My brother Mike and I birded Garrett and Allegany Counties yesterday. The unseasonably hot weather wasn't so hot in the mountains which made for almost perfect birding temperatures. The wind was also pretty high and from the SW, which we thought might make for a good raptor flight, but that didn't pan out.

Highlights:

Finzel Swamp:
Ruffed Grouse - 2
Dark-eyed Junco - 6 (my 20th closeout)

Little Meadows Lake:
Hooded Merganser - 11

Rt. 219 Ponds:
Bufflehead - 4 (my 21st closeout)

Old Morgantown Rd W:
Vesper Sparrow - 1, on a fence wire on the south side of the road. A nice spot by Mike.
Fox Squirrel - 1

Youghiogheny Res.--Old Morgantown Road
Louisiana Waterthrush - 1
Carolina Wren - 1 (my 22nd closeout)
RED SQUIRREL - 1, mammal lifer for both of us. I have no idea how rare it is (probably common), but it was one we've talked about often. 

Deep Creek Lake:
Lesser Scaup - 11
American Coot - 1
Common Loon - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1

Broadford Lake:
Red-breasted Merganser - 13
Ruddy Duck - 5
Osprey - 1
Bonaparte's Gull - 40
Ring-billed Gull - 4 (my 23rd closeout)

Jennings Randolph Lake--Mount Zion Road:
Red-breasted Merganser - 17

Dan's Rock (50 min hawk watch):
Black Vulture - 2
Turkey Vulture - 14
Broad-winged Hawk - 1, our earliest record by 12 days!
Common Raven - 1

C&O Canal--North Branch:
Wood Duck - 2
Green-winged Teal - 1
Killdeer - 10
Northern Mockingbird - 1

Rocky Gap State Park:
Ring-necked Duck - 1
Red-breasted Merganser - 7
Common Loon - 1
Bonaparte's Gull - 21
Fish Crow - 2

Sedgwick Way, Hagerstown
Loggerhead Shrike - 0, we only looked for 15 min before it got dark

On the ride home, we were trying to figure out what our best bird was from the day - a great way to make you feel like you don't know anything, especially if you don't have an obvious choice. Fun though. Was it Fish Crow at Rocky Gap? Or was it Broad-winged Hawk on April 7th? A count of 40 Bonaparte's Gulls at Broadford Lake? Something else?

Robert Ostrowski
Crofton, MD