Iceland Gulls on Both Sides of the Bay Bridge

Saturday morning I made a trip out to the site of the old Hemingway's Restaurant to see if a recently-reported ICELAND GULL was still mixed in with the rather sizable flock hanging out on the East side of the Bay Bridge. Lucky for me, it was...The bird was a ways out in the water, but a great bird never the less.

Later in the day, I decided to check out Sandy Point State Park to see if that bird (or another) was on the Anne Arundel County side of the Bay. Again, as luck would have it, no sooner did I set up my scope did I find an ICELAND GULL bobbing out from the main point.It was kind enough to land very near the shore, as well as fly around the point a few times. I couldn't stay long, but I certainly enjoy my visit.From Cornell's website, ALL ABOUT BIRDS, they have this to say about ICELAND GULLS: "A pale gull of the north Atlantic, the Iceland Gull breeds in the high Arctic and winters south of the Maritime Provinces only in small numbers. The American race known as "Kumlien's Gull" is one of the most variable of all gulls in plumage characters, and no two seem to have the same amount of dark on the wingtips."
Good Birding,

Dan

Sandy Point in the Snow

After the twenty odd inches of frozen precipitation that Maryland received this weekend, Chris Murray and I decided to venture out late this afternoon for some local snow-filled birding. Sandy Point seemed like a safe bet.With almost all available field and forest covered with the white stuff, I figured that the beach area where the water kept the snow from piling up, might be a great spot for hungry foragers. We were not disappointed. We found one, possibly two, HORNED LARK and two SAVANNAH SPARROWS enjoying whatever morsels they could find in the sand.We returned home, backs aching from shoveling snow, and legs destroyed from hiking through knee-deep snow drifts. Sleep and some Advil will be most welcome this evening. And the best news of all... no school tomorrow.Declan and I will see you on the sledding hill!

-Dan