Blackwater NWR, 1/6/2012

Carolina Chickadee

I came up to Baltimore this week so that my son could get his braces off (long story).  But while up here, I had the opportunity yesterday to go to Blackwater NWR on the Eastern Shore of MD.  We saw a lot of birds I used to see frequently when I lived up here, but which I don't see as often in Florida.  We saw Carolina Chickadees, Brown Creepers, Eastern Bluebirds, and Dark-eyed Juncos.  I  enjoyed see Chickadees, Bluebirds, Creepers and Juncos more than the many raptors and woodpeckers that we saw.  The Refuge was overrun with thousands of Canada Geese, but I didn't even mind that, since I've never seen one in FL.  We also saw about 5 Tundra Swans, which was probably my favorite sighting of the day.  After lunch we quickly drove down to Hooper's Island to see what ducks we could see at the causeway.  We saw several Horned Grebe, Long-tailed Ducks, several Bufflehead and a few White-winged Scoter.

White Pelican

Tundra Swan

Brown Creeper

Bald Eagle

Here's a list of species I saw yesterday:
Canada Goose 10000
Tundra Swan 5
Mallard 100
Northern Shoveler 1
Northern Pintail 20
White-winged Scoter 3
Long-tailed Duck 5
Bufflehead 25
Common Loon 2
Horned Grebe 4
American White Pelican 1
Great Blue Heron 5
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Bald Eagle 13
Northern Harrier 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Kestrel 1
Wilson's Snipe 15
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 3
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker 5
Northern Flicker 2
American Crow X
Carolina Chickadee 15
Tufted Titmouse 3
Brown Creeper 2
Carolina Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Eastern Bluebird 5
Northern Mockingbird 9
European Starling 5000
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Common Grackle X