With the girls gone, I have been spending non-work hours birding. At this time of year, the shorebird migration has started, so I managed to pick up Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plover and Semipalmated Sandpiper at Swan Creek on a couple of morning runs.
A 4am start Saturday got me to Finzel Swamp in Western Maryland by 630 to see the birds while they were still active. The Appalchian corner of MD has just enough altitude to see a whole set of breeding species for whom the rest of the rest of MD would just be somewhere to pass through in May. I managed (with TC's help) to pick up four warblers, Purple Finch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Broad-winged Hawk and Henslow's Sparrow for new year birds in a day, along with spending a good amount of time failing to see life Alder Flycatcher, Black-billed Cuckoo and Upland Sandpiper.
The latter two are possible closer to home, so I set out this morning to look for them, again without luck, but someone had posted a juvenile Tricolored Heron in the area and I did manage to catch up with that. I am looking forward to a bird-free evening with my feet up.
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