You often see Bald Eagles engaging in aerial duels at this time of year.

I may have spooked this Double Crested Cormorant, who took off shortly after I saw him.

The lighting sucks, but you can’t get much closer to a Tree Swallow.

If you see a small hawk with a white rump hunting in the marsh grasses, it’s a Northern Harrier.
Cornell:
“A long-winged, long-tailed hawk of open grassland and marshes, the Northern Harrier forages by flying slowly low above the ground looking for small rodents. It is one of the few raptors in which the sexes look quite different: the male is white below with a light gray back and hood, the female is mottled in browns.”

I saw many Bald Eagles today, but this one flew right toward me.

I heard this Northern Flicker singing long before I saw him.

I saw a large black bird flying toward me and snapped a couple of quick pictures, and was surprised to find it was a Pileated Woodpecker.

The Ospreys are now well established.

Teee Swallows are active and gregarious birds.

This Red Bellied Woodpecker was one of the few active small birds.

There are many Sparrows, but I mostly see Song Sparrows.

The Turtles are out, and that’s a sure sign of Spring.

Ranger Rick, the NWF mascot, rode on my hood today and helped me spot birds.

Mating a is a very quick affair, so I was lucky to catch these Killdeer in the act.

This Bald Eagle, and a friend, was trying to steal a fish from an Osprey.

These Tree Swallows seem to be setting up house in what looks like Bluebird boxes.

This Great Blue Heron is preparing to land.

This Common Loon is in breeding plumage. A fellow birder said he was, “All dressed up.”

I took a shortcut through the woods and came across this Downy Woodpecker.

Equal time for the female Cardinal.

Northern Flickers are skittish, so I was lucky to get this close.

This is the first Deer I’ve seen at CBEC.

I’ve seen lots of Red Tailed Hawks, and they are the most common hawk in MD, but they don’t all come this close.

A pair of Black Ducks and a Green Winged Teal were in the pond near the observation tower.

Some Mockingbirds seem to be angry.

The Double Crested Cormorants are in breeding plumage.

This Red Bellied Woodpecker was foraging vigorously.

There’s almost always a Bald Eagle in this tree in the morning.

These Green Winged Teals were in front of the observation tower.

I don’t often see Great Blue Herons flying in formation.

It was low tide shortly after I arrived, which attracted this Greater Yellowlegs.

A pair of Wood Ducks flew in and landed right near me before quickly taking off

Takeoff is a quick and violent affair.

Cornell:
“A small, graceful gull with bright white patches in its wings, the Bonaparte’s Gull winters near people, but breeds in the isolated taiga and boreal forest.”
This is a non-breeding adult.

It’s not a great image, but I don’t often see Common Mergansers.

There were many Bald Eagles flying overhead today.

Ospreys are prolific at Jug Bay, and MD in general.

Even though I’ve seen many Ospreys in trees, they still look out of place there.

This Hairy Woodpecker and his mate were engaging in some kind of courting behavior.

I’d like to have gotten a better image of this Northern Harrier, but I’ve only seen a few, so this will do.

If you walk near the water anywhere in Eastern MD, you’ll eventually startle a Great Blue Heron.

I see more Song Sparrows than any other.

A small flock of Gadwalls remains in the marsh pond.

Tree Swallows can usually be found along the entrance road.

This tree was occupied by a Red Tailed Hawk on my previous visit. Maybe it’s the same one.

This American Coot and a few friends was feeding in a small part of the marsh.

The Ring Necked Ducks didn’t spook as easily as yesterday.

Tree Swallows fly quickly and erratically, and it took a lot of shots to get even these images.

This Northern Pintail was swimming by himself.

And a Dark Eyed Junco for Marthe.

Tree Swallows are cavity nesters, and this hole would be perfect for a nest.

I was here first!

The Greater Yellowlegs’ long bill is perfectly suited to his diet.

This Bald Eagle was soaring overhead as I arrived.

These Ring Necked Ducks flew away shortly after I spotted them.

This one-footed Osprey seems to be thriving despite the handicap.

This Mallard was having a serious snooze.

This Red Tailed Hawk flew right over us as we were leaving.

White Throated Sparrows will be heading North to breed soon.

This Belted Kingfisher was fishing near the observation platform.

Tree Swallows were foraging on the entrance road, just as in my previous visit.

We saw several Bald Eagles, but none came very close.

This Horned Grebe is molting to his breeding plumage.

Cornell:”Forster’s Tern is the only tern restricted almost entirely to North America throughout the year.”

This Double Crested Cormorant is in breeding plumage also.

Top: Black Maran (Pet name Olive)
Middle: Barred (Plymouth) Rock (Pet name Keepie)
Bottom: Buff Orpington (Pet name Buffy)

This Sharp-Shinned Hawk was looking for lunch at Truxtun Park

This Osprey is carrying a half-eaten fish.

This Carolina Wren was singing in my backyard.

You can usually find a few Mallards at Truxtun Park.