Vol. 41. No 4 The Maryland Yellowthroat November 2021 This beautiful portrait of a pair of Gadwalls, painted by MOS member Diane Ford, was awarded first place in the 2021 California duck stamp competition. MOS proudly celebrates her achievement, which you can read about on page 8. Who knew Gadwalls could look so good? In this Issue President's Corner Page 3 Hog Island Scholarship Announcement Page 4 by Anna Urciolo The MOS Awards Program Page 5 by Joy Aso YMOS News - Fall, 2021 Page 5 by George Radcliffe MBCP Update Page 5 by Chris Eberly Northern Saw-whet Owls Page 6 in Maryland? by Melissa Boyle Acuti Maryland Birds Through Time Page 7 by Dave Ziolkowski MOS member Diane Ford Wins 2021 Page 8 California Duck Stamp Contest Spotlight on Caroline W. Wilson MOS Page 10 Sanctuary by Melissa Hensel and Marcia Watson Eyes on the Skies and on the Ground Page 14 by Emily Cohen, Ph.D and Claire Nemes Research Collaboration to Determine Page 16 Success of Collision Birds by Lindsay Jacks and Kathleen Woods Lights Out Towson Universitiy's Advocacy Page 18 for our Migratory Birds' Habitat by Isabelle Pardew Chapter Chatter Page 19 by Jean Wheeler NOVEMBER &, 2021 The Maryland Yellowthroat Publication of the Maryland Ornithological Society Editor: Dave Wood Copy Editor: Susan Pardew Yellowthroat@mdbirds.org Calendar Editor: Marilyn Veek Chapter Chatter: Jean Wheeler calendar@madbirds.org jswheeler3@verizon.net Mailing List: Maryanne Dolan Webmaster: Tom Strikwerda maryanne.dolan@gmail.com webmaster@mdbirds.org Editor's Note This issue, as you can see on our front cover, highlights a loyal member of the Montgomery County MOS chapter, Diane Ford, who has recently won the 2021 California duck stamp contest. Our interview with Diane can be found on page 8. Of course, we also continue our tradition featuring splendid photographs, this time by, among others, Larry Zoller and Mike Walsh, from their respective trips overseas, and Carol Swan from the Chesapeake Bay. See the accompanying accounts in Chapter Chatter, which, naturally, also includes many other inspiring reports. We are also fortunate to include another account of scientific research currently going on in Maryland, with Dr. Emily Cohen and graduate student Claire Nemes, from the Center of Environmental Science at the University of Maryland, sharing some insights gathered from their work unraveling the mysteries of bird migration. And, speaking of bird migration, we requested Melissa Boyle Acuti, Chief of Interpretation for the Maryland Park Service, to tell us about her work tracking the movement of Saw-whet Owls in the state. She graciously accepted, so her second article for the Yelowthroat may be located on page 6. (Her first article describing the Create Your Own State Park program appeared in the August Yellowthroat). Lindsay Jacks and Kathleen Woods describe another fascinating research project that Lights Out Baltimore is undertaking in coordination with the Phoenix Wildlife Center, Lights Out Cleveland, and the Fatal Light Awareness Program. They are trying to determine the actual survival rates of birds that have struck windows, been rehabilitated, and been released. Also on the bird rescue front, we are heartened to learn from Isabelle Pardew about the students at Towson State University who are working hard to reduce bird/window collisions on the campus and rescuing those birds that have survived such encounters. It would be nice if students and staff in other institutions of higher learning would invest as much commitment and energy as these Towson students to similar programs. Once again, we are grateful to two stalwart MOS members who have contributed the latest in their respective series of articles. Marcia Watson adds to her Spotlight on MOS Sanctuary series with a description of the Caroline W. Wilson Sanctuary in Garrett County; her accounts, alone, suggest it might be a good idea to keep past issues of the Yellowthroat handy for timely directions and advice when we set out to explore these places. Meanwhile, Dave Ziolkowski of the U.S. Geological Survey gives us his second installment in his Maryland Birds Through Time series. We know times are changing, but how, exactly? Dave can clue us in. Rounding out the issue, as we always hope to do, is a sampling of updates and announcements. We learn the latest about the MOS Youth program, the Hog Island Scholarship Fund., the MOS Awards program, and the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership. And, we let you know on page 4 about two exciting MOS volunteer opportunities. They look like stimulating ways to contribute to a vibrant and active organization. One obviously made up of members with many diverse talents. Erratum The photographers on page 27 in the print edition of the August, 2021 Yellowthroat were misidentified. The Mississippi Kite photo was taken by Heather Mcsharry, and the Black-billed Cuckoo, Canada Warbler, and Blackburnian Warbler photos were taken by Michael Saylor 2 MDBIRDS.ORG President’s Corner At the end of June, | had high hopes of MOS being able to return to normal life after the COVID lockdowns. Effective vaccines had been developed and deployed, and caseloads were dropping everywhere. We were planning to have the September MOS Board meeting in Cumberland as a hybrid in-person/virtual meeting. But then the Delta variant ran amok, and we've had to pull back on the return to normal. The September Board meeting was once again strictly virtual, and local chapters are still having virtual meetings. Even the work weekend at Irish Grove sanctuary will be affected, since the usual practice of gathering in the dining room for a celebratory dinner after a day of hard work is not appropriate, even for vaccinated people, with the advent of the Delta variant. The uncertainty around the future course of the pandemic makes planning very difficult. As a famous physicist once noted, “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future!” Prediction has proven to be especially difficult with regards to COVID, but there are decisions that need to be made six or more months into the future. One such decision is whether to hold the MOS Convention in person next May, for the first time in three years. Last June, | was confident that we could do so, but now | am not so sure. Unfortunately, many of the best parts of the convention involve gathering together with fellow birders from across the state to catch up and to talk about birding, but the very act of gathering together ina close-packed room for dining or just conversation is inappropriate, given the very high transmissibility of the Delta variant. Furthermore, while | am confident that MOS members are a highly vaccinated group and that the vaccination greatly reduces the chance of serious illness or death from COVID, the fact remains that even with vaccination it is possible to get infected with COVID and to then infect others. Fortunately, the most important aspect of the convention can be held safely: field trips take place outdoors! The convention committee is meeting now (in late October, as | write this) to sort through the various possibilities. | really want to go to the convention and spend time with my birding friends from across the state! But, as I've noted a number of times in previous President's Corners, COVID has forced us to improve our operations and bring them into the 21st century. | was reminded of that at a recent Sanctuary Committee meeting that was virtual. The Sanctuary Committee had not met for over a year, because there was no chair of the committee and so no leader of the committee. The previous chair, Dominic Nucifora, had to step back a couple of years ago because of lack of time. Wayne Gordon, who volunteered to take over the chair of the committee late last year, has had to step back because of family health issues. As a result, | have had to take over as short-term provisional temporary interim chair of the committee (a position shared with Marcia Watson). During the meeting it was noted that we had committee members on the call from the far western edge of Maryland (Alleghany County), the eastern shore of Maryland (Talbot County), as well as counties in the central region of Maryland (Howard, Prince George's, Baltimore, Anne Arundel Counties). Being able to hold the meeting virtually allowed all of these committee members to join in the discussions, without having to drive for several hours to get to an in-person meeting. The advent of the virtual meeting has greatly improved our communications ability, and greatly improves the exchange of ideas from one end of the state to the other! And also important, the carbon footprint of the meeting is much reduced. Once again, the chair of the Sanctuary Committee is vacant. MOS is a volunteer organization, and our ability to operate is entirely dependent on our volunteers. Finding suitable willing volunteers has always been challenging. One part of the challenge is simply communicating to the members of MOS that there are open positions available for volunteers. If you don’t know about the opportunities, you can't explore them to find out more! To address the communication challenge, we are starting up a new feature in this issue of the Yellowthroat that will list the opening volunteer positions along with a brief discussion of what the job entails and a person to contact if interested. This issue lists not only the Sanctuary Chair as being vacant, but also the chair of the Conservation Committee. Kurt Schwarz has given MOS a dynamic voice for conservation as the chair of the Conservation Committee, but after more than a decade is ready to step back, effective next September 1st. As | mentioned in the last issue of the Yellowthroat, we will be sending out a survey later this month to a random subset of MOS members, asking for your opinions about what you think MOS should be doing for you and for the birds that you love to watch. If you are asked to participate, please take the time to fill out the survey. The opinions that you provide will help MOS navigate forward into the 21st century. Finally, I'd like to end with a note about behavior. The recent appearance of a Kirtland’s Warbler at Swann Park in Baltimore City was remarkable, both for the unusual location and for the surprising occurrence, likely a first for Maryland Ornithological Society 3 the state of Maryland. For the most part, the birding community was respectful of the bird and stayed at a respectful distance, but there were several reports of bird photographers who were behaving poorly. Photographers with large lenses who were 15 feet from the bird got up and moved closer. Other photographers broke off branches to get a better view. Still others broke through bushes to get closer. Such behavior goes against all ethical guidelines, whether the birding ethics of the ABA or the code of ethics of the North American Nature Photography Association. Unfortunately, the various codes of ethics are just guidelines, leaving it up to us, as individuals, to follow them. Ethical birders can only encourage bad actors to behave, and we should do so, but carefully, calmly, and non-confrontationally. John Mckitterick john.mckitterick@madbirds.org President, MOS Volunteers Wanted! 1. Sanctuary Committee chair Duties include leading the Sanctuary Committee, setting the budget for the Sanctuary, organizing work days at Irish Grove and Carey Run, making sure that the maintenance of the sanctuaries is performed as needed, and communicating with he MOS Board of Directors and executive officers about sanctuary matters. ontact John MckKitterick at john.mckitterick@madbirds.org if interested. 1. Conservation Committee chair Duties include leading the Conservation Committee; monitoring legislation, regulation, and policies that affect birds and heir habitat; overseeing the writing of advocacy letters to county, state, and federal officials; advocating in person for bird onservation; maintaining close ties with coalition partners such as ABC and Audubon; and keeping the MOS membership p-to-date on conservation issues and alerting them to opportunities for advocating for conservation as individuals. ontact John MckKitterick at john.mckitterick@mdbirds.org if interested. Calling all teachers and naturalists involved with environmental education and conservation. The Maryland Ornithological Society (MOS) annually awards scholarships to the Audubon Hog Island Camp in Bremen, Maine, for people involved in these fields. Each award covers the cost of tuition, room, and board for an intensive course of study and instruction in ornithology, ecology, conservation, and natural history. Travel arrangements and costs are the responsibility of the recipient. The Audubon Hog Island workshops are known for their high level of instruction by top-notch educators such as Pete Dunne, Scott Weidensaul and Steve Kress in past years. Flyers will be sent to MOS chapter presidents, nature centers, environmental centers, and schools. Tentative dates for the workshops offered for the 2022 scholarships will be: Field Ornithology: June 19-24 Sharing Nature: an Educator's Week: July 17-22 Registration will be open for the camp on February 1, 2022 but applications for the MOS scholarships will be due in late 2021. Forms on the MOS website will be updated soon. For details regarding the application process, please check the MOS web site: https://mdbirds.org/education/ Anna Urciolo Scholarship Chair 4 MDBIRDS.ORG The MOS Awards Program by Joy Aso The Maryland Ornithological Society (MOS) is a volunteer organization, and the MOS Awards Program was created to recognize its volunteers for their time, hard work, and dedication to the organizations and its well-being. The MOS also recognizes non-members who have served the Society, hosted a bird, or done something for the betterment of the environment or for the birding community The requests for awards may come from the State organization and its Chapters. However, all awards need to be approved by the President or President-elect of the State organization or Chapter. Most of the awards we prepare are paper certificates, and there is no charge to the Chapters. However, if the award involves MOS mugs, walnut plaques, acrylic “sign holders,” picture frames and so forth, there is a charge to cover the cost of those items. The MOS has three primary award certificates: 1. The Valued Service Award: This is our formal certificate. It’s usually given to someone for outstanding sustained performance in some role or capacity. It has an embossed MOS gold seal in the lower middle center of the certificate. It is presented in an elegant dark-blue presentation folder with the MOS seal in gold on the front. The award is accompanied by a “Valued Service Award” lapel pin. 2. The Attagirl/Attaboy Award: A light-hearted certificate. Usually it is awarded for performance over a short period of time, and given to recognize hard work, perhaps at a new job, or for a specific task well done. It is usually (but not always) presented in an acrylic “sign holder.” 3. The Blood, Sweat and Tears Award: It’s a comical certificate, torn, stained, and wrinkled to symbolize someone who rolled-up their sleeves to tackle a hard, gritty, unglamorous job. It is usually (but not always) presented rolled-up in an MOS coffee mug, and tied with a strip of frayed bandana. Other types of awards that we prepare are Certificate of Appreciation, Conservationist of the Year, Distinguished Service Award, Friend of the Society, Bird of the Year, Rookie (birder) of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Feeder Champion, List of the Year, and so forth. We're happy to work with you to create an award that meets your specific needs. We also are willing to advise and assist if you are in need Maryland Ornithological Society of other types of awards such as trophies and plaques. Please contact Joy Aso at smudgie@comcast.net if you would like additional information or have questions. YMOS NEWS - Fall 2021 by George Radcliffe YMOS has resumed a full slate of trips this fall with trips to Bombay Hook, Patuxent Refuge, and Cape May. The group is planning another Photo Big Day in December to raise money for an environmental cause as they did last year, raising a considerable sum for Lights Out Baltimore. The group continues to grow in size, adding several remarkable younger students also. After two years of having the World Series of Birding go virtual, the students are excited about sending teams back to New Jersey next May 14. With YMOS also attracting students from other states (Delaware, Virginia, and New Jersey), our high school contingent is planning to join forces with students from New Jersey to form an elite team to cover the entire state for the event. We also will be sending elementary and middle school teams up to the event. The Birdathon, which we will hold March 19-20 of next year, will raise the needed funds to send teams to the event. MBCP Update Are there any Black Rails in Maryland? by Chris Eberly, Executive Director, Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership The Eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis) was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act on October 7, 2020. Conservation partnerships with diverse stakeholders and groups across the Eastern Black Rail’s range are central to better understanding and addressing these challenges. The Eastern Black Rail Working Group, led by the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture, is identifying stressors to habitat and supporting site-specific priority actions. One of four subspecies of Black Rail, the Eastern Black Rail is broadly distributed, living in salt and freshwater marshes in portions of the United States, Central America, and South America. Partially migratory, the eastern subspecies winters in the southern