Eastern Shore

A wonderful day of Eastern Shore birding finally came round yesterday.  After a week of checking on the Hudsonian Godwit and the disasterous news that it wasn't seen Thursday, we still decided to start at Pickering Creek and after a look at the first platform (Lesser Yellowlegs and Blue-winged Teal), we were rewarded with the HUDSONIAN GODWIT showing well at the second platform.  Thanks to Tim Carney for tips on where to go when we got to the car park. A lifer for me (and my mum, ACE, who is visiting). There wasn't much activity on the walk back, with just one Magnolia Warbler signalling any migration.

From there, we pushed on to Shiloh, and after finding a pocket of lots of Killdeer and Pectoral Sandpipers (ACE lifer), we found some scopeable American Golden-plovers (lifer both) and while looking at them my mum found three Buff-breasted Sandpipers (lifer both).  3 for 3 on target birds, by about 10 am!  I suggested we call it a day and head home for lunch.

We ditched that plan and headed down to Princess Anne for the wonderful hospitality and hummer show. Thanks so much Kathy!  I am inspired to get more feeders myself for next year. Rufous Hummingbird also a lifer for both (although this might be an ebird anomoly for me - I thought I'd seen one in LA). 4 for 4.

From there, we didn't really have a plan or an agenda. We headed to Truitts Landing.  It was high tide, but I wonder if that helped keep things off the floor - there were reasonable numbers of sparrows flying (read, occasional, but not too frustrating) and we were rewarded with Seaside and Saltmarsh Sparrows (ACE lifers) showing in the same clump.  We didn't see Brown-headed Nuthatch, for our first miss of the day.  From there, we went to Figgs Landing where the pond had Short-billed Dowitcher (ACE lifer), then to Public Landing where there was an impressive gathering of Laughing Gulls, and three Semipalmated Plovers (ACE lifer) on the car park. From there, we braved the motorcycle weekend at Ocean City and had a go at Skimmer. We missed out on Skimmers, but up to 8 Marbled Godwits made up for it. Also Oycs and SAnderling in good numbers.

This was my first trip out to the MD shore this year, so I got a bunch of MD year birds... hopefully I'll get back out there in November for the rest.

All in all a good day.

Richard (and Anne) Edden

Owings Mills (and Grayshott)