Hi Folks,

I decided to do some birding in northeastern Maryland yesterday (Sat., 
6/13), as I have not been there much this year.  Began in Harford County at 
the Lakeside business park, where Rick Cheicante had reported some 
interesting birds way back on 24 May.  Much to my surprise and delight, the 
first bird I saw there besides the scores of geese was a LEAST TERN 
(reported by Rick) working the big pond.  As I drove around the pond, a 
second such tern was seen, and the breeding-plumaged COMMON LOON (also 
reported by Rick) was found, but not always visible since it was actively 
diving.  As you drive into the park, the first building on the left has a 
couple of small ponds next to its parking lot.  I spent some time here on my 
way out, and was pleased to find singing BLUE GROSBEAK and WILLOW FLYCTCHER, 
along with a PILEATED WOODPECKER.  Pretty good for a business park right off 
of I-95.

I next visited Swan Harbor Farm where I ran into Dave Webb, who was just 
leaving after spending the night there trying to confirm, unsuccessfully, 
Sora as a nesting bird.  He told me he had found five Least Bitterns, which 
was encouraging news.  The first bird I heard as I approached the 
impoundments was a PIED-BILLED GREBE, obviously nesting here, and after 
doing some Bittern immitations I had two LEAST BITTERNs flush and fly in 
opposite directions, while a third one stayed tight and made a few calls 
from its location.  Also singing were at least four MARSH WRENs, a bird 
first found here, I believe, last year around the time of the MOS 
conference.

Next stop was Lapidum and Susquehanna State Park, where I saw nothing 
unusual on the river or in the park, but had a nice varety of nesting 
songbirds, including Yellow-throated Vireo (2), Warbling Vireo (1), N. 
Parula (2), Yellow-throated Warbler (1), Cerulean Warbler (2), Prothonotary 
(1), Am. Redstart (2), Ovenbird (2), Louisiana Waterthrush (4), Baltimore 
Oriole (2), and Orchard Oriole (1).  A short stop at Conowingo Dam had 
nothing notable.

Cecil County, for the amount of time invested there (eleven hours) was very 
disappointing.  I spent a couple hours scouring East and West Meadow Park in 
Elkton and other places along Big Elk Creek unsuccessfully looking for 
Prothonotary Warbler.  At the end of the day, I spent two hours at Elk Neck 
State Forest unsuccessfully looking for Whip-poor-will.  Could it have been 
the intermittent rain showers?  And I also drove around for a while looking 
for the Dickcissels near Sandy Bottom and New Cut.  No dice.  What saved the 
day, however, was at Bethel WMA late in the afternoon, where I walked the 
path from the parking area off of Telegraph Rd., and set up my scope at the 
first clearing in the vegetation.  Within seconds of beginning my scan of 
the reeds along the far side of the big pond I saw a COMMON MOORHEN swimming 
along the edge of the vegetation.  It soon disappeared only to be seen one 
more time bathing and preening.  I took the path all the way to the big 
rusty water control structure at the far end of the pond in hopes of getting 
better looks at the moorhen, but I never did refind it.

The only other notable birds in Cecil County were both found at the Triton 
Marina on Plum Point Rd. near Elkton, where a LEAST TERN was actively 
fishing, and a very late hen RING-NECKED DUCK was swimming around the boat 
slips.

Very early this morning (6/14) I visited Greenbury Point near Annapolis (AA 
Co.) for the fifth time this Spring.  I was looking for one particular bird 
which had been missed during my previous four visits; I finally got it 
today--a singing WILLOW FLYCATCHER.    All my other visits here had been 
afternoons after school, so it took a morning visit to finally catch the 
bird singing.  Still no Bobwhite, which seemed plentiful last year.

I haven't reported on any yard happenings here in Ferndale, northern AA Co. 
so far this month.  After the unexpected thrill of having a flyover 
Mississippi Kite on the last day of May, two days later on 6/2 Elaine and I 
had a common, but unexpected, new yard bird:  an ACADIAN FLYCATCHER.  We 
sure don't have the habitat for such a bird, but its presence may have been 
another indication of what a wet, wet, wet, wet season we are having. 
Interestingly, we had a Prothonotary Warbler last year, though it was a 
dryer year.  This is our first Spring empidonax flycatcher; the others in 
our yard have been only in the fall (Least Flycatcher and Yellow-bellied 
Flycatcher).  The Acadian is yard bird #142, and #100 for the current year.

Good birding, and hope you've enjoyed the sun today.

Stan Arnold
Ferndale (AA Co.)