part of its breeding range. The Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership is partnering with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Maryland Department of Natural Resources to analyze audio files from ARUs (automated recording units) to identify the calls of the Eastern Black Rail and other species of interest. The ARUs were placed in wetlands this past spring and summer throughout Maryland. MBCP thanks the 10 volunteers who are each listening to about 24 hours of recordings for any indication of Eastern Black Rail presence in wetlands in Maryland's coastal plain. Chimney Swifts (Chaetura pelagica) are now on their way to non-breeding grounds in South America (or are already there) and will return to Maryland next spring. Now is the perfect time to build a Chimney Swift tower! Chimney Swifts have declined by 67% in the last 50 years! The decline of insects is one reason for the decline. A contributing factor is the loss of nesting habitat. “Nesting habitat” for swifts is primarily chimneys, and occasionally tree cavities. As older chimneys are capped or decay and new construction utilizes designs that prevent swifts from building nests in chimneys, increasing availability of nest sites is crucial. This includes educating home and business owners about the need for uncapped chimneys for swifts, as well as constructing Chimney Swift towers. Swift towers provide a wonderful opportunity for nest cams, which can provide a rare glimpse into the normally unseen nesting behavior of these charismatic “flying cigars.” For more information visit the MBCP Chimney Swift page. Believe it or not, the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nesting season will soon be upon us! If you have been a nest monitor in the past and have NOT yet created an account on NestStory, please contact us at eagles@marylandbirds.org. If you would like to register as a new nest monitor volunteer, please visit https://marylandbirds.org/nest-monitor-registration to see what's involved and instructions on how to register. PLEASE help us identify and document eagle nests in Maryland! If you find an eagle nest visit httos://mdeagle.neststory.org/public/ to see if we have the nest in our database. If you report a new nest, you have the priority to monitor this nest if you wish to do so. As a reminder, due to the ongoing uncertainties with COVID, we have decided to NOT hold the Maryland Bird Conservation Symposium in January 2022. We are optimistic that we will once again hold this one-of-a-kind event in 2023. - Northern Saw-whet Owls in Maryland? By Melissa Boyle Acuti You may have heard about "Rockefeller," the Northern Saw-whet Owl that was found in the New York City Christmas tree in 2020, and might have wondered if we have Northern Saw-whet Owls here in Maryland. We do, especially during certain times of the year! Saw-whet Owls have a wide range, being resident from southeastern Alaska across Canada to the Maritime provinces and the northeastern United States and south down the Appalachians and western mountain ranges to Mexico. A few spend their summers breeding in western Maryland. In the winter, some Saw-whets withdraw from the northern parts of their range, and so the number of owls in Maryland increases during the fall, winter, and spring. Thanks to Project Owlnet (http://www.projectowlnet.org/) there is a coordinated effort to learn more about Saw-whets in the state, especially during fall migration. Among the handful of bird banding stations across Maryland studying Saw-whet fall migration has been a Project Owlnet station, in operation since 2017, at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Maryland. (https://serc.si.edu/citizen-science/ projects/project-owlnet-0) This Saw-whet Owl banding station, like many others, is run mainly by volunteers and has been headed by Melissa Boyle Acuti while serving as a Visiting Scientist with the Citizen Science Program at SERC. The year 2020, with its COVID restrictions, brought new challenges (with no visitors or volunteers permitted on campus) but the owls still arrived right on schedule that fall! The station opened on October 18th, and the very first owl of the season arrived that same evening! Nets are open, and the lure plays from sunset to midnight, each night when the weather is good (no high winds or rain) for approximately five weeks each year from mid-October to about Thanksgiving. We run what is known as a "half night" station because some of us have day jobs to attend to! We collect weather data each evening we are open, and when an owl arrives in the nets, we carefully remove it, then put a small aluminum band on its leg, weigh the bird, and take wing measurements to determine if it is a male or female. We typically capture more females than males. We also look at the eye color, bill color, and fat on each bird. We try to accurately age each bird, using a black light to look at the underside of the flight feathers. New feathers contain the chemical, porphyrin, causing them to glow bright pink under the black light, while older feathers will not. During 2020, we had 29 total captures, including 3 local recaptures, one foreign recovery and a red Eastern Screech Owl! (a "foreign recovery” is a bird previously banded at one location that has been recaptured at another.) This foreign recovery, was originally banded as a hatch year bird in 2018 in Garrett County, Maryland. This was an exciting find, as migratory conditions in 2018 took this bird 6 MDBIRDS.ORG Northern Saw-whet Owls in Maryland continued from page 6 along the mountains, while in 2020 the bird chose to follow the coastline of the Chesapeake instead. This was the first time that we have "exchanged owls" with the Garrett County station! Project Owlnet is trying to learn more about their migrations and where they spend the winter. Although early indications made us think that 2020 might be an irruption year for Saw-whets, it ended up being more of an "average" year. The number we banded at SERC in 2020, however, was much higher than our previous year. It will be interesting to see what this fall (our Sth season at SERC!) brings...perhaps it will be an irruption year? (Research will be continuing at SERC in the fall of 2021; However, due to COVID -19 restrictions and concerns for health and safety, visitors will regrettably not be able to participate. Fingers are crossed that the volunteer program can resume in 2022!) Melissa Boyle Acuti, also known as "The Owl Lady,” studied Barn Owls as part of her undergraduate research at St. Mary's College of Maryland and then studied Saw-whet Owls as part of her Master's Project at Hood College. After graduating, Melissa has run Saw-whet banding stations at Point Lookout State Park and SERC. Melissa has now worked with Saw-whets for more than a decade, banding under the tutelage of Master Bander Dave Brinker. Melissa is currently the Chief of Interpretation for the Maryland Park Service, and volunteers to study owls during her free time. Maryland Birds through Time: Audubon’s nemesis bird and the challenge of interpreting change by Dave Ziolkowski Recently, while looking over a graph of Chestnut-sided Warbler trends from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), | was reminded of a cool, damp May morning llustration by in my teens, staring upwards into the Isabelle Pardew Old growth forest of the Belt Woods. From behind me, hard as nails and tougher than leather, here comes Chan Robbins, bounding through a thorny thicket of greenbriers, expressing great delight over the three Chestnut-sided Warblers dancing above me, holding my attention. We were on assignment to conduct standardized point counts that morning, much in the way that BBS participants do across our continent each summer. | seized the moment to ask Chan a question that | would end up asking him many times over in decades to come: “how common were they when you were young?" It intrigued me when Chan hesitated to answer - and it was only years later that | would come to well understand the reason why. As humans, we create baselines that we compare later events against to gauge when changes have occurred and by how much. We make these baselines by normalizing the birds we see around us when we first become aware of them. So, back on that May morning in Belt Woods, everything seemed normal to me, because my baseline understanding was based on the short half decade leading up to then. But Chan, on the other hand, had witnessed in his formative years how the American landscape recovered from the industrial revolution that had laid bare our forests some half century before. He had seen more early successional forest than generations before him had and not surprisingly, given their reliance on this kind of habitat, Chestnut-sided Warblers were at such high abundances that earlier ornithologists would have been astounded. John James Audubon, for example, had seen only 5 living Chestnut-sided Warblers in his lifetime, all on the same morning of May 1808 in Potts Grove, Pennsylvania. However, it’s much easier to convey that pithy anecdote of Audubon’s than it is to paint an accurate picture for a young birder about how a bird that’s common today had also been common yesterday, just a little more so. This Maryland Ornithological Society 7 Maryland Birds Through Time continued from page 7 kind of work requires care because a minefield of thinking errors, called “cognitive biases” (Google the term to see how impressive the list is), skew our perceptions of how time and change have unfolded, affecting both storyteller and listener alike. The story that Chan carefully relayed to me that day is the story also told in the BBS results: that numbers of Chestnut-sided Warblers in southern portions of their range and in the northeastern U.S. have declined in recent times. But this warbler’s story is complicated because there's also been growth and expansion in northwestern parts of its range, and even our own population here in Maryland and nearby Pennsylvania had experienced growth between the 80's and the early 2000's. How should we interpret these changes - are they good or bad? As the great Bard expressed through Hamlet, “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”... and our thinking can sure change a lot depending on what baseline we have in mind! MOS member Diane Ford Wins 2021 Callifornia Duck Stamp Art Contest! _ As we all know, MOS is fortunate to 7 } i include among its i] |; members a bevy of haa resourceful and i talented | photographers. Now we celebrate an artist in our midst. Diane Ford's painting of a pair of Gadwalls, which you see on the front m page of this issue of ~ the Yellowthroat s was the winner of the 2021 California Duck Stamp Art Contest. The July 30th news release of the California Department of Fish and Game, which sponsored the competition, announced Diane's achievement thusly: "The judges praised the realism of the painting, especially noting the anatomical accuracy of the birds’ head and bill. They appreciated that the features were not exaggerated yet still included fine detail, particularly in the texture and muted color of the feathers. The judges also appreciated how the subtle coloring extended beyond the birds into the background, with the addition of flawed, broken reeds evoking a mid-December mood, exactly as Ford envisioned. " An avid bird watcher and amateur naturalist since her early teens, Ford’s favorite time for wildlife viewing is in the winter when the waterfowl migrate south. “Last winter,” she said, “I found a mixed flock of waterfowl on a local lake that included Gadwalls. | waited for hours sitting very still watching with a spotting scope the birds preening, swimming, feeding and sleeping.” Finally, in the late afternoon light, she saw a drake and hen sitting together on the shore and knew she had found her inspiration. As for the detail praised by the judges, Ford said getting the color and pattern just right was a challenge she was eager to take on. “| have always been fond of the Gadwall duck as it is one of the hardest to render,” she said, adding that the drake's intricate plumage reminded her of 'snow ona black and white television.’ " In October, the Yellowthroat had the opportunity to interview Diane: YT: So why did you choose Gadwall? DF: Well, they are such a beautiful duck; they're one of my favorite waterfowl, and their plumage is so subtle. Probably, if you took a census of artists who paint waterfowl they would say Gadwalls are among the hardest to paint. The breast of the drake has that intricate vermiculation. The way the painting came about was | was at Gunner's Lake in Germantown on a real cold, late January day, and the lake had frozen over about three quarters. All the waterfowl had congregated on a small, open spot, and maybe half a dozen Gadwall were popping up on the ice. This drake and this hen just perched together on the edge of the ice near the bank, and the sun was going down, and the light was just gorgeous. | took a few reference photos and worked from them to get the composition from the painting. YT: So, how did you get interested in nature? DE: Well, I've been drawing since | was a kid, and | always had a pencil or a crayon in my hand. And,when | was in elementary school, | was always looking at books in the school library that had a lot of illustrations by wildlife artists, like Big Game of North America, and Birds of North America. | had checked out Birds of North America so many times from the library, that one day, when | walked in with the book, the lady at the library pushed it back to me and said “You've checked this out So many times you can keep the book.” 8 MDBIRDS.ORG | had the book for many years, but then | gave the book to a dear family friend who was getting interested in birds, and then | didn't have a copy for long. But, | found another at an MOS conference, and Chandler Robbins was there and signed my copy. | still have that to this day. YT: Where was this? Where did you grow up? DF: Actually I'm a Bethesda native. in high school, | took advanced placement art classes, where we had live models come in from time to time, and we would sketch them doing figurative sketching. | kind of enhanced my skill in the field watching birds and sketching them. Now, | do deer, raccoons, mink, opossums; whatever crawls or flies or slithers, it is pretty much going to be in my sketchbook. YT: -So you maintain an active sketchbook? DE: Oh yeah, I’ve actually, been keeping sketchbooks since 1982. One day, several years ago, for fun, | counted the sketchbooks | had at the time. | had 150 sketchbooks, so, with an average of four sketches a page, there probably are a total of over 30,000 sketches. | don’t know what it is now. YT: !! And, then did you have any formal art training after high school? DF: | took some art classes at Montgomery College but basically after that | went and became a working stiff. | had several jobs as a secretary, a receptionist, | just kind of did the art after work. I'd go out in the woods , I'd go to local parks and just sketch and draw. YT: So now | understand that your day job is lawn maintenance? And you do art on the side, then. So you're outdoors all the time! DF: | am outdoors all the time. You know, when | was just working in offices, | just looked around these four walls and said this is not for me. | need to be outside, and so when | got married, after raising our sons, | went back and started to curate my love for art and wildlife. I’m always bumping into neighbors who have a question about a hawk or an owl or a bird that flew into their window or an injured bird. If I'm available, I'll run animals over to Second Chance Wildlife Center in Gaithersburg. Wildlife rescue is very close to my heart. A lot of people are in offices, and maybe they go hiking on the weekend or something, but some have limited knowledge of wildlife and the outdoors, so | like every chance | get to give people a little bit of knowledge. YT: So, you took a couple of courses at Montgomery College, and then you were able to come up with that painting. It’s been an all-consuming interest, | guess, since you were a kid. DF: Yeah, it’s kind of a dream come true to win an art contest. It’s not without its frustrations. In the duck stamp world, it’s like you're a small fish in a big pond, and there's a lot of competition. It’s tough, you have got to really be on your game. Mostly, | work in acrylic, a latex-based paint. I've worked in watercolor, I've worked in oil, and _ I've worked in oils/ alkyds, Oils come in two different families: There are the traditional slow-drying oils, and then there are the alkyds of which | recently got a set a couple of years ago. I've also been working in pastels and charcoal.,. YT: So you could do a painting next in oil or in watercolor? DF: Yes, | do whatever comes into my head; it’s almost instinctive. I've done a painting where | airbrushed the background in acrylic, and then | painted the subject in oil. | did a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and | was really proud of it. it turned out really nice YT: So, what are you working on now? DF: Right now, I'm working on the Maryland Duck Stamp contest. | haven't won it yet, though I’ve placed as high as sixth. I've been in kind of a drought with that, so I’m hoping maybe something will come my way this fall. Fingers crossed! YT: Is the Federal duck stamp program connected with the state contests? DF: No, the state duck stamp contests are individual. Decades ago, there used to be dozens of them, but now | guess due to budget concerns, some of the states have curtailed their duck stamp programs, and some of them don't even issue them anymore. in fact I'm entered in the Oregon Duck Stamp contest, fingers crossed. Your art work is at the mercy of the judges, so you kind of always have your