4/19/14
I joined eight others on a Carroll County Bird Club field trip to the section of Liberty Reservoir at the end of Bollinger Mill Road. There were quite a few new faces. I recognized C.J. McAuliffe who had recently joined the club. There was also a birder named Jan, who was a member of the Baltimore County Club. Dave and Maureen Harvey led the group.
We waited for a time in the small parking lot there for one person who had called to say he planned on joining us. After a while, Dave led the group down the trail while Maureen continued to wait (just in case). Northern Cardinals were singing in the woods. Dave heard a Black and white Warbler. Eventually, we all managed to hear the bird, but we never did get a good look at it. A short time late, when Maureen joined us again, she asked if we had heard the bird. She had lovely views of it. Or, maybe it was another Black-and-white Warbler.
Working our way down toward the water, Dave assured us that the trail to the left was less muddy than the one to our right. We soon added a number of species to our list, including Blue Jay, American Crow, Mourning Dove, White-breasted Nuthatch, Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, Downy Woodpecker, Black Duck, Carolina Wren, Osprey, Double-crested Cormorant, Canada Goose, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Turkey Vulture, American Goldfinch, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, and Northern Parula. We also heard a Barred Owl calling.
At some point, we decided to turn around and head back the way we came. Instead of returning to the parking lot, however, we continued around the lake. This put us on the trail which Dave had suggested might be a little more wet. It wasn’t that bad though. Somewhere along the way we added White-throated Sparrow, Pileated Woodpecker, Ruby- crowned Kinglet, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Hairy Woodpecker.
The best bird of the trip for me, however, was the Pine Warbler singing in a stand of trees to the left of the trail. The bird put on quite a show and everyone was able to see as well as hear it.
On our way back to the parking lot again, we heard or saw Yellow-rumped Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, Broadwinged Hawk, Yellow Warbler, Fish Crow, Black Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, and Eastern Towhee.
Carroll County Bird Club 