Hi Everyone,

Matt Tillett and I headed west early this morning to look for specialty breeding birds and any lingering migrants. Although we didn't have a single obvious migrant all day, Matt brought along some excellent karma and many of the toughest-to-see birds were unusually confiding. We began the day soon after dawn at Dans Mountain State Park in western Allegany Co.

Here at elevation we found seven species of breeding warbler, the most noteworthy of which were two BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLERs, which here are at the eastern edge of their breeding range in Maryland. Other warblers were American Redstart (abundant), Louisiana Waterthrush, Ovenbird, Black-throated Green, Black-and-white, and Yellow. Rounding out the list of summering birds were Wood Thrush, Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, and Baltimore Oriole.

We then headed northwest to work the great habitat along Old Legislative Road. We ran into J. B. Churchill and enjoyed wandering the area with him, all of us keen on spotting Golden-winged Warblers and Henslow's Sparrows. Leaving our cars, we were immediately surrounded by the songs of WILLOW FLYCATCHERs and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWs, and soon other species were noted. Both BLACK-BILLED and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOs called in the distance, followed by our first COMMON RAVEN of the day. Not too far ahead we could hear our first HENSLOW'S SPARROW and we were pleased to spot it perched up. To our great surprise, it remained perched in plain view as we continued along the trail, eventually permitting photos. While we photographed the Henslow's, Matt and I heard a bird singing GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER song, but we never did track down this individual. We hiked a fairly large circuit, enjoying a nice collection of field birds and bonuses such as BROAD-WINGED HAWK. My day
 was really made when a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO called from a low, nearby tree that was quite infested with tent caterpillars. We hung out for several minutes enjoying a rare close-up study, eventually pulling off a couple photos. 

We moved further down Old Legislative Road at around 10:00 a.m. and hiked into more great Golden-winged Warbler habitat. As Matt snapped photos of the landscape to share with ABC, we heard a Golden-winged singing nearby, a beautiful bird who sang from a treetop for quite a while--yet another unexpected photo opp.

After parting ways with J.B., Matt and I continued west into Garrett Co. We spent a lot of time birding Russell Road looking for tough-in-the-county Blue Grosbeaks, but were unable to track one down. Birds we did find included WILD TURKEYs (9), AMERICAN KESTREL (1), COMMON RAVEN (2), PRAIRIE WARBLER (1), YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (3), GRASSHOPPER SPARROW (8). The woods at the northern end of the road held a number of singing HOODED WARBLERs.

After a short stop at Piney Reservoir, we made it to Finzel for Matt's first visit to the swamp. ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKs were singing from the parking lot, and within moments we began hearing the persistent calls of an ALDER FLYCATCHER. This individual was kind enough to favor the nearest snags during our stay, allowing us to snap coveted close-up photos. SWAMP SPARROWs were singing throughout the swamp, and both SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL announced their presence. An unexpected highlight was hearing a singing NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH as we walked back to our cars, always a special treat to encounter as a breeding bird.

We headed home via Terminus, North Branch, and Rocky Gap. These sites were a bit slow, with the most noteworthy bird being a DUNLIN at the PPG Ponds at North Branch. 

I've posted a set of photos at
http://www.billhubick.com/new_set.html

It looks like Matt was equally excited to get home and work on photos. His are up, too, at http://flickr.com/photos/mattyfioner/.

Good birding!

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland

http://www.billhubick.com