heart in your throat. YT: And, finally, the Gadwalls again. How did you maintain your patience looking at them for so long? DE: Well, | look at other birds too; | look at the Mallards, the Canvasbacks, the teal and all the ducks. Black Ducks are the toughest to sneak up on. They are just so wary. If they see even a smidgen of you, boom, they’re gone, and they're up in the air. | just think all the waterfowl are beautiful, and | just get so engrossed looking at the way the lighting changes on their feathers and just watching them preen and interacting with each other, and it's just enjoyable and peaceful. My mind just turns off from day-to-day life, and | just sit down and watch them. Maryland Ornithological Society 9 Spotlight on: Caroline W. Wilson MOS Sanctuary Garrett County By Melissa Hensel and Marcia Watson Note: This article is the second in a series spotlighting the ten sanctuaries owned by the Maryland Ornithological Society. The MOS sanctuaries are spread across the state from Garrett County to Somerset County, but the majority are little-known and seldom visited. Yet all the sanctuaries have something to offer the birder, naturalist, or conservationist. Size: Approximately 86 acres. Habitats: Bottomland forest, vegetated wetland/forested swamp, freshwater stream, some drier woods on higher pround, nearby grassy fields and cultivated areas. Elevation: 2,530 feet above sea level. Located in the Appalachian Plateau. Hours: Daylight hours year-round; no reservations needed. Tips: There is no hunting allowed on the sanctuary but there is hunting on adjoining private lands. Be aware of hunting seasons and plan your visit accordingly. | No restrooms. Wheelchair Access: The Sanctuary is not wheelchair accessible. Best Seasons: Fall and spring for migrants, early summer for breeding birds. May be inaccessible in winter. Breeding Bird Atlas Block: Deer Park CE Multimedia: Take an armchair tour of Caroline Wilson Sanctuary through a short YouTube video filmed by former MOS Sanctuary Committee Chair Dominic Nucifora; go to https://youtu.be/VnrZhCFv314. For maps and more information: Go to https://birdersguidemddc.org/site/caroline-w-wilson-mos-sanctuary/. Imagine strolling through a sunlight-dappled forest of hardwood trees in the floodplain valley of a meandering stream. Add to this a groundcover filled with interesting ferns and blooming native plants. Now add a soundscape that includes the gobbling of Wild Turkeys, the rush of wings from a flushing Ruffed Grouse, the staccato drumming of woodpeckers, and the songs and calls of warblers, vireos, and flycatchers. Not far away, you hear the screechy call of a Broad-winged Hawk. From overhead comes the quiet chattering of Chimney Swifts and Tree Swallows. That's Caroline W. Wilson MOS Sanctuary. MOS acquired this 86-acre property as a transfer from The Nature Conservancy in 1988. The Nature Conservancy, in turn, had received the land as a gift upon the death of Caroline W. Wilson, a member of a prominent local family that settled in Garrett County in the early 1800s. The family still owns land and historic buildings on the nearby Old Approach to the sanctuary, which lies on the left Wilson Road. past the bend in the railroad tracks. Photo by Melissa Hensel. 10 MDBIRDS.ORG Spotlight: Caroline W. Wilson MOS Sanctuary continued from page 10 It takes a bit of a spirit of adventure to visit the Caroline Wilson Sanctuary, in that it’s a little off the beaten path and there is no direct road frontage. Instead, one accesses the sanctuary by walking a short distance along railroad tracks and then down the railroad embankment into the bottomland occupied by the sanctuary. Karl Schwalm and Bill Carlson, who are members of the Allegany-Garrett Bird Club, help check on the Sanctuary and have placed a small stack of rocks as a marker identifying the best trail that goes down from the railroad tracks to the valley floor. The sanctuary protects a portion of the headwaters of the Little Youghiogheny River, the stream that flows through the middle of the sanctuary. Although called a river, it’s only 3 to 6 feet wide at this point. From the sanctuary, the Little Yough flows south and west toward the town of Oakland, where it joins the Youghiogheny River proper. The Youghiogheny River flows north into Pennsylvania, where it joins the Allegheny River. This entire watershed is thus part of the Mississippi River watershed, not the Chesapeake Bay system, an odd idea to many of us Marylanders whose focus is on the Chesapeake Bay. The sanctuary occupies a long, narrow parcel centered on the Little Yough, which flows from northeast to southwest, and there are many small unnamed streams running across the sanctuary into the Little Yough. There's a pac-man shaped notch on the east where the sanctuary boundary wraps around a private farm. The railroad tracks form the north and northwest boundary. See the trail map posted in the online Although most of the sanctuary is covered with a deciduous hardwood forest, in the very southmost corner is a dense stand of Northern Hemlocks. Another notable feature is a wetland that surrounds the Little Yough in the south portion of the sanctuary; the wetland occupies about 9 acres. There are healthy shrub and groundcover layers with good examples of native plans that are found in floodplain areas. The wetland area is replete with ferns. Little Youghiogheny River near the north end of the sanctuary, where it is a mere stream. Note the clarity of the water. Photo by Marcia Watson Once you descend down the embankment of the railroad tracks into the bottomland of the sanctuary, it's fairly easy walking on an old dirt road. The road roughly parallels the railroad tracks and runs the entire extent of the sanctuary. There are a few stream crossings (no bridges), but most are small with easy footing. One of the streams has steep banks, though. Waterproof footwear and a hiking staff are advisable. As you head south on the old road, you'll eventually arrive at the sanctuary boundary at a “No Trespassing” sign. The land beyond here is owned by the Deer Park Spring Water Company and leased to a local hunting club. Turn around and head back north.The sanctuary benefits from extensive woodlands located to the west and south, and from open agricultural lands to the east and north. These adjoining areas help to increase the diversity of birds using the sanctuary. Nearby places to bird include Broadford Lake Park, Cranesville Swamp Preserve, Cunningham Swamp Wildlife Management Area, Deep Creek Lake State Park, Herrington Manor State Park, Jennings Randolph Lake, Mt. Nebo Wildlife Management Area, Sang Run State Park/Freidns Delight, Swallow Falls State Park, and parts of the Potomac-Garrett State Forest and Savage River State Forest. Melissa Hensel (mjhensel29@gmail.com) of the Allegany-Garrett Bird Club is the Sanctuary Manager and can answer questions about the sanctuary. Accommodations and restaurants are available in Oakland, McHenry, or in towns along Route 68 such as Grantsville or Frostburg. From April to October, it is also possible for MOS members to stay at the house at the Carey Run MOS Sanctuary, also in Garrett County. See the Carey Run reservation instructions on the MOS website. Why visit? The eBird hotspot for Caroline W. Wilson MOS Sanctuary lists 86 species of birds as of this writing, but only 22 checklists have been submitted. With more visitation and submission of additional checklists, we can gain a more complete picture Maryland Ornithological Society 11 Spotlight: Caroline W. Wilson MOS Sanctuary continued from page 11 of the birds using the sanctuary, and we encourage you to visit and submit = your checklist to eBird at https://ebird.org/hotspot/L5853813. Visits and = data submission through the eBird Atlas portal would be especially valuable during the BBA3 Breeding Bird Atlas, which runs through 2024. i To date, the highest number of species on any one visit is 52, reported in 4 eBird by local birder Kyle Klotz on a July 1, 2020 trip for a Breeding Bird Atlas-3 survey. A field trip hosted by the Allegany and Garrett Counties Bird & Club in July of 2018 covered the length of the main trail and then walked f= south to spend time near the wetland, recording a total of 30 species. = # Notable bird species present in the sanctuary include Wood Duck; Wild Turkey; Ruffed Grouse; both Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos; , Ruby-throated Hummingbird; Broad-winged Hawk (likely breeds in the sanctuary or nearby); Red-Tailed Hawk; Red-bellied, Downy, Hairy, and : i Pileated Woodpeckers, and Northern Flicker; both Tree and Barn Swallows; Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian, Alder (might breed in the wetland), and Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe and Eastern Kingbird; all three vireos - Red-eyed, White-eyed, and Blue-headed; Common Raven; Black-capped Chickadee (not Carolina); Golden-crowned Kinglet; Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches; Brown Creeper; both House Main trail at Caroline Wilson. Photo by —_and Carolina Wrens (Winter Wren has not yet been reported from the Melissa Hensel sanctuary but is likely to occur); five species of thrushes - Eastern Bluebird, Veery, Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, and American Robin; Cedar Waxwing; Chipping, Song and Swamp Sparrows, Eastern Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco; Eastern Meadowlark (flyovers from nearby farms); Orchard and Baltimore Orioles; Scarlet Tanager; Rose-breasted Grosbeak; and Indigo Bunting. Among warblers, the following are likely or confirmed breeders at the sanctuary: Ovenbird, Black-and-white, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Yellow, and Chestnut-sided. In addition, Magnolia, Black-throated Green and Black-throated Blue Warblers have been reported at the sanctuary and are probable breeders within the Deer Park CE atlas block. So it is possible they breed at the sanctuary. Additional warblers that have been reported during migration include Worm-eating, Tennessee, Cape May, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, and Pine. From |-68/US Route 40, take Exit 14 and go south on MD Route 219/Garrett 3; £4 Highway for approximately 20 miles, passing through McHenry and passing Deep Creek Lake. Turn left to go south on Sand Flat Road for 4.4 miles. Turn left to go east on MD Route 135/Maryland Highway for 2.6 miles. Note that in 2.6 miles, Route 135 makes a sharp right turn; turn right to follow MD Route 135 to the south. In just 0.3 miles, bear right onto a: e. a es Altamont Tower Road, and drive south about 700 feet, pastanumber of | fia) Sega hed? small residences. Green False Hellebore (Veratrum viride), a Watch for a driveway on the right (west side of the road) at #174. This native plant found in seepage bogs and along driveway goes into a farm that abuts the MOS sanctuary. Turnright onto stream banks. Photo by Marcia Watson the driveway. In just 240 feet the farm driveway crosses the railroad tracks Park on the gravel at the railroad tracks, being sure not to block either the farm driveway or any railroad power boxes or other equipment. 12 MDBIRDS.ORG Spotlight: Caroline W. Wilson MOS Sanctuary continued from page 12 Needless to say: from this point on, observe extreme caution if a moving train is present. After parking, walk north along the railroad tracks to an obvious hairpin curve. The MOS sanctuary property starts here, on the left (south) side of the tracks, down a steep embankment. Note that the location of the Little Youghiogheny River, flowing underneath the tracks, is marked by white or yellow paint on the railroad ties, and the land to the left (west) is within the sanctuary boundaries. Continue past this paint mark and beyond the hairpin curve, now walking southwest on the railroad tracks. There are at least three foot-trails that go down the railroad embankment on the left side of the tracks, offering access into the sanctuary. The three trails down the embankment are progressively less steep. We recommend proceeding to the third trail for the easiest access to the sanctuary main trail. The approximate GPS coordinates for the third trail are 39.431033, -79.292672, and it is marked with a small stack of stones on the side of the railroad tracks. The sanctuary main trail runs northeast-southwest, roughly paralleling the railroad tracks and the Little Youghiogheny River. After descending the embankment and arriving at the main trail, turning left will take you to the north end of the sanctuary, and turning right will take you to the south end. There are no loop trail or established side trails, but a faint deer trail near the southwest property line heads due south toward the hemlock stand and wetland area. The southwest end of the trail is at a gate into private property marked “No Trespassing.” Do not go pasts this point. Turn around and return to the railroad tracks where you started, or continue northward to explore the north end of the sanctuary. Cabbage White butterfly perched on Common Cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex), a native plant found in floodplain forests. Photo by Marcia Watson Maryland Ornithological Society 13 Eyes on the skies (and on the ground) by Emily Cohen, Ph.D. and Claire Nemes Dr. Emily Cohen is an animal migration ecologist at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg. Claire Nemes is a Ph.D. student studying bird migration and conservation in Dr. Cohen's lab. Whether you consider yourself an avid birder or a casual observer, most of us agree that seasonal bird migration is an extraordinary phenomenon to witness. This autumn, like many others, | sat out on the back porch with binoculars hoping to witness the little specks moving across the full harvest moon. It’s a thrilling and moving sight every time! And this is how we most often picture migration: birds making solitary marathon flights. An amazing example that comes to mind is the record-breaking 7,500 mile, 11-day flight of the Bar-tailed Godwit from Alaska to New Zealand. And yet we rarely consider that those incredible flights are fueled by energy reserves accumulated in terrestrial habitats where birds “stop over” to feed and rest. Migration can therefore be more accurately thought of as consisting of two equally important components: flight (passage) and stopover (fueling). In fact, the majority of our familiar long-distance migrants alternate between relatively short periods in flight and long periods at stopover, where they replenish up to 50% of their body weight as fat stores in preparation for the next flight. In fact, researchers estimate that over the course of a typical songbird’s migration, they spend 7 hours on stopover for every 1 hour in the air (Hedenstrém and Alerstam 1997)! Clearly, stopover periods are critically important for migrating birds. So, how do birds assess these sites when they're flying over the landscape at night, high above the ground? There is still a lot we don’t know about why birds land where they do during migration. Work from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico supports the idea that selection of where and when to land is the result of a multi-scale, hierarchical decision-making process (Moore and Aborn 2000, Buler et al 2005, Mayor et al. 2009). At the broadest scale, factors external to the migrants are most influential. During the nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico, a migrant is likely to drift with the wind, stopping along the coastline wherever the currents blow them. Thus, at the continental scale, birds use migratory flyways that are influenced by wind patterns (Shamoun-Baranes et al. 2017, Clipp et al. 2020) and follow topographic features such as coastlines that can aid orientation (Newton 2008). Within those broad migration routes, songbirds often select habitat patches with high forest cover that may reflect greater food availability on the ground (Buler et al. 2007). At finer scales, factors intrinsic to the bird itself become more important. For example, a bird arriving to the coastline with low energy stores may stop immediately along the coast in whatever habitat happens to be available, while a bird with sufficient energy reserves may continue further inland before stopping. In fact, tracking data have shown us that some birds can fly as far north as the Great Lakes before they land (Gomez et al. 2017)! Inclement weather, the presence of barriers like water or desert crossings, and the bird's physiological condition (including remaining fat reserves) all limit how far an individual can travel before stopping, thereby reducing the choice of stopover sites (Moore et al. 1990, Mehlman et al. 2005, Newton 2008, Cohen et al. 2021). As an analogy, imagine you are trying to decide how to spend your Friday evening. You first choose to go out rather than stay home (or in flight, as the case may be), and then opt to see a movie instead of bowling, mud wrestling, or karaoke. Which movie? There are dozens of options, so you narrow it down just to sci-fi films. (You do not live in Frostburg, Maryland.) But your top pick is only playing at the theater in the next county over and you won't make it there in time. Instead, you'll have to settle for the next-best movie at the closest theater down the street - even though the snacks aren't as good. Of course, the choice of Friday night entertainment is not usually a life and death experience. For migratory birds selecting stopover habitat, the stakes are much higher. Getting quality food and rest while avoiding hazards during stopover can determine the success of migration, which is not only a question of surviving the journey, but of migrating and arriving at the right time and place in good enough condition to survive and reproduce in subsequent seasons (Moore et al. 1990, Alerstam