions are welcome. Also pleasant was finding a female Canvasback, a duck that evaded me last year. So good start to the year.

In all of the above are some of the Cackling Geese that were on Lake Needwood today.

Three pics above show the female Canvasback

One of the 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches at Lake Needwood this morning

1st patching in 2013

As the cold is moving into the country, most of Montgomery county's water bodies are still only partially frozen over and therefore provide retreats for waterfowl. A couple of stops today produced a Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck and Mallard at Blue Mash, Greater Scaup and Hooded Merganser at the Zion Road pond, Ring-necked Ducks, Hoodies and Mallard at Lake Needwood and diddley-squat on Lake Frank (not counting Canada Geese). Also nice, 2 Northern Harriers over the landfill. Total species number for Blue Mash 29. Way to go.

Crummy shots of Greater Scaup @ Zion Road pond

2012 Round-up

Well, that was it, 2012. Honestly, it probably was the best birding year I had. Not because of the number of species I saw or the rarities that were discovered - neither of which were exceptional. But simply because I was able to put a good amount of birding into my schedule. Having a good patch like Meadowside around the corner, makes it fun - less time is spent in the car and more in the field. That was truly the greatness of the 'patching' experience. So in the end we finished on 128 species for the year, pretty decent despite some truly 'awful' misses. And overall, Meadowside stands now at 132 species. As we head into the new year, I feel it's time to spice it up a little and prioritize Blue Mash as my number 1 patch in 2013. Although it is just a little farther and may not provide as many woodland species in the daily total, in my opinion, it will just hold a few more surprises than Meadowside has managed. Well, then good birding in 2013 to everyone.