Fall birding at Blue Mash

Not a bad morning at Blue Mash with lots of new arrivals and birds moving through. Highlight was a patch tick in the shape of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Warbler variety as has been this fall was rather low but still spectacular to see as many as 4 Black-throated Blue Warblers in one tree. Other warblers were Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green and Black and White Warbler. Sparrows clearly pushed into the area and I found Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow and even a single Lincoln's. What the heck is wrong with me that I just cannot sniff out a single Savannah Sparrow. An early Northern Harrier was in a tree by the fence line and a Broad-winged Hawk paid visit to the site, my second for the Mash. Plenty of Scarlet Tanagers around as well, I counted at least four of them. A quick spy across the pond yielded a high count of 12 Pec Sandpipers and the lingering Yellowlegs.

115 species for the year, 146 total.

Miscellaneous at Blue Mash

It's end of September - prime time for fall migration and high expectations. Migration was well under way and all in all a good day at Blue Mash with a decent variety of warblers as well as shorebirds. Before the fog began to lift, a substantial flock of warblers crossed my path and disappeared way to quickly for my taste. I was able to pick out several Magnolias, Black-throated Green and Black-throated Blue but had to kiss goodbye to several unidentified ones. Later I added Parula, Redstart and Western Palm Warbler to the list of neotropical migrants. Water levels on the pond are favorable now and shore bird numbers are on the rise: Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Pec Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs were probing the mud. A group of Teal made their arrival into winter territory. These will be interesting days for the pond if only I had more time to bird. A Great Egret let me come ridiculously close for pics. Zero new birds. I know we can do better than this...

Philly Vireo

I decided spontaneously to drop Blue Mash this weekend and try Meadowside instead, given its history to attract neotropical migrants, or rather considering the shit-poor fall I have had at Blue Mash so far. But no worries I will be back. I limited 90% of my birding to the Meadowside parking lot. Warblers were pretty thin with only Common Yellowthroat, Black and White, and Black-throated Green making an appearance. Nonetheless migration was obvious in the shape of Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, lots of Peewees and gobs of vireos. Best bird of the day was clearly a Philadelphia Vireo that I picked out high up in the trees. Fortunately I got some doc shots. This was my first Philadelphia Vireo for Maryland and also for Meadowside. The Meadowside list stands now at 137 species.

Common Nighthawk

This one's been avoiding me like the pest: Common Nighthawk, long overdue patch bird. I expected more in terms of warblers this morning. Only 5 species were seen Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Prairie Warbler, Magnolia Warbler and Chestnut-sided Warbler. Shorebirds were pretty thin in appearance since water levels are just too high at the moment: Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper and Killdeer were around.