et al. 2003, Moore 2018). Stopover sites vary widely in their size, food availability, and presence of predators and competitors, and the quality and availability of resources can fluctuate both within and among seasons (Cohen et al. 2021). New research uses a treasure trove of data from weather surveillance radars to shed new light on stopover habitat use by migrating birds (Cohen et al. 2021). U.S. weather radar data are collected continuously by a network of over 150 radars across the US and are easily the largest available dataset of animal movements globally. You may have already seen these data used in BirdCast migration forecasts, which birders and lights out programs both rely on to predict peak movement. Those measures focus on 14 MDBIRDS.ORG Eyes on the Skies (and on the Ground) continued from page 16 migratory passage rates (e.g., Van Doren and Horton 2018), while others have mapped the distributions of birds at stopover (e.g., Buler and Dawson 2014). Scientists recently combined these separate metrics of bird density in flight and density on the ground into the stopover-to-passage ratio, a measure of the proportion of birds migrating through an area that choose to stop there Cohen et al. 2021). It’s a measure of selection (i.e., how many people in the area decide to go to the movie vs. bowling). Characterization of stopover habitat use relative to passage (flight) has been a fundamental gap in our knowledge of bird migration. Using this new metric, we found approximately half of the birds migrating through the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the southeastern U.S. stop within 100 km of its coastlines. That's a total of ~1.2 to 2.0 billion birds each spring and autumn! In addition, disproportionate selection of certain sites for stopover revealed potential migratory bottlenecks, where geography or restricted habitat may concentrate birds along migration routes. Areas where the stopover-to-passage ratio is high may therefore be more important for migrating birds than was previously thought. As a community interested in mapping the road to recovery for migratory birds, it’s essential that we address these questions about how to prioritize conservation and management of stopover — and airspace — habitat from the Nearctic to the Neotropics. In general, the importance of habitats used during migration has received much less attention than those used during breeding; we will need to change this trend if we hope to halt the rapid declines of migratory birds. This was the first application of the measure, and we hope to repeat it for other regions important to migrating birds across the US, including the Appalachian mountains. On arecent September morning, | pulled up to the Powdermill Avian Research Center in Pennsylvania just before dawn. Winds were finally blowing from the north and the previous night’s weather radar had lit up across the region with nocturnal migrants taking to the air; the staff and volunteers were practically humming in anticipation of a good day at the banding station. As the sky lightened and our ears filled with the calls of thrushes, warblers, and vireos that had touched down in the night, | couldn't help but wonder how many more may have passed overhead and kept on going, headed for other stopovers near or far. Literature Cited Alerstam, T., Hedenstrém, A., and Akesson, S. 2003. Long-distance migration: evolution and determinants. Oikos 103(2):247-60. Buler, J.J. and Dawson, D.K. 2014. Radar analysis of fall bird migration stopover sites in the northeastern US. Condo 116:357-370. Buler, J.J., Moore, F.R., and Woltmann, S. 2007. A multi-scale examination of stopover habitat use by birds. Ecology 88:1789-1802. Clipp, H.L, Cohen, E.B., Smolinsky, K.A. Horton, K.G., Farnsworth, A., and Buler, J.J. 2020. Broad-scale weather patterns encountered during flight influence landbird stopover distribution. Remote Sensing 12:565. Cohen, E.B. et al. 2021. A place to land: Spatiotemporal drivers of stopover habitat use by migrating birds. Ecology Letters 24(7). Hedenstrom, A. and Alerstam, T. 1997. Optimum fuel loads in migratory birds: Distinguishing between time and energy minimization. Journal of Theoretical Biology 189:227-234, Mayor, S.J., Schneider, D.C., Schaefer, J.A., and Mahoney, S.P. Habitat selection at multiple scales. Ecoscience 16(2):238-247. Moore, F.R. and Aborn, D.A. 2000. Mechanisms of en route habitat selection: How do migrants make habitat decisions during stopover? Moore, F.R., Kerlinger, P., and Simons, T.R. 1990. Stopover on a Gulf Coast barrier by spring trans-Gulf migrants. The Wilson Bulletin 102(3):487-500. Moore, F. 2018. Biology of landbird migrants: A stopover perspective. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130:1-12. Rosenberg, Kenneth V. et al. 2019. Decline of the North American avifauna. Science 366(6461): 120-24. Shamoun-Baranes, J. et al. 2017. Atmospheric conditions create freeways, detours, and tailbacks for migrating birds. Journal of Computation Physiology. A. 203:509-529. Van Doren, B.M. and Horton, K.G. 2018. A continental system for forecasting bird migration. Science 361:1115-1118. Maryland Ornithological Society 15 Research Collaboration to Determine In addition to the flight test tunneling, PARC, led by Luke Success of Collision Birds DeGroote, has developed a first-of-its-kind, three-year study into the long-term effects of what happens to birds By Lindsay Jacks and Kathleen Woods after they've survived a collision with a building. How often do you hear, “Oh the bird flew into my sliding glass door, but it eventually flew away, so it must be fine, right?” Now, with the results of this study, we can finally answer that question. Do the collision birds recover well? Do the birds migrate successfully after the head trauma or end up on the wrong navigational path? From a 2014 study by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, it is estimated that up to 1 billion birds are affected by building collisions in North America each year. Lights Out Baltimore (LOB) is now in its 13th year as a project of the Baltimore Bird Club. LOB has had many successes ,from the daily rescuing of birds and bats to installing bird safe products, adding monitoring groups on college campuses, hosting educational workshops, advocating for legislation, and curating bird conservation art exhibits. We can now add research to that long list. In early 2019, Luke DeGroote, Avian Research Coordinator at Powdermill Nature Reserve of Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, contacted Lights Out Baltimore to see if we would be interested in participating in a research project tracking the migration success of collision birds. Powdermill Nature Reserve is the home of the Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC) where one of the oldest year-round banding stations can be found. Banding since 1956, PARC also focuses on various research projects including collision work. The collision study involves banding and fitting the bird with a nanotag, a digitally-encoded radio transmitter, upon release from rehabilitation. In March 2019, Lindsay Jacks of Lights Out Baltimore and Kathleen Woods, licensed wildlife rehabilitator from the Phoenix Wildlife Center spent two days at PARC learning more about the project, studying how to make the elastic band harnesses for the tags, and practicing the tagging techniques with birds that were caught daily in the mist nests from their banding station. Upon leaving PARC from days of training, we were inspired American Bird Conservancy and PARC collaborated to and ready to begin the research work. build the first-ever flight test tunnel to research the effectiveness of bird-safe products. Birds are caught by mist nets and then flown in the test tunnel (a renovated storage unit) to test the various products on the other end of the tunnel. Don’t worry; there is a net to catch the birds, so they do not collide with the product or control side. This flight tunnel testing allows products to be rated for effectiveness. All products that are rated effective, aka bird-safe, are then promoted on the American Bird Conservancy's website and literature. Tagged White-throated Sparrow The next step to begin the project was the most monumental: adding a Motus Wildlife Tracking System to the new Phoenix Wildlife Center on Sweet Air Road. The new center, a completely renovated farmhouse, sits on the Sweet Air Road section of Gunpowder State Park. The The flight tunnel at PARC 16 MDBIRDS.ORG Research Collaboration Continued from page 18 amazing Gunpowder Falls State Park's Department of Natural Resources team was excited to see the addition of the Motus satellite on the roof of the Phoenix Wildlife Center. Motus is Latin for movement and originated in Canada; the Motus Wildlife Tracking System now has more than 500 stations tracking migratory birds, bats, and Monarch Butterflies. As tagged individuals pass by a Motus system on their migratory path, data are collected; each week, all Motus owners upload their data or as often as they choose. Once the Motus was installed by PARC technicians, then the project officially began. Lights Out Baltimore has found 111 species since monitoring began in 2008, but for this study there were 7 target species identified: Common Yellowthroat, Magnolia Warbler, Ovenbird, White-throated Sparrow, Gray Catbird, Wood Thrush, and American Woodcock. Once one of the seven target species has been rescued downtown during LOB monitoring shifts, rehabilitated at the Phoenix Wildlife Center, and deemed ready for release, the work begins. Usually 1-2 days prior to the determined release date, Kathy contacts both PARC and Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory located on Washington College campus to let them know what species we are planning to tag and release. Foreman’s Branch banding station is the control for the LOB collision birds in the study. Once Foreman’s has caught, banded and tagged the species we are planning to release, Kathy is contacted and then the collision-rehabilitated bird is banded (collecting vital info including sex, age, wing chord, and weight) and fitted with a transmitter and released. The comparison of the LOB birds with the wild-caught Foreman’s birds both fitted with transmitters to track migration will help tell the story of collision birds. Do both birds follow the same migratory path? Does the collision bird take a few days to recoup and then travel? Do both birds reach their destinations? In addition to the LOB birds, both Lights Out Cleveland and Fatal Lignt Awareness Program are a part of the study as well, adding more data to the project. Since the research work began in Fall 2019, LOB and Phoenix have banded and tagged Gray Catbirds, American Woodcocks, White-throated Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, Ovenbirds, and Wood Thrushes to contribute to the study. The study has been ongoing since Fall 2019, with the only break being Spring 2020 due to the pandemic. Advancements in technology have also changed the study; as of Spring 2021, the birds are now fitted with solar-powered tags which will last the lifetime of the bird. It is simply amazing to find an injured bird downtown, follow its rehab success, and then observe the bird being fitted with a tag and band, knowing that it will contribute to research. We hope to finally answer what happens to birds after colliding with buildings. More importantly, we hope to prove that both the rescue by Lights Out Baltimore and rehabilitation by the Phoenix Wildlife Center contribute to the bird's successful migration. Injured American Woodcock prior to rehabilitation Rehabilitated American Woodcock prior to release Maryland Ornithological Society 17 Lights Out Towson University's Advocacy for our Migratory Birds’ Habitat by Isabelle Pardew Lights Out Towson University (LOTU) has just reached the mark of four full semesters of bird-window collision monitoring on the Towson University (TU) campus. We are a research-based student group that monitors the birds on campus, collects data, educates the university population, and pushes for mitigation so that migratory songbirds as well as resident species can live in harmony with campus buildings and the surrounding open space. During this time, we established walking paths, assembled student volunteers, documented over 90 bird-window collisions on campus, and recently had a very successful raptor rescue in tandem with the Phoenix Wildlife Center (see the article about 'Commons' in the May issue of the Yellowthroat). However, the most important next step for the birds is to mitigate the existing problem by retrofitting, covering, or replacing windows, with the most dangerous buildings on TU’s campus being the New Science Complex on York Road, the West Village residential area, and the Residence Tower. eg : ee a a alindaattt hotel ‘ 4 ed r LOTU has been in discussion with TU Facilities Management since Spring 2018, and we just recently were able to purchase CollidEscape materials and two Nest cameras to help document bird collisions. The process to designate test areas is still ongoing, and as the university prioritizes other projects, our installation process remains stalled, with students regularly reporting to me—as the founder and president of LOTU—any injured and downed birds that they encounter. | am slowly, but surely, seeing the change of outlook from students—those who believed window collisions to be a farce, or even a joke, mingled with the thoughts that the birds' collision was due to a perceived lack of intelligence on the birds’ behalf, are now those same students seeing the reality of the danger of large glass surface areas on campus buildings to a bird in flight. This is a devastating issue, and one that has the ability to be remedied with creative solutions and open minds. Instituting change at a university or government level is a challenge, and does require many steps, however, which we continue to experience. During a typical semester, | have our dedicated student volunteers monitor buildings to check for the majority of migratory strikes—via a designated walking time in the morning, or by a random check on their way to or from class, of the perimeter of buildings for daytime window strikes. The students then report to me via social media—email, Facebook, or Instagram, which creates an instant record for our research. Additionally, this issue is not localized to large, industrial buildings or campuses—it is also very common among low-rise and residential buildings. Each of our volunteers are thus informed about mitigation techniques for their homes, with the hope that they spread the word, so to speak, of commercial solutions such as Window Alert decals, or homemade solutions like painting windows or equivalencies to Acopian BirdSavers. Placing decals two inches apart vertically, and two to four inches apart horizontally are most effective and provide birds with the most information they need to see a window. Other solutions include moving bird feeders to 1.5 feet or closer to windows, or more than 20 feet away. Closing curtains and blinds help to break up the reflection of sky or vegetation, and of course, turning out lights during migration, i.e., Lights Out Towson University, will also help the birds in their migratory (or not) flight. LOTU will continue to FIGHT for safe flights, safe migrations, and safe skies, no matter the obstacles we may face—as the birds in flight face our man-made obstacles on a daily, and nightly, basis! If you see any window collisions near any university, please consider starting your own student group, for which | can offer advice. But, if you see any window collisions on the Towson University campus, or are interested in learning how to protect bird-window collisions on your properties or work places, please do not hesitate to contact us at LOTU on Instagram and Twitter—@lightsouttu, Facebook—Lights Out Towson University, and by email—iparde1 @students.towson.edu. Scan this code with your smartphone to visit our Facebook! 