Yellow Billed Cuckoo and Blue Gray Gnatcatcher at Terrapin Nature Area

Fall is the best time of year in Maryland. It was another gorgeous morning after last night’s showers. Temps were in the 60s early and quickly rose to the 70s, with a few clouds. I headed off to Terrapin Nature Area in hopes of another great migrant day, but it was not to be. Still, I saw hundreds of Blue Jays heading South and got a few interesting birds to pose.

These female Wood Ducks were a little too far away, but it’s a sign the ducks are coming, and I’m looking forward to it.

The Blue Gray Gnatcatcher is a Neotropical migrant, and will be headed to Mexico or the Bahamas soon.

I don’t see these handsome birds often.

The marsh pond has been a consistent site for Green Herons.

I was lucky to get this House Wren, who only appeared briefly.

I saw very few warblers today, so I was glad this Magnolia Warbler posed briefly.

I was chatting with the gate keeper, who brings his dog for a walk every day when he opens the gate, and the dog bounded out the brush with this Deer Skull.

Hundreds of Blue Jays flew overhead today, heading South. I had no ide of this phenomenon.
From Allaboutbirds.org:
“Cool Facts
Thousands of Blue Jays migrate in flocks along the Great Lakes and Atlantic coasts, but much about their migration remains a mystery. Some are present throughout winter in all parts of their range. Young jays may be more likely to migrate than adults, but many adults also migrate. Some individual jays migrate south one year, stay north the next winter, and then migrate south again the next year. No one has worked out why they migrate when they do. “