-----Original Message-----
From: Wayne Bell [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 11:06 PM
To: Les Roslund
Subject: TALBOT BIRD CLUB AT CHINO FARMS

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On Sunday, 7 March, 18 cabin-fever suffering members and friends of 
the Talbot Bird Club joined leader Wayne Bell for an early spring 
trip to Bluestem (aka Chino) Farms in northern Queen Anne's 
County.  Bell also took the group to the Chestertown Waterfront and 
the town's wastewater treatment facility (WWTF).  He targeted 4 
special species to see and luck was in everyone's favor:  Common 
Merganser (2 males, 2 females at the Bluestem tidal pond); 
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1 very immature bird near the tidal pond, 
apparently one that had not learned even the species call); Northern 
Shrike (yep, the winter resident is still there, presenting itself 
for at least an hour on various perches overlooking the Grassland 
Restoration Project and sitting still long enough for Dave Palmer to 
get a couple of superb pictures that he has shared with us); and 
White-crowned Sparrow (just a couple in the scrub south of the 
Grassland Restoration Project, but good enough for us).  Everyone had 
great looks at these species through binoculars and spotting 
scopes.  Most of us also saw our first 2 Tree Swallows of spring, had 
superb views of a cooperative "Gray Ghost" Northern Harrier, and were 
pleased to see that many Eastern Bluebirds had survived this long and 
snowy winter.  Even so, the woods and fields remained rather quiet, 
hopefully just in anticipation of the return of species that had been 
pushed further South.

55 total species is not a high count for this time of year, but the 
number proved a curative for the most difficult case of cabin 
fever.  Here is the list:

GOOSE, Snow (large flock over farm N of US 301 S of Price)
GOOSE, Cackling (1, maybe 2 at the WWTF; Dave Palmer has provided a 
convincing photo)
GOOSE, Canada
SWAN, Tundra
DUCK, Wood
DUCK, American Black
MALLARD
SHOVELER, Northern (abundant at the WWTF)
DUCK, Ring-necked
SCAUP, Lesser (just 1 male at the WWTF)
MERGANSER, Common
DUCK, Ruddy
TURKEY, Wild (lek of 2 males and many females off Easton Parkway)
HERON, Great Blue
VULTURE, Black
VULTURE, Turkey
EAGLE, Bald
HARRIER, Northern
HAWK, Cooper's
HAWK, Red-tailed
GULL, Ring-billed
GULL, Herring
GULL, Great Black-backed
PIGEON, Rock
DOVE, Mourning
WOODPECKER, Red-bellied
SAPSUCKER, Yellow-bellied
WOODPECKER, Downy
FLICKER, Northern
SHRIKE, Northern
JAY, Blue
CROW, American
CROW, Fish
LARK, Horned
SWALLOW, Tree
CHICKADEE, Carolina
TITMOUSE, Tufted
WREN, Carolina
BLUEBIRD, Eastern
ROBIN, American
MOCKINGBIRD, Northern
STARLING, European
WARBLER, Yellow-rumped
TOWHEE, Eastern
SPARROW, Song
SPARROW, White-throated
SPARROW, White-crowned
JUNCO, Dark-eyed
CARDINAL, Northern
BLACKBIRD, Red-winged
GRACKLE, Common
COWBIRD, Brown-headed
FINCH, House
GOLDFINCH, American
SPARROW, House

Respectfully submitted by Wayne Bell


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