18 MDBIRDS.ORG ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY “Birding the Pantanal During a 50 Year Drought” | signed up for a trip to the Pantanal for August, 2020. Due to the pandemic we ended up traveling in August, 2021. The Pantanal is currently in its worst drought in the past 50 years. Some wet places we would normally expect to see bird-filled were drying up and concentrating the wildlife into stressful situations. Fortunately, we found enough areas along the rivers and the ranches that had plenty of birds, reptiles and mammals. Highlights were frequent sightings of Jaguars, Jacare caimans, capybaras, and anacondas. Jabirus, the world’s largest storks, were seen often and were raising young. Beautiful Cocoi Heron’s, Capped Herons, Purple Gallinules, and a single Agami Heron were seen well from small boats on the rivers. Some of the birds of prey included the White-tailed Hawk, Black-collared Hawk, Snail Kite, Great Black Hawk and Crane Hawk. Small birds were seen most often among the floating marshes including the Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Jacamars, Bar-tailed Antbirds, Yellow-billed Cardinals and several species of cowbirds. Large colorful birds were abundant including the Hyacinth Macaws, Red and Green Macaws, Blue and Yellow Macaws and my favorite the Golden-collared Macaws. We also enjoyed seeing the Toco Toucans, Red-legged Seriemas and Greater Rheas. The bird species’ total for the trip was at least 285. The Brazilians involved with this trip were friendly, helpful and observed COVID-19 protocols. Great trip. Larry Zoller See a sampling of Larry Zoller's Pantanal photographs on page 20 FALL BRINGS CHANGE FOR BIRDS AND BIRDERS The autumnal equinox formally began the Fall season at 3:21 p.m. on September 22. That is when the sun’s direct rays shined on the equator with the sun at the halfway point between the summer and winter solstice. The sun has since slowly focused on the Southern Hemisphere bringing six months of summer there. The Fall Equinox has been celebrated around the world from ancient pyramid shadow alignments to harvest time Why do we call it fall? Because the leaves begin to fall. Autumn was used centuries earlier from the Latin word qutumnus connoting “passing of the year”. Before that, it was simply “harvest”. Fall brings changes in nature's endless annual cycles. How do we each personally transition and react from summer ending and turning into fall? For me, the downsides are that my cherished crabbing hobby from my pier ends as crabs leave the creek to go down the Bay for the winter. No more crab feasts on our deck overlooking Oyster Creek. Then, there is less daylight to observe the birds we love to join us during dinners on our deck. Chances diminish for a Three Heron Day when we can see Great Blue, Green, and Black-crowned Night Herons. We regularly see these heron species and occasional Great and Snowy Egrets from our home. Sighting Bald Eagles is not unusual. Double-crested Cormorants also ply the creek for fish and occasionally so do Least, Forster's, and Royal Terns. We see four species of gulls (Ring-billed, Laughing, Great Black-backed, and Herring) and more rarely, Belted Kingfishers. Entertaining Fish and American Crows always intrigue as | ask Carol “What is Crow up to?” | wish | could speak Crow to understand what these highly intelligent animals are saying. Already departed as | write this in late September are the Barn Swallows, Chimney Swifts, and Purple Martins that have been insect-plucking like fighter jets, Sometimes close to our heads. This spring has brought us joy watching adult bluebirds perching on a nearby fence and plucking insects from the grass. Then, this summer, as if pulled from a magician’s hat, their young offspring appear feeding with their parents with only a dab of blue on their tails. Greatly adding to my annual autumnal angst is the departure of Ospreys leaving Bay country for their long migratory journeys. This August brought the highest numbers | have ever seen here on the Annapolis Neck Peninsula with the young fledglings joining their parents in flight seeking fish sushi dinners. One day, walking our nearby beaches on the Bay and Fishing Creek, | saw 12 in 45 minutes. My wife and | are enamored with these flying machines Maryland Ornithological Society 19 A Brazilian Pantanal Sampling from Larry Zoller Left: Hyacinth Macaw Below: Jabiru Stork family Above: Jaguar Right: Agami Heron 20 MDBIRDS.ORG and their singular regal beauty. Ospreys are ubiquitous now and frequently fly overhead and perch in nearby trees and on sail boat masts, sometimes eating a fish. We notice that they do not take fish into the nest until young must be fed, obviously to keep from fouling the nest. We love seeing them skiing on the creek with their talons and feet in the water, either washing them or cooling them from the hot summer air. More than any other species in Chesapeake Bay country, the departure of Ospreys represent the change that is upon us as summer turns to fall. The skies soon will be devoid of these critters with wing spans up to six feet. | will miss their high-pitched peep-whistling which | hear daily from mid-March into September. These winged warriors are on their way to their winter homes. One bird banded on the Patuxent was found in Bolivia, 3,800 miles away. Ospreys from Maryland have also been seen in the Brazilian Amazon, but most winter in northern South America. Fish compose 99% of their diet so they must go south to assure a winter supply in ice free waters. Osprey are found on all continents except Antarctica, but the Chesapeake Bay supports the largest breeding population of Osprey in the world, about 10,000 pairs. This is more than 20% of the U.S. population. Global population is estimated at 500,000 total birds. The Osprey has returned in another important way: it was | — nearly wiped out with widespread use of DDT, causing egg thinning and death of young birds. When DDT was banned in 1972, only 1,450 breeding pairs were left in Bay Country. This ban, coupled with full protection by U.S. law from human killings and destruction of nests, resulted in Osprey eating Snakehead a steady increase in population. The erection of artificial Photo by Carol Swan nesting platforms has helped populations of this raptor. Osprey expert Greg Kearns has put up 62 nesting platforms on the Patuxent and can share expertise on how to build these helpful platforms. Ospreys use other manmade structures including light stanchions, telephone poles, and channel markers, and | have seen them nesting on an abandoned boat (successful) and on our community pier (unsuccessful). Ospreys are monogamous, mate for life with high nest oo fidelity, and both parents take part in chick rearing. V) Females are 25% larger than males and have a more a ) pronounced necklace of brown spots across their breast. AEBS They typically produce three eggs that hatch at about 38 ks days. About two chicks survive and fledge at about 55 days. Mortality is high for first year birds, perhaps at 50 percent. fF Osprey average life spans are between 8 and 10 years, but wAC they can live into their twenties. s Threats remain as over-harvest of menhaden, the oily fish . : | Ospreys prefer, have forced diet changes. Over-harvest has #82) been going on in Virginia for years as it allows ocean trawls + - & to take millions of pounds of menhaden, even defying hel federal catch limits. Migrating Bay-banded Ospreys are discovered shot in Central and South America, especially at fish farms in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. Some researchers speculate that people might be eating them as they are shot in other countries. Osprey lifting off Photo by Carol Swan Maryland Ornithological Society 21 There is much to admire about these comeback kids. We will rejoice at their return when winter is ending and spring begins, a cause for celebration, a conservation success story. We are fortunate to share habitat with this regal bird. While we await their return, the crisp fall air reminds us that the Tundra Swans, Buffleheads, Canvasbacks, and many other waterfowl species are on their way to join us for the long winter. Gerald Winegrad. Prospect Park: a haven for birds in Brooklyn Central Park is renown as an urban refuge for birds within the interior of Manhattan. Although less well known, Prospect Park deserves similar recognition as an avian sanctuary in the midst of the neighboring borough of Brooklyn. Both parks are easily accessible by Metro and provide a wide variety of welcoming habitats, such as meadows, marshes, lakes and woodlands. They each owe their distinctive features to the combined talents of famed landscapers, Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmstead. They are roughly contemporaneous dating their beginnings to the middle of the 19th century. Much has changed during the intervening cycles of deterioration and renovation. A notable recent advance for the park in Brooklyn was the creation in 1987 of the Prospect Park Alliance, a non-profit organization based on the model of the Central Park Conservancy, which has helped restore Central Park in the 1980s. The Alliance raises funds and has undertaken numerous large-scale projects to improve the landscape and renovate the historic buildings and other structures within the park. We benefited from the Alliance’s extensive community outreach by arranging on our first day in the Park to have the Alliance provide us with a guide who took us on a 2.5 hour walking tour of the Park's major features, such as the Rose Garden, the Vale of Cashmere, and the Ravine. The latter is a forested region perhaps the equivalent to the Ramble in Central Park. Below is a view of another expansive feature, the Long Meadow, as seen from the Endale Arch that the Alliance has restored. In addition to reviewing the changes that have occurred over the 160 years history of the park, the guide noted that the land earlier was at the center of one of the most important battles during the Revolutionary War, the first battle after the Declaration of Independence. The colonial army under Washington's command was able to escape to Manhattan, due in part to a rear-guard action in which 256 Marylanders were sacrificed. Their heroism is commemorated by a prominent monument in the Park. On our second day in the Park we joined two dozen members of the Brooklyn Bird Club for the field trip that is scheduled every Tuesday starting at 7:30 am. Over six leisurely hours wandering throughout the park, these experienced birders spotted warblers, waterfowl and other species of note. The partial list included Northern Parulas, Magnolia Warblers, an Ovenbird, a Louisiana Waterthrush, various vireos, Red-shouldered Hawks, a Green Heron, a Great Blue Heron and a flock of Wood Ducks. Our third day was split between the adjacent spectacular Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Brooklyn Museum. The highlight in the latter was seeing the official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama that are traveling to four major art museums around the country. For further information visit the websites of the Prospect Park Alliance (www.prospectpark.org or phone Photo of Endale Arch by Pete Bungay (718 965-8951), the Brooklyn Bird Club (brooklynbirdclub.org), Brooklyn Botanic Pete Bungay & Joy Chambers Garden (www.bbg.org) and Brooklyn Museum (www.brooklynmuseum.org). 22 MDBIRDS.ORG | was lucky enough to go to Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks twice this past summer, once in July, and again in September. In July, my birding was limited to what we could see on and from an island measuring 140 x 80 sq. ft. and species seen on a sunset cruise on the Marion River, a 4.5-mile river that connects Blue Mountain Lake via Utowana Lake and Eagle Lake to Raquette Lake in Hamilton County. From the island we had good looks at Common Loons, Common Mergansers, Song Sparrows, Cedar Waxwings, American Crows, one Double-crested Cormorant, one Solitary Sandpiper and Mallards. Also seen were Bald Eagle, Osprey, Wood Duck, and a Great Blue Heron. On the Marion R. cruise we spotted a Merlin, several Belted Kingfishers and Great Blue Herons. Back to Raquette Lake in September, | was on a peninsula reachable only by boat, so again limited travel. In addition to numerous Wild Turkeys en route along Rt. 28 and migrating Monarch Butterflies, | still | managed to spot some favorite species, mainly Common Loons and Mergansers, one Double-crested Cormorant, several Dark-eyed Juncos, Blue Jays, Song Sparrows, and Black-capped Chickadees. Many birds had begun to migrate by September. Because of the limits of transportation, that is, being limited to the island or to the Point, the number of species seen was smaller than usual, but lower numbers have been the trend over the years. Loon numbers were reported low after the annual loon survey this year, only 2 chicks and 17 adults, presumably due to high water levels which caused nest failure. Another condition we noticed was that the evening sunsets, usually full of rose, orange and blue hues were very hazy, apparently due to the forest fires in California. A new organization has been formed at Raquette Lake, the Raquette Lake Preservation Foundation (RLPF), whose mission is “to preserve, protect and promote Raquette Lake." It is working to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive aquatic species such as Variable Leaf Milfoil (VLM) & others, monitor water quality, monitor the loon population as a way to gauge lake water health, and to educate & inform the locals and those who enjoy the beauty of Raquette Lake. One huge change made was to engage a provider for internet service in a part of NY that had only spotty service. RLPF has also partnered with Paul Smith's College to inspect watercraft before they enter the lake. Our family has been enjoying Raquette Lake since 1972, and on the surface it appears to be relatively unchanged. | have enjoyed seeing the wildlife, in the woods and on the water, including bears. However, there are subtle changes that are occurring regarding bird and animal populations that need to be addressed, and this is being done locally by the RLPF. Raquette Lake and the many other lakes in Adirondack State Park, the largest protected natural area in the lower 48, provide unlimited outdoor and birding experiences. It is worth your while to visit there in any season but spring, but don't go without a tin of Bye Bye Black Fly! Bobbi Reichwein CECIL COUNTY We start this edition with follow-ups to a couple of stories that were in the Cecil Chatter the last issue of the Yellowthroat. The first one is in regards to the Bobolink study that was on going at the Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area. A daily count of the ground-nesting Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks and Grasshopper Sparrows was being conducted by the Cecil Bird Club to determine when it would be safe to mow without interfering with the aforementioned birds breeding there. For many years now, Fair Hill has set aside 100 acres of meadows to be used by the birds. It has been debated every year as to when it would be safe to mow the fields. Maryanne Dolan, Cecil Bird Club President, met with the Fair Hill staff to try to determine once and for all when would be an appropriate mowing date. Counters included Susan Peterson, Maryanne, of course, Dave Webb, David Francis, Ken Drier and Cathy Carter. The count was conducted from the beginning of May until mid August when the last of the Bobolinks dispersed. It was a huge success as far the the Cecil Bird Club was concerned when the head ranger at Fair Hill stated that the August 15th date would stand moving forward to postpone the mowing of the Bobolink fields. Over time, the Cecil Bird Club has successfully moved the mowing date back from June 30th, to July 15th and now, with the time and energy and work of dedicated club members and others, the much later date of August 15th. A big win for our ground nesters. The second follow up is the Maryland Biodiversity Project conducting a morning flight count at Turkey Point in Elk Neck State Park. Daniel Irons is the official counter out at the point on a daily basis. The lists of fall migrants passing through the area and over the point is just phenomenal. Tons of warblers, the northernmost ever recorded Brown Headed Nuthatch in Maryland, shorebird flyovers and many more. Daniel brings his experience as the morning flight counter for the Cape May Bird Observatory in the Maryland Ornithological Society 23 past to Cecil County to tell those of us in the know what we have been telling birders for years, Turkey Point is the place to be for birds in the Fall. This is a great project. On to new stuff now. Maryanne Dolan and Ken Drier met with the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC ) individual in charge of the Woodlawn Wildlife Area-New Beginnings reserve in Port Deposit to better understand the WHC's management of the reserve. WHC is a non profit organization contracted by corporations to manage and renew licenses for them regarding their properties. Twenty years ago, this piece of property was a superfund site. WHC insures that the land continues to be properly maintained. Ken, who has monitored nest boxes at Woodlawn for at least ten years, learned how his ongoing data collection and eBird lists are used to help the WHC determine whether or not to renew the corporate license for the reserve. This wildlife reserve is a great little secret tucked away in western Cecil County. Finally, on to travel. As | write this, Maryanne Dolan is over in Washington State on an MOS birding trip, which she put together and arranged. We will have to wait until next time to hear about her adventures there. In the meantime, both she and Ken Drier traveled to southeast Arizona with Rockjumper Tours. Maryanne went the last week in August while Ken went the following week. Their paths actually crossed at the Tucson airport where they sat having lunch while Maryanne briefed Ken on the upcoming week. Ken's group notched 12 species of hummingbirds the very first day including Berylline and White-eared Hummingbirds. Such rarities as the Mexican Chickadee, Red-faced Warbler, Varied Bunting, Rose-throated Becard and Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet were all easily found by the guide for both trips, Stephan Lorenz. Ken actually found the Elegant Trogon for the group, which turned out to be his 700th North American bird. A small celebration was arranged, and Ken was presented with a cake with 700 printed across the top for dinner that night. The only missing species for both Maryanne and Ken was the Montezuma Quail. Stephan is an excellent guide and one couple on Ken's trip had been on four other Rockjumper trips with him. He knew every dirt road and driveway that would produce the specialities targeted by the group. It was an exhausting tour of the area as the group spent no more than an hour each day in the lovely Ramsey Canyon Inn other than for meals and sleeping. 