I may skip Sandy Point for a while. The Sun is coming up South of the bridge, and the view is getting better from Possum Point. A really good sky would make Sandy Point worthwhile.

I’ve managed to get permission to be at Possum Point an hour before sunrise, so my thanks to the Naval Support Activity admin who granted permission quickly.

Possum Point was slow, but there were good colors and a few birds.

Thomas Point had hundreds of birds, but most were still too far out for good images, My friend’s house on Thomas Point Road was very active, and I should have had my video camera with me.

Dawn at Possum Point.

I see Canvasbacks at Thomas Point every year.

As the Sun rose, the colors in the water changed quickly.

Buffleheads tend to be very active and fun to watch.

There were many Scaup, but most were quite far out.

Many Mallards were milling about.

These Tundra Swans were looking for a handout.

Several Long Tailed Duck hens were feeding at the point.

I found only a few Surf Scoters.

I heard good things about Bombay Hook, so I got up early and made the trip.

In truth, it wasn’t worth it. I did get to see thousands of Snow Geese, but there wasn’t much variety otherwise. The pools were largely empty, and many of the birds were too far for good images.

Better luck next time.

Sunrise at Bombay Hook.

These American Avocets are in Winter plumage,

Many Song Sparrows forage in the brush along the main road.

I found only a single Greater Yellowlegs.

A few Northern Pintails were feeding in the mash.

These are the first Canvasbacks I’ve seen at Bombay Hook.

Bombay Hook seems to be home for many Black Ducks.

This is a White Throated Sparrow.

I found only two Great Blue Herons this morning.

Many thousands of Snow Geese seem to be wintering at Bombay Hook.

I started at Sandy Point again, and found a nearly gray sky from horizon to overhead. I stopped at Possum Point, and ran into two military police who seem to think Possum Point is closed until sunrise, and that sunrise is always 8:00 AM (The time of morning colors). I’ll have to sort that out next week.

Quiet Waters was next, and it was basically