140 species were tallied for the week. Ken Drier MONTGOMERY COUNTY Paul Budde reported on a spectacular western trip. “In early September | went on a four-day pelagic out of San Diego aboard the Searcher. Everyone aboard had been fully vaccinated, and with a cautionary temperature check before we boarded, it seemed like a safe trip during which we could enjoy the birds. We had spectacular luck with boobies, seeing four Red-footed (one in each county we traversed!) and six or seven Nazca. We searched through well over 100 Brown Boobies on Sutil Island to find the two Blue-footeds that were apparently nesting there with the Browns. Four Red-billed Tropicbirds provided stunning views, especially the ones that flew back and forth over the boat. Murrelets were also cooperative as we had ten to twelve of both Craveri’s and Guadalupe Murrelets - usually in pairs. Cook's Petrels only appeared late in the day at some distance, so sightings of our only Pterodromas weren't as great. We were able to pick out numerous Townsend's Storm-Petrels among the more common Blacks and Leach’s. Ashy’s weren't seen very often and Least’s only by a few folks at a very great distance. It just isn’t a good fall for Least’s this year. Rounding out the trip were daily sightings of Black-footed Albatrosses and all three jaegers, and single sightings of a South Polar Skua and a Northern Fulmar. Mammals competed with the birds for our attention as we spotted Blue Whales, Baird’s Beaked Whales, a few Orcas, many dolphins, several species of sharks, and many seals, fur seals, and sea lions. On the way out to San Diego | took a long layover in Houston to pick up a Red-vented Bulbul near downtown. | planned for a few extra days in southern California after the pelagic in case any special bird showed up. Nothing did, so | used the time to go north to Bakersfield to look for Rose-ringed Parakeets. A few Spotted Doves in the same neighborhoods as the parakeets were a nice surprise. I've usually found Bell's Sparrow a difficult bird to see well along the coast, but while birding Apollo County Park near Palmdale | saw dozens, all out in the open. On my last morning in Los Angeles | visited the county arboretum in Arcadia to look for Red-whiskered Bulbuls. I've seen them before near Miami, but those birds in Kendall seem to be getting harder and harder to find. The population in the San Bernardino Valley, conversely, seems to be exploding. The arboretum didn't disappoint as | saw about 30 in under an hour. It was a strange trip, mixing seabirds with exotics. But it’s been a strange 18 months in so many ways.” 24 MDBIRDS.ORG Mike Bowen and Anne Cianni wrote of an “accidental” fall birding trip to Colorado. “The original idea was to accept the invitation to a September wedding in the Colorado ski resort of Frisco and to build birding days around the wedding dates. But....we found out ahead of time that the bride and her entire family ‘did not believe in vaccination’ and decided that the prospect of mingling with so many potential ™ Covid donors was a risk we did not wish to ; take. Consequently, we did what all MOS a - members would probably do in our place - we kept our airline tickets and dedicated an eee es Oe ep ey entire week to birding in Colorado! Starting in oo hare RRS Ne % a Ae a | G4 ae ~ in the Pawnee National Grasslands Clark's Nutcracker photo by Mike Bowen northeast of Denver (Chestnut-collared and Thick-billed Longspurs and masses of Horned Larks and Vesper Sparrows - but no Mountain Plovers) and the ponds and woods around Greeley, we then moved on to Estes Park and walked a Hotspot next to Lake Estes where the “top eBirder” is Montgomery Bird Club’s own James Nelson! Ace trip planner Mike had forgotten (or never knew) that entry by visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park was being tightly controlled by means of timed tickets obtainable only on-line. Ace Internet whiz Anne nevertheless quickly managed on her phone to corral 1:00 pm entrance tickets, and we spent the rest of the day driving the whole park and ending up way south in Golden. Breathtaking views, but the only bird of note was Clark’s Nutcracker. The rest of the 8-day trip was spent with local birders from the Colorado Field Ornithologists’ group, who generously drove us around and showed us lots of local birds that were still around in fall. Of particular appeal were our visits to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR (Swainson’s Hawk, Western Meadowlark, Sage Thrasher), Red Rocks Park (Canyon Wren, Spotted Towhee, Woodhouse’'s Scrub-Jay, White-throated Swift), and a thrilling ride up to just below Mt. Evans at over 12,000 ft. (American Pipit). We had aimed for a modest 100 species, given that many summer breeders would have left before our mid-September visit, but we fell a mere 3 species short.” Debby Berlyne and Danny Bachman recounted two weeks of local birding in Maine in mid-June. “After we made plans to spend the first week in the family “camp” (or summer cottage) in the Rangeley Lakes region in western Maine, we were delighted to learn that our visit would coincide with the last day of the 2021 Rangeley Birding Festival. We went on a group bird walk early one morning along an abandoned road with two very knowledgeable naturalists as guides. As very new birders, we didn’t spot as many birds as others in the group, but we did see 27 different species, including Yellow-bellied and Alder Flycatchers, a Canada jay, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, a Blackburnian Warbler, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. We then spent a week exploring Acadia National Park (along with half the U.S. population, it seemed). A highlight was a boat trip on a cool, rainy day to visit some small islands near Bar Harbor and, especially, to see puffins. We saw lots of puffins, and we really enjoyed watching them fly, swim, and hop around one of the islands. Other birds spotted that day included Common Eiders, Common Murres, Razorbills, Black Guillemots, Arctic Terns, and Laughing Gulls.” Chris Wright Maryland Ornithological Society 25 TRI-COUNTY Mike Walsh recently returned from a birding trip to Panama. He spent 5 days at Canopy Lodge and 5 days at Canopy Tower. Daily excursions from the lodge took him to the cloud forest as well as the dry forests of the Pacific lowlands and Santa Clara beach. From the fascinating Canopy Tower they visited the famous Pipeline Road and Ammo Dump ponds as well as the Summit Gardens. Among the highlights were 17 hummingbird species, 6 trogons, 5 motmots, and a flyover of approximately 1,000 Mississippi Kites. He reports that the food and accommodations were very good, and the guides were excellent. All the staff at both locations were fully vaccinated. Mike Walsh Collared Forest Falcon Photo by Mike Walsh 26 MDBIRDS.ORG Cinnamon Woodpecker Photo by Mike Walsh Golden-hooded Tanager Photo by Mike Walsh Maryland Ornithological Society 27 28 POSTMASTER: TIME -DATED MATERIAL - PLEASE EXPEDITE MARYLAND ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID 4915 Greenspring Avenue Baltimore, Maryland, 212 . altimore, Maryland, 21209 Hagerstown, MD Permit No. 184 Gadwall Sketch by Diane Ford MDBIRDS.ORG MOS Calendar Through 2/28/2022 Field Trips Please follow all restrictions requested by the host organization. Additional details are posted on MOS and chapter web sites. 3-5 Semi-Monthly Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Description: Two-mile walk around lake on paved path; wheelchair-accessible. Families 11/4 PM afternoon at welcome. Meet at parking area at corner of Berwyn Rd. and Ballew Ave. in Berwyn Heights. Leader may require mask for Lake Artemesia unvaccinated people. For more information, see https://www.meetup.com/Prince-Georges-Audubon-Society/ 11/6 7AM-— | Oxford Host: Talbot County Bird Club. Leader: Ron Ketter (707-373-5532, rgketter@gmail.com) Description: Waterfowl, sparrows, 12 PM Conserv. Park meadowlarks. Monthly walk Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Leader Bill Sefton (kiwisuits@msn.com). Description: Two-mile out-and-back walk at 11/6 7:30 - OE Eran OKIE: natural area on the Patuxent River; fields, wet woods, brushy areas. Trail is gravel and dirt and is mostly flat, no hills. 10 AM Oe a evs Leader may require mask for unvaccinated people. Meet at east end of Lemon’s Bridge Road, off Route 197 just north of Bowie State University. BRIE Bird Walk at Host: Caroline Bird Club Description: Bird Walk with Debby Bennett and Friends. Heading north on 313, it will be on the 11/6 12 PM North County right. Meet at the end of the lane near the woods at 8 am. A little more rugged trail. Dress appropriately and bring Regional Park binoculars. Stoney Host: Harford Bird Club Leaders Dave Webb (410-939-3537; porzana@comcast.net) and Jane Scocca (S10 -272, 5820) 11/6 8 AM- ee jane@scocca.org). Description: We should find a nice assortment of raptors, woodpeckers and songbirds. Trip will cover 2 12 PM Fircct to 3 miles of unpaved logging roads and foot paths. Meet at the P&R off MD 22 and I-95 on Mechanical Drive in Aberdeen to carpool. 3 AM — Rock Creek’s Host: Montgomery Bird Club For reservations (required) and more information, contact Josephine Cox at 11/6 owl North Branch jobird11@gmail.com or 240-506-1723. Description: Discover upper Rock Creek’s watershed with a variety of habitats. Stream Valley Limit: 8. Start at Bowie Mill Park next to Sequoyah Elementary School. Host: YMOS Contact: George Radcliffe, radclifg@gmail.com, 410-463-1669. Description: Refuge Exploration - Waterfowl, 4 PM NWR Trip Wading Birds, Winter Arrivals 9 AM — Work Day at Host: MOS Sanctuary Committee. Contact Marcia Watson, marshwren50@comcast.net, to volunteer. Description: 11/6 5 PM lrish Grove Because of COVID, unlike previous workdays this will be a one-day event that will have people working in small groups to Sanctuary complete the most essential tasks. Rain date 11/7. 9:30 Howard Host: Howard County Bird Club Leader Russ Ruffing, ruff2@verizon.net. Description: Sky watch for late-migrating raptors 11/6 AM - Conservancy at and other potential goodies. Our main target will be Golden Eagle. Bring water, lunch, hat, sunscreen, light-colored sun 12 PM Mt Pleasant glasses, comfortable lawn chair, binocular, scope, and camera if you like. Host: Frederick Bird Club Leader Lynn Kieffer (301-943-5290). Description: Birding at Hughes Hollow. Hughes Hollow Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Leaders Sue and Alan Young alanmyoung@gmail or 410-991-8300 Description: Meet at top 10 AM Park parking lot on Gali Sanchez Way. an | Host: Howard County Bird Club Leader David Ziolkowski, dziolkowski@usgs.gov. Description: Easy walking on paved paths 11/7 por Centennial Park | around Centennial Lake. Woodlands, fields and water host a wide variety of species. Great view of the sky for flyovers. Early waterfowl, lingering migrants likely. Facilities available. West end parking lot. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Brian Rollfinke, brollfinke@gmail.com Description: A great spot for sparrows (Vesper Sparrow possible), raptors, and other birds of this transitional season. Recommended for young birders and their parents. Canceled if rain or winds. A fee of $5 per person required. RSVP required. AM 3 AM Lois Y Green Host: Montgomery Bird Club For reservations (required), contact leader Mark England at englandmark@comcast.net or 11/9 12 PM Conservation 240-308-4114. Description: Morning walk through varied habitats, including two ponds, fields, deciduous and coniferous Park woods. We’Il be looking for overwintering songbirds, waterfowl, and raptors. Limit: 12. AM Bay Env. Center Redgate Park: Host: Montgomery Bird Club For reservations (required), time, and directions, contact Lydia Schindler at 11/11 TBA Seeking lydia13621@gmail.com or Linda Friedland at linnet1@verizon.net. Description: We’ll be working on key field marks of Sparrows sparrows. This trip is primarily for beginners, but all are welcome. Limit: 8. **Vouth Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Daisy Sudano, dsudanotrainings@yahoo.com, 410-426-7627. Description: This month's PM Birding** theme will be "Wild Turkeys". Meet at Cromwell Valley Park, Sherward Farm Entrance. Host: Talbot County Bird Club. Leader: Jeff Effinger (410-443-5016 or jkeffinger55@gmail.com). Description: Owl prowl. PM ter Owl Prowl Depart: Easton Acme parking lot, 4:00 pm. ' Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Libby Errickson, elizabeth.errickson@gmail.com. Description: Oregon Ridge is a good 8AM-— | Oregon Ridge . : ; andide- Center spot for thrushes, woodpeckers, and other passerines. The Center for Maryland Agriculture, just across Shawan Road, has a variety of open habitats; we'll look here for sparrows. Paths are unpaved and can be muddy. RSVP to leader required. 8 AM— | Morgan Run Host: Carroll County Bird Club. Contact Bill Ellis at billellis@ellislist.com or 443-520-8809. Description: We'll look for late 11/13 12 PM south migrants and early winter residents, including Fox Sparrow and Hermit Thrush. Meet at the parking lot at the end of Ben Rose Lane. Moderate hiking. Irvine Nature Center Check MDBIRDS.ORG/Calendar for updates 1 11/13 | TBA Hawk Watch Host: Frederick Bird Club Description: Location TBD. 7:30 Trip to Host: Harford Bird Club Contact Dave Larkin at 410-569-8319; larkin3003@comcast.net. Description: Visit one of the East 11/14 AM-5 Coast’s best sites for shorebirds and waterfowl. Meet at the Havre de Grace commuter lot near Rt.155/I-95. Bring a lunch Del h PM elaware Shore | and sufficient drink for the day. pane go 14 Host: Howard County Bird Club Leader Mary Lou Clark, doctorfx_99@yahoo.com. Description: Easy walking on paved 11/14 ae Centennial Park | paths around Centennial Lake. Woodlands, fields and water host a wide variety of species. Great view of the sky for flyovers. Early waterfowl, lingering migrants likely. Facilities available. West end parking lot. 9-11 Marshy Point Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leaders: Brent and Mary Byers, baypuffin@hotmail.com or 410-686-7294. Description: Easy 11/14 AN Nature center half-day walk through varied habitats for feeder birds and other songbirds, raptors, and waterfowl. Half-mile trail leads to point overlooking Dundee Creek. All are welcome, including families. Telescopes useful. ; Host: Talbot County Bird Club. Leader: Terry Allen (410-829-5840 or pattyallen10@hotmail.com) Description: Waterfowl, 11/14 All day Chincoteague i ; : ; : shorebirds, gulls. All day trip. Bring lunch and drinks. Depart: Easton Acme parking lot, 6:30 am. 3-5 Semi-Monthly Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Description: Two-mile walk around lake on paved path; wheelchair-accessible. Families 11/18 PM afternoon at welcome. Meet at parking area at corner of Berwyn Rd. and Ballew Ave. in Berwyn Heights. Leader may require mask for Lake Artemesia unvaccinated people. For more information, see https://www.meetup.com/Prince-Georges-Audubon-Society/ 8-11 Conquest 11/18 Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Alan Young, alanmyoung@gmail.com, 410-991-8300 Walk Leader Dan Small Monthly walk Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Leader Bill Sefton (kiwisuits@msn.com). Description: Two-mile loop at natural area on 11/20 7:30 - at Governor the Patuxent River; fields, wet woods, brushy areas, wetlands, ponds. Natural surface trails may be wet; waterproof 10 AM Bridge Natural footwear advised. Leaders may require mask for unvaccinated people. Meet at the Natural Area parking lot on the south Area side of Governor Bridge Rd., 1 mile east of US Route 301 in Bowie. 7:30 Fucterch Neak Host: Harford Bird Club Leaders Eric Vangrin (evangrin@msn.com; 443-417-7219) and Tom Congersky (410-910-6182; 11/20 AM - NWR jnjtcon@zoominternet.net). Description: Explore this little known Eastern Shore gem for raptors, waterfowl, wading birds, 12 PM passerines and shore birds. Meet at the P&R in Havre de Grace (I-95 and Rt.155). rE Le, Chincoteague Host: Tri-County Bird Club. For more information, contact Mike Walsh at 410-422-0428 or mik.walsh@comcast.net 11/20 National Description: Search for fall migrants including shorebirds, waterfowl and raptors. Meet at Ward Museum parking lot. Bring Wilidlife Refuge | lunch, snacks and drinks. 8- Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Patterson Park Audubon Center. Description: Join Audubon and the Maryland Zoo to explore 11/20 i . Druid Hill Park this leafy city park. From forest to lake, a variety of bird species await. Participants must adhere to our COVID code of conduct and register in advance at patterson.audubon.org. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Josh Emm Description: Over 140 species of birds have been seen here in November. The 1PM Farm variety of wintering waterfowl is outstanding. RSVP to John Dennehy, 410-653-5214, jedennehy@verizon.net. 5:45 11/21 AM - 12 PM Bladensburg Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Leader Kevin Bennett (kevinfpbennett@gmail.com). Description: We'll check the 11/21 7:30 - Waterfront Anacostia River for early waterfowl and gulls, and then look for sparrows and marshland birds. Round trip distance 2.5 11 AM Park; Anacostia miles. Wheelchair-accessible. Leader may request masks to be worn. Meet at the pavilion at Bladensburg Waterfront Park, River Trail off MD Route 450 just west of MD Route 201. Monthly Walk at Quiet Waters | Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Leader Leo Dilling, leodilling@hotmail.com or 703-282-0011. Meet at Blue Heron Room. Park pam | Loch Raven- Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: John Dennehy at 410-653-5214 or jedennehy@verizon.net. Description: Winter brings a 11/21 AM Skeet and Trap selection of waterfowl, loons, and grebes. Bald Eagles, Red-shouldered Hawks, and Red-tailed Hawks are also found year- Club round. Telescopes can be useful. RSVP to leader required. 8-11 Host: Howard County Bird Club Leaderless. Description: Easy walking on paved paths around Centennial Lake. Woodlands, 11/21 AM Centennial Park | fields and water host a wide variety of species. Great view of the sky for flyovers. Early waterfowl, lingering migrants likely. Conquest Host: Talbot County Bird Club. Leader: JC Lowery (443-496-1795 or jclowery8@gmail.com) Description: Beach Waterfowl/shorteared owl. Depart: Easton Acme parking lot at 5:45 am. Facilities available. West end parking lot. Annual Barbara Ricciardi . 2 : 7:30 Memorial Field Cohosts: Anne Arundel Bird Club, Patuxent Bird Club, PGAS. To pre-register contact Ken Cohen, kvulture@aol.com. 11/26 AM-5 Trip to Description: Car-pooling only with members of your own household. Leader may require masks to be worn. Bring food & PM ‘ drinks. Meet at Bay 50 Shopping Center. Blackwater NWR ais Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club. Leader Peter Hanan, peter.hanan@icloud.com or 301-580-2785. Description: Annual Black Friday trip to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Meet at Bay 50 at 7:30 am. Blackwater 8- Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Patterson Park Audubon Center. Description: Join Audubon to explore this urban oasis in 11/27 9:30 Patterson Park southeast Baltimore. With more than 200 species on record, the park is full of surprises. Participants must adhere to our COVID code of conduct and register in advance at our website, patterson.audubon.org. Host: Harford Bird Club Leader is Diane Jones (410-404-9180; baltobirder55@gmail.com). Description: This morning survey 12 PM Dam begins at Fisherman’s Park. Search for Bald Eagles, Black and Turkey Vultures, various gulls, water fowl and herons. jae |S Host: Howard County Bird Club Leaderless. Description: Easy walking on paved paths around Centennial Lake. Woodlands, 11/28 AM Centennial Park | fields and water host a wide variety of species. Great view of the sky for flyovers. Early waterfowl, lingering migrants likely. Facilities available. West end parking lot. Check MDBIRDS.ORG/Calendar for updates 2 jane |S Kent County Host: Kent County Bird Club Contact: Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin, 410-778-9568, birdclub.kentcountymd@gmail.com. 11/28 P Description: A tour of Kent County waters, including Eastern Neck, to look for a variety of recently-arrived geese, ducks 12 PM Waterfowl trip ; L and some non-waterfowl as well. Meet in the Dollar General parking lot, Chestertown. Host: Talbot County Bird Club. Leader: Wayne Bell (410-820-6002 or wbell2@washcoll.edu) Description: and Area Waterfowl/sparrows. All day trip. Bring lunch and drinks. Depart: Easton Acme parking lot at 6:30 am Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Description: Two-mile walk around lake on paved path; wheelchair-accessible. Families welcome. Meet at parking area at corner of Berwyn Rd. and Ballew Ave. in Berwyn Heights. Leader may require mask for unvaccinated people. For more information, see PGAS Meetup site at https://www.meetup.com/Prince-Georges- Audubon-Society/ Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Leader Bill Sefton (kiwisuits@msn.com). Description: Two-mile out-and-back walk at natural area on the Patuxent River; fields, wet woods, brushy areas. Trail is gravel and dirt and is mostly flat, no hills. Leader may require mask for unvaccinated people. Meet at east end of Lemon’s Bridge Road, off Route 197 just north of Bowie State University. Semi-Monthly afternoon at Lake Artemesia Monthly walk at Fran Uhler Natural Area Masonville Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Tim Carney, tcarney@menv.com Description: Breakfast with the Birds. Masonville Cove Cove Env. and in Baltimore City welcomes BBC for muffins and coffee and a look at waterfowl in Baltimore Harbor. Trails are unpaved Ed. Center and can be muddy. Telescopes useful. RSVP to the leader to register, trip limited. Binckavater Host: Montgomery Bird Club For reservations (required), starting place, and time, contact leader Mark England at 12/4 All day englandmark@comcast.net or 240-308-4114. Description: Early waterfowl and lingering migrants plus late afternoon NWR marsh watch. Brown-headed Nuthatch possible. Bring lunch and drinks. Limit: 12. D/A All da YMOS Photo Host: YMOS Contact: George Radcliffe, radclifg@gmail.com, 410-463-1669. Description: Students photograph birds to ¥ Big Day raise money for a cause. Swan Harbor 12/4 Host: Frederick Bird Club. Contact Kathy Calvert, 301-810-5677 or kathycalvert1@gmail.com. 7-11 Eastern Talbot 12/5 Host: Talbot Bird Club. Description: Pipits, horned larks. Meet at Easton Acme parking lot. 7:30 — Monthly walk 12/5 10 AM at Kinder Farm Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Alan Young, alanmyoung@gmail.com, 410-991-8300 Park Lilypous/New Host: Montgomery Bird Club For reservations (required) and starting time and place, contact leader Clive Harris at 12/5 TBA Deésien Road clivegharris@yahoo.com. Description: Half day. Wintering field birds, targeting Fox and Tree Sparrows, possibly Virginia Rail and American Bittern. Limit: 6. **Vouth Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Daisy Sudano, dsudanotrainings@yahoo.com, 410-426-7627. Description: This month's PM Birding** theme will be "Owls". Meet at Oregon Ridge. 7:30 SwanHarter Host: Harford Bird Club. Leader Mark Johnson (410-692-5978; marksjohnson2 @gmail.com). Description: Swan Harbor 12/11 AM - provides prime habitat for waterfowl, song birds, and marsh and field birds. Meet at the parking lot at the Agricultural Farm Park 12 PM Education Center. ett Piscataway Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Leader Ken Cohen, kvulture@aol.com. Description: The mouth of the Piscataway Creek 12/11 AM National Park - at the Potomac River is one of the best spots in PG County for wintering waterfowl and gulls. Bring scopes and snacks. Wharf Rd. Meet at the fishing area at north end of Wharf Road. 8 = Patuxent Res. 12/11 11:30 2 Host: YMOS Contact: George Radcliffe, radclifg@gmail.com, 410-463-1669. Description: Refuge Birding Refuge Birding AM 8- Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Patterson Park Audubon Center. Description: Join Audubon and the Maryland Zoo to explore 12/11 9:30 Druid Hill Park this leafy city park. From forest to lake, a variety of bird species await. Participants must adhere to our COVID code of AM conduct and register in advance at patterson.audubon.org. jam [h Loch Raven- Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: John Dennehy at 410- 653-5214 or jedennehy@verizon.net. Description: Winter brings 12/12 AM Skeet and Trap a selection of waterfowl, loons, and grebes. Bald Eagles, Red-shouldered Hawks, and Red-tailed Hawks are also found Club year-round. Telescopes can be useful. RSVP to leader required. pam [et Marshy Point Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leaders: Brent and Mary Byers, baypuffin@hotmail.com or 410-686-7294. Description: Easy 12/12 ae half-day walk through varied habitats for feeder birds and other songbirds, raptors, and waterfowl. Half-mile trail leads to Nature Center . : : : 2 point overlooking Dundee Creek. All are welcome, including families. Telescopes useful. 9- Jug Bay 12/15 11:30 Wetlands Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Leo Dilling, leodilling@hotmail.com, 703-282-0011 AM Sanctuary Semi-Monthly Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Description: Two-mile walk around lake on paved path; wheelchair-accessible. Families 12/16 3-5 afternoon walk | welcome. Meet at parking area at corner of Berwyn Rd. and Ballew Ave. in Berwyn Heights. Leader may require mask for PM at Lake unvaccinated people. For more information, see PGAS Meetup site at https://www.meetup.com/Prince-Georges- Artemesia Audubon-Society/ Monthly walk Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Leader Bill Sefton (kiwisuits@msn.com). Description: Two-mile loop at natural area on 12/18 7:30 - at Governor the Patuxent River; fields, wet woods, brushy areas, wetlands, ponds. Natural surface trails may be wet; waterproof 10 AM Bridge Natural footwear advised. Leaders may require mask for unvaccinated people. Meet at the Natural Area parking lot on the south Area side of Governor Bridge Rd., 1 mile east of US Route 301 in Bowie. Check MDBIRDS.ORG/Calendar for updates 3 8 = 12/18 9:30 Patterson Park AM Monthly walk at Quiet Waters Park First Day Hike C&O Canal Terminus Monthly walk at Fran Uhler Natural Area New Year's Day Loch Raven Annual New Year's Day Birdwalk at Perryman Wednesday Walks at Fort McHenry Semi-Monthly afternoon walk at Lake Artemesia Trip to Blackwater 2-4 **Vouth 1 ote PM Birding** 7:30 mwa | Soa PM Caen 1/8 8AM-— | Sandy Point + 12 PM Thomas Point 8AM-— | Eastern Neck 1/8 : : 12 PM NWR field trip 9 AM- North Point 1/8 12 PM State Park Trip to 1/8 All Day Blackwater NWR Trip to 1/8 All D Trip to 1/8 All Day Blackwater NWR Hunt Monthly walk 1/9 Looe at te Farm 10 AM Park 8 AM - Black Hill 1/9 : 12 PM Regional Park 1/9 9-11 Marshy Point AM Nature Center 1/6 /8 1/8 Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Patterson Park Audubon Center. Description: Join Audubon to explore this urban oasis in southeast Baltimore. With more than 200 species on record, the park is full of surprises. Participants must adhere to our COVID code of conduct and register in advance at patterson.audubon.org. Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Jim Collatz, jcollatz@aol.com, 410-295-3344 and Elle McGee, emcghee705@gmail.com, 443-386-3433. Host: A/G Bird Club and the Allegany Center for Life-Long Learning. Contact Raquel Ketterman at 301-268-6746 or Margie Hartman 201-777-7175. Description: Walk as far as you wish east on the C&O Canal Towpath. We'll look for winter waterfowl, bald eagles and other grassland birds. Dress for cold, windy weather. Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Leader Bill Sefton (kiwisuits@msn.com). Description: Two-mile out-and-back walk at natural area on the Patuxent River; fields, wet woods, brushy areas. Trail is gravel and dirt and is mostly flat, no hills. Leader may require mask for unvaccinated people. Meet at east end of Lemon’s Bridge Road, off Route 197 just north of Bowie State University. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Joe Corcoran, corcoran2921@gmail.com, 667-231-6453. Description: Start off the New Year Birding at Old Picnic Area Trail section of Loch Raven Reservoir. Trail is unpaved and flat. Expect waterfowl, winter passerines and raptors. RSVP to leader required. Host: Harford Bird Club. Leader Phil Powers (443-417-7520; birdsinmd308@gmail.com). Description: Join us to welcome in the New Year with a tour through the Perryman area. Meet at Aberdeen Walmart parking lot on Rt. 40. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Mary Chetelat, 410- 665-0769 (alternate contact Wendy Alexander, 443- 204-3754). Description: Continuing survey of bird activity at the Fort. Binoculars required. Telescope can be useful. Canceled in bad weather (reschedule date January 12). NPS Volunteer Service Agreement is required for entry into the restricted Wetland area. Please follow any NPS COVID-19 protocols listed at https://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm. Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Description: Two-mile walk around lake on paved path; wheelchair-accessible. Families welcome. Meet at parking area at corner of Berwyn Rd. and Ballew Ave. in Berwyn Heights. Leader may require mask for unvaccinated people. For more information, see PGAS Meetup site at https://www.meetup.com/Prince-Georges- Audubon-Society/ Host: Montgomery Bird Club. For reservations (required) and more information, contact leader Mark England, englandmark@comcast.net or 240-308-4114. Description:Start at 9 a.m. along the Choptank River in Cambridge. Waterfowl, overwintering songbirds, and raptors, plus optional late afternoon marsh watch. Brown-headed Nuthatch possible. Bring lunch and drinks. Limit: 12. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Daisy Sudano, dsudanotrainings@yahoo.com, 410-426-7627. Description: This month's theme will be "Eagle Viewing". We will meet at Conowingo Dam. Host: Tri-county Bird Club For more information contact trip leader, Mike Walsh at 410-422-0428 or mik.walsh@comcast.net. Description: Coastal Birding trip from Ocean City, MD to Cape Henlopen, DE for winter waterfowl and other winter visitors. Meet at the Ward Museum parking lot at 7:30 AM or the OC inlet parking lot at 8:15 AM. Bring lunch, snacks and drinks. Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Alan Young, alanmyoung@gmail.com, 410-991-8300, walk leader Sam Miller. Monitoring Shorebirds and More. Host: Kent County Bird Club Contact: Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin, 410-778-9568, birdclub.kentcountymd@gmail.com. Description: A half-day trip to look for waterfowl, eagles, and winter land birds. Meet in the parking area at the Tundra Swan boardwalk at the north end of the refuge. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Kojo Baidoo, baidookojo6@gmail.com. Description: Varied habitats including marsh, woods and beach. Expect to see waterfowl, sparrows and raptors. Scopes useful. Boots advised if we have had a lot of rain. Entrance fee $4 unless you have a state park pass. RSVP to leader required. Host: Carroll County Bird Club. Leader Tom Miller, birdertwm@verizon.net. Description: This waterfowl sanctuary for migrating birds is a great place to see geese, swans, and ducks in the marsh along with eagles, hawks, great blue herons, and a few species of shorebirds. Host: Frederick Bird Club. Contact Kathy Calvert, 301-810-5677 or kathycalvert1@gmail.com. Description: Searching for wintering waterfowl. Host: Howard County Bird Club Leader Kurt Schwarz, krschwa1@verizon.net, 410-461-1643 Description: Plan to stop at the Choptank River Bridge for ducks and coffee. Bring lunch and drinks. Dress warmly. Entrance fee or Duck Stamp required. Email the leader to reserve a spot and get details. We will carpool. Host: YMOS Contact: George Radcliffe, radclifg@gmail.com, 410-463-1669. Description: Cambridge and South Dorchester Bird Hunt ending with Short-eared Owl Search Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Alan Young, alanmyoung@gmail.com, 410-991-8300 Host: Montgomery Bird Club. For reservations (required) and more information, contact leader Gerry Hawkins at maineusa@comcast.net or 571-277-8406. Description: All birders, but especially new birders, are welcome on this trip, which will focus on the identification of ducks. Bring a spotting scope if you have one. Meet at Visitor's Center. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leaders: Brent and Mary Byers, baypuffin@hotmail.com or 410-686-7294. Description: Easy half-day walk through varied habitats for feeder birds and other songbirds, raptors, and waterfowl. Half-mile trail leads to point overlooking Dundee Creek. All are welcome, including families. Telescopes useful. Check MDBIRDS.ORG/Calendar for updates 4 7:30 - 1/1 8 AM —- 1/1 8:30 1/15 AM — 12 PM 1/15 All Day 8:00 1/1 3:15 - 1/1 3-5 1/2 8 -_ 1/22 9:30 AM 8 AM —- 1/22 12 PM 1/22 9 AM —- 12 PM Monthly walk at Governor Bridge Natural Area Sat. Morning Monitoring Walk at Fort McHenry Riley's Lock Feeder Watch Monthly walk at Quiet Waters Park Oaks Landfill Semi-Monthly afternoon walk at Lake Artemesia Druid Hill Park Traveling the Bradenbaugh Flats Chesapeake Environmental Center Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Leader Bill Sefton (kiwisuits@msn.com). Description: Two-mile loop at natural area on the Patuxent River; fields, wet woods, brushy areas, wetlands, ponds. Natural surface trails may be wet; waterproof footwear advised. Leaders may require mask for unvaccinated people. Meet at the Natural Area parking lot on the south side of Governor Bridge Rd., 1 mile east of US Route 301 in Bowie. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Ben Poscover, 410-882-1309, (alternate contact Wendy Alexander, 443-204-3754. Description: Continuing a series of surveys of bird activity at the Fort and wetland. Binoculars required. Telescope can be useful. Canceled in bad weather (reschedule date January 22). NPS Volunteer Service Agreement is required for entry into the restricted Wetland area. Please follow COVID-19 protocols listed at https://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm Host: Montgomery Bird Club. For reservations (required) and more information, contact leader Scott Young at 202-313- 1444. Description: We will first scan the river for waterfowl, then head upstream on the towpath looking for winter woodland birds. Bring a scope if you have one. Limit: 6. Host: Harford Bird Club. Contact Mark Johnson (marksjohnson2 @gmail.com; 410-692-5978). Description: Our annual feeder watch in the comfort of the home of Mark and Denise Johnson. Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Leo Dilling, leodilling@hotmail.com, 703-282-0011 Host: Montgomery Bird Club. Contact leader Mark England at 240-308-4114 or englandmark@comcast.net. Description: Bundle up for a search for wintering sparrows and raptors, including possible Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls. Reservations required at least a week ahead of the trip for names to be submitted to the county. Limit: 16. Meet at 3:15 p.m. at 6001 Rt. 108, Laytonsville. Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Description: Two-mile walk around lake on paved path; wheelchair-accessible. Families welcome. Meet at parking area at corner of Berwyn Rd. and Ballew Ave. in Berwyn Heights. Leader may require mask for unvaccinated people. For more information, see PGAS Meetup site at https://www.meetup.com/Prince-Georges- Audubon-Society/ Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Patterson Park Audubon Center. Description: Join Audubon and the Maryland Zoo to explore this leafy city park. From forest to lake, a variety of bird species await. Participants must adhere to our COVID code of conduct and register at patterson.audubon.org. Host: Harford Bird Club. Contact leader Dennis Kirkwood (410-692-5905; newarkfarms@gmail.com). Description: Meet at Jarrettsville Elementary School parking lot. Tour through NW Harford County to search out wintering field birds and waterfowl. End at the leader’s home for homemade soup and breads. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leaders: Brent and Mary Byers, baypuffin@hotmail.com or 410-686-7294. Description: We will be looking for ducks, geese, swans, sparrows, Bald Eagles, and Brown-headed Nuthatches. Paths are unpaved and level. Trip canceled in snow, rain, or slippery conditions. 1/22 All day Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Dale Murphy, murphy_dale@msn.com, 410-798-6345 1/22 All Day 1/22 All Day 7:30 - 2 Ocean City field trip Ocean City and the Coast Fort Washington SP Patterson Park Perryville Community Park Chesapeake Farms field trip Semi-Monthly afternoon walk at Lake Artemesia Monthly walk at Fran Uhler Natural Area Pinecliff Park Monthly walk at Kinder Farm Park Host: Kent County Bird Club Contact: Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin, 410-778-9568, birdclub.kentcountymd@gmail.com. Description: Our annual search for winter specialties including gannet, sea ducks, alcids, gulls, Purple Sandpipers, and wintering songbirds. Dress warmly, bring lunch & warm beverages. Meet in Dollar General parking lot, Chestertown at 8 am. Host: Montgomery Bird Club For reservations (required) and information, contact leader Clive Harris at clivegharris@yahoo.com. Description: We will bird the Ocean City inlet in the morning, looking for sea ducks, gulls, wintering shorebirds, check a few local areas and then head further north or inland. Start at 8 am in the Ocean City Inlet parking lot. Scopes useful. Limit 8. Host: Frederick Bird Club. Contact Lois Kauffman, 301-845-6690 or md.pa.birding@gmail. Description: winter birds and may otters! Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Patterson Park Audubon Center. Description: Join Audubon to explore this urban oasis in southeast Baltimore. With more than 200 species on record, the park is full of surprises. Participants must adhere to our COVID code of conduct and register in advance at patterson.audubon.org Host: Harford Bird Club. Contact leaders Colleen Webster (410-459-4577; cwebster@harford.edu) or Sue Procell (443-417- 4919). Description: Search for swimmers, divers, and flier on Mill Creek and Furnace Bay. Take the entrance road to Stumps Point at the far end of the Perryville Community Park. Host: Kent County Bird Club Contact: Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin, 410-778-9568, birdclub.kentcountymd@gmail.com Description: Wintering waterfowl, raptors (notably eagles), White-crowned & other sparrows. Half day, bring snacks. Meet in Dollar General parking lot, Chestertown at 8 am. Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Description: Two-mile walk around lake on paved path; wheelchair-accessible. Families welcome. Meet at parking area at corner of Berwyn Rd. and Ballew Ave. in Berwyn Heights. Leader may require mask for unvaccinated people. For more information, see PGAS Meetup site at https://www.meetup.com/Prince-Georges- Audubon-Society/ Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Leader Bill Sefton (kiwisuits@msn.com). Description: Two-mile out-and-back walk at natural area on the Patuxent River; fields, wet woods, brushy areas. Trail is gravel and dirt and is mostly flat, no hills. Leader may require mask for unvaccinated people. Meet at east end of Lemon’s Bridge Road, off Route 197 just north of Bowie State University. Host: Frederick Bird Club. Contact Marilyn Veek, mveek@yahoo.com. Description: winter birds. Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Alan Young, alanmyoung@gmail.com, 410-991-8300 Check MDBIRDS.ORG/Calendar for updates 5 pe fe co Te 8 AM - 12 PM A A 8-11 Swan Harbor 2/10 AM Farm 2-4 >) 9-11 AM 3=5 PM Hughes Hollow Ocean City Area Birding **Youth Birding** M 3:15 - . 2/12 Oaks Landfill Marshy Point Nature Center Semi-Monthly afternoon walk at Lake Artemesia 2/18 - Ocean City All D 27 7:30 - 10 AM 7:30 AM-4 ) M -11 M 8 A 8 —_ 9:30 AM 8 AM- 12 PM All day TBA 8-10 AM All Day 10:30 AM Monthly walk at Governor Bridge Natural Area Dorchester County Birding Trip Southwest Area Park Druid Hill Park Trip to Eastern Neck Blackwater NWR field trip County Birding Monthly walk at Quiet Waters Park Lois Y. Green Conservation Park Patterson Park Field Trip/Waterfowl Ocean City Weekend Bird Walk at Greenbury Point Host: Montgomery Bird Club For reservations (required), time, and other information, contact leader Nathan Tea at snowmie700@gmail.com. Description: Join us for a morning of winter marsh and woodland birding. Dress for the weather; bring water and a snack if you like. Beginners and young birders are encouraged. Limit: 6. Host: YMOS Contact George Radcliffe, radclifg@gmail.com, 410-463-1669 Description: Ocean City Area to Assateague Birding Host: Montgomery Bird Club For reservations (required) and more information, contact leader Mike Bowen at 202-236- 0510 or dhmbowen@yahoo.com. Anne Cianni will co-lead. Description: A nice variety of wintering waterfowl and rather close views of the birds. Bring telescopes. Begin at 8 am along the north side of Wisteria Drive. Limit: 10. Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Alan Young, alanmyoung@gmail.com, 410-991-8300 Trip Leader, Matt Atticks, maddicks13 @gmail, 442-987-7208 Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Daisy Sudano, dsudanotrainings@yahoo.com, 410-426-7627. Description: This month's theme will be"Winter Birding Craft & Walk." We will make bird feeders for our Winter friends. Meet at Greenhouse Classroom, Cylburn Arboretum. Host: Montgomery Bird Club. Contact leader Mark England at 240-308-4114 or englandmark@comcast.net. Description: Bundle up for a search for wintering sparrows and raptors, including possible Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls. Reservations required at least a week ahead of the trip for names to be submitted to the county. Limit: 16. Meet at 3:15 p.m. at 6001 Rt. 108, Laytonsville. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leaders: Brent and Mary Byers, baypuffin@hotmail.com or 410-686-7294. Description: Easy half-day walk through varied habitats for feeder birds and other songbirds, raptors, and waterfowl. Half-mile trail leads to point overlooking Dundee Creek. All are welcome, including families. Scopes useful. Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Description: Two-mile walk around lake on paved path; wheelchair-accessible. Families welcome. Meet at parking area at corner of Berwyn Rd. and Ballew Ave. in Berwyn Heights. Leader may require mask for unvaccinated people. For more information, see PGAS Meetup site at https://www.meetup.com/Prince-Georges- Audubon-Society/ Host: Frederick Bird Club. Contact Tom Humphrey, 240-793-2508. Description: Weekend trip to search for waterfowl and wintering seabirds. Host: Patuxent Bird Club & PGAS. Leader Bill Sefton (kiwisuits@msn.com). Description: Two-mile loop at natural area on the Patuxent River; fields, wet woods, brushy areas, wetlands, ponds. Natural surface trails may be wet; waterproof footwear advised. Leaders may require mask for unvaccinated people. Meet at the Natural Area parking lot on the south side of Governor Bridge Rd., 1 mile east of US Route 301 in Bowie. Host: Tri-county Bird Club. For more information contact trip leader, Mike Walsh at 410-422-0428 or mik.walsh@comcast.net. Description: Dorchester County, including Choptank River and Blackwater NWR, for waterfowl, raptors, other winter residents. Meet at the Royal Farms on Rt. 50 west of Salisbury. Bring lunch and snacks. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: Nico Sarbanes, nasarbanes@yahoo.com. Description: Morning trip to see ducks, grebes, coots, and other water birds. We'll also look for winter residents such as sparrows, and raptors. Canceled in snow, rain, or slippery conditions. RSVP to leader required. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Patterson Park Audubon Center. Description: Join Audubon and the Maryland Zoo to explore this leafy city park.From forest to lake, a variety of bird species await. Participants must adhere to our COVID code of conduct and register in advance at patterson.audubon.org. Host: Harford Bird Club. Leaders are Eric Vangrin (evangrin@msn.com; 443-417-7219), Tom Congersky (jnjtcon@zoominternet.net; 410-658-4137) and Tom Gibson at (gibsonlld@aol.com;410-734-4135). Description: We will be looking for ducks, swans and other waterfowl. Meet at the Havre de Grace P&R (I-95 and Rt.155). Host: Kent County Bird Club Contact: Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin, 410-778-9568, birdclub.kentcountymd@gmail.com Description: A mid-winter visit to a favorite refuge for waterfowl, eagles, pelicans and other surprises? Dress warmly, bring lunch & warm beverages. Meet in Dollar General parking lot, Chestertown at 8 am. Host: YMOS Contact George Radcliffe, radclifg@gmail.com, 410-463-1669 Description: Cambridge and South Dorchester Bird Hunt ending with Short-eared Owl Search Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Jim Collatz, jcollatz@aol.com, 410-295-3344 and Elle McGee, emcghee705@gmail.com, 443-386-3433. Host: Montgomery Bird Club. For reservations (required), contact leader Mark England at englandmark@comcast.net or 240-308-4114. Description: Morning walk through the varied habitats, looking for overwintering songbirds, waterfowl, and raptors. Start at the parking lot at 8711 Snouffer School Road, Gaithersburg. Limit 12. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Patterson Park Audubon Center. Description: Join Audubon to explore this urban oasis in southeast Baltimore. With more than 200 species on record, the park is full of surprises. Participants must adhere to our COVID code of conduct and register in advance at patterson.audubon.org. Host: Washington County Bird Club. Call Mark or Heather at 301-432-7696 for additional information. Description: Meet at the C&O Canal lot below the Shepherdstown Bridge. We will be traveling to various locations in search of winter waterfowl. Host: Baltimore Bird Club. Leader: John Landers, dado1bw@aol.com, 410-292-9549. Description: We will search for Harlequin Ducks, Common Eider, Purple Sandpipers and many other winter specialties. Overnight is optional. Contact leader for more information and meet-up instructions. Host: Anne Arundel Bird Club Contact Peter Hanan, peter.hanan@icloud.com, 301-580-2785 Check MDBIRDS.ORG/Calendar for updates 6 Meetings Meetings may be virtual or in-person (or both)! Additional details, including links, will be posted on chapter web sites and the MOS calendar, as available. Tim Carney will speak on Birding at Port of Baltimore Baltimore Bird Club Facilities: Cox Creek, Masonville Cove, Hart-Miller Island, and Greenhouse Classroom, Cylburn Arboretum Poplar Island. Maren Gimpel and Meghan McHenry will present “Birds and Caroline Bird Club Glass - researching the ramifications of window strikes in Caroline County Public Library rehabilitated birds.” 11/4 7-9 PM Frederick Bird Club Wil Hershberger will speak on A Celebration of Bird Song 11/9 7-9PM Baltimore Bird Club BBC Board Meeting. Greenhouse Classroom, Cylburn Arboretum Kent County Bird Gabriel Foley will give a progress report on the 3rd ; 11/9 7-9PM Heron Point ave [room [ops Maryland/D.C. Atlas Project 11/9 7-9PM Patuxent Bird Club Dr. Matthew C. Bey will speak about “Waterfowl of the Situal & PGAS Chesapeake Bay. 11/9 7-9PM Talbot Bird Club Alan Poole will give a talk on "The Resplendent Quetzal.” Easton YMCA Multipurpose Room Anne Arundel Bird 11/17 | 7-9PM Club Speaker and topic TBA Virtual 7:30-9 Montgomery Bird Joel Merriman (ABC) on "Effects of Climate Change and Wind : 11/17 . ae) Virtual PM Club Energy Facilities on Birds". 11/22 | 7-9PM Tri-county Bird Club | “Birding Argentina and Chile” presented by Chris Dominick. MAC Education Center Washington Count 11/23 | 7-9PM Bird sah Y Speaker and topic TBA Mt. Aetna Nature Center 12/2 7-9 PM Frederick Bird Club Gail Mackiernan will speak on “Birding in Panama.” Virtual 10 AM- Seneca Creek State Park Visitor Center, 11950 12/4 MOS Board MOS Board Meetin 12 PM [wossoad | MosBoardMeting Clopper Road, Gaithersburg 7:30-9 H d Count 12/9 ween aie Bill Young will speak on "The Wildlife of Uganda" Virtual PM Bird Club Patuxent Research Refuge — Visitor Center — South 12/11 | 1-3PM YMOS YMOS Annual Meeting Track - 12/14 | 7-9PM Baltimore Bird Club BBC Board Meeting. Greenhouse Classroom, Cylburn Arboretum Kent County Bird 12/14 | 7-9PM Club M Speaker & program TBA Heron Point Pat t Bird Club 12/14 | 7-9PM arene 2° | Annual Holiday Film Night. Film TBA. Virtual & PGAS A Arundel Bird . 12/15 | 7-9PM cei Sapa Hee Speaker and topic TBA Virtual 7:30-9 Mont Bird 12/15 ches ee Wine and Cheese Event Potomac Presbyterian Church PM Club Washington Count 12/21 | 5-7PM ; u Tally rally and potluck. Mt. Aetna Nature Center Bird Club 7:30-9 : f . a 1/5 PM Caroline Bird Club Program TBA Caroline County Public Library Sam Droege will talk about “Planting a pollinator garden for the birds and the bees.” To reserve a place use the website 1/6 12-—4PM | Baltimore Bird Club ; q P Vollmer Center at Cylburn Arboretum PerfectPotluck.com. For information contact Devi Abbott at abbottdevi@gmail.com or 410-308-0079. Paul Baicich will speak on Bird Feeding in America: A Story of 1/6 7-9PM Frederick Bird Club , PS 6 y Virtual Wild Birds, Innovation, and Conservation Erin Thady will soeak on her work leading the Virginia 7 -— 8:30 Allegany/Garrett : : ar . : : ‘ , 1/11 PM eT rane Landscapes program grassland biodiversity surveys (including | Virtual birds). Contact westernmdbirdclub@gmail.com for link 1/11 7-9PM Patuxent Bird Club ae pate Barve will speak on high-altitude adaptations of Virtual & PGAS birds in the Himalayas. 7:30- H 1/13 lie wale SC uney Kevin Heffernan and Linda Hunt "Butterflies of HoCo” Virtual PM Bird Club 7:30-9 Montgomery Bird 1/19 Club 7 : Gabriel Foley on "The Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas - Update" “Using Drones to Monitor Bird Populations” presented b 1/24 7-9PM Tri-county Bird Club 6 f P P y MAC Education Center Andy Wilson. Washington County ! d 1/25 6-9 PM Bird Club Potluck begins at 6 pm and program (film TBA) at 7 pm. Mt. Aetna Nature Center Check MDBIRDS.ORG/Calendar for updates 7 7-9PM Frederick Bird Club Members Night: members will share birding pictures/videos Ryland Taylor will present on Poplar Island and the birds that 3/3 7 -— 8:30 Allegany/Garrett frequent it. Contact Raquel Ketterman at Virtual Counties Bird Club westernmdbirdclub@gmail.com or 301-268-6746 for the meeting link. 8 x 7:30-9 Caroline Bird Club Program TBA Caroline County Public Library / PM Patuxent Bird Club Jim McCann will speak on Dragonflies & Damselflies of : 2 7-9PM Virtual je | 7-3e & PGAS Maryland. fia Washington Count 2/22 7-9PM . . ¥ Program TBA. Mt. Aetna Nature Center Bird Club “Maryland and DC Breeding Bird Atlas 3” presented b 2/28 7-9PM Tri-county Bird Club p ec o Y MAC Education Center Gabriel Foley, Atlas Coordinator. Christmas Counts Information is current as of publication date, but subject to change if state pandemic guidance/restrictions change. CBC: Brooke (VA) Compiler Laurel Bybell, Ibybell@gmail.com 12/17 CBC: Oakland Compiler Connie Skipper, connieskipper@hohnet.com 12/18 CBC: Wachapreague (VA) Compiler Marilyn Ailes, imailes@verizon.net 12/18 CBC: Triadelphia Reservoir Compiler David Holmes, musiclbndr@gmail.com 12/18 CBC: York (PA) Compiler Bernard Frick, bernardfrick@alum.lehigh.edu; alternate date 1/2/2022 12/18 To participate, email compiler, Larry Cartwright: prowarbler@verizon.net or contact the Audubon CBC: Washington, DC Naturalist Society through Carol Hayes at carol.hayes@anshome.org or call 301-652-9188 extension | 12/18 10. CBC: Catoctin Mountain Compiler Kathy Brown, 301-865-1369 or kathybrown07 @verizon.net 12/18 CBC: Denton Coordinator: Steve Westre, swestre26@comcast.net 12/18 CBCoLoch Raven Birders of all levels of expertise or experience are welcome and urged to participate. Contact 12/19 Compiler: Libby Errickson, elizabeth.errickson@gmail.com for area assignment. CBC: Charles Town (WV) Compiler Robert Dean, dean8189@gmail.com 12/19 ; Contact coordinator Bridget Bradshaw (bbradshaw @cliftoninstitute.org, 540.341.3651) or compiler Se aS SIE AS) Bert Harris (bharris@cliftoninstitute.org). All skill levels welcome! re CBC: Seneca Compiler Jim Nelson, kingfishers2@verizon.net 12/19 CBC: Elkton Compiler Russell Kovach, russell.kovach@gmail.com 12/19 CBC: Jug Bay Contact compiler Marcia Watson (marshwren50@comcast.net) to pre-register. 12/19 ) CBC: Salisbury Contact compiler, Mike Walsh at 410-422-0428 or mik.walsh@comcast.net 12/19 BC: Washi Sd Se COUN; Compiler: Mark Abdy,mjabdy@yahoo.com 12/2 CBC: Chesterville Compiler Maren Gimpel, maren.gimpel@gmail.com 12/26 CBC: Rock Run Compiler Mark Johnson, marksjohnson2@gmail.com 12/26 CBC: Nokesville, VA Interested birders should contact Kim Hosen, kim@pwconserve.org, 703.499.4954. 12/26 CBC: Crisfield Compiler Paul Bystrak, shrike@comcast.net 12/27 CBC: Ocean City Compiler Mark Hoffman, wcbirding@gmail.com 12/28 -net) Contact compiler Dave Mozurkewich, mozurk@bellatlantic.net, to pre-register. 2 CBC: Annapolis-Gibson Contacts are Hal Wierenga & Lynn Davidson, hal.lynn@comcast.net, 410-647-7439 and Sue Riccardi, 1/ Island susiericc@comcast.net, 410-647-9513 Midwinter Bird Count Contact Bill Ellis to verify your bird-counting area at billellis@ellislist.com or 443-520-8809. 1/15 ‘chareuh 1 C80 Canal Bird Count Contact James Speic er, the C&O Count Coordinator at jugornaught@gmail.com. Allegany/Garrett 1/29 -2/6 Counties contact is Melissa Hensel at mjhensel@yahoo.com CBC4Kids: York (PA) Compiler Bernard Frick, bernardfrick@alum.lehigh.edu ) ) Check MDBIRDS.ORG/Calendar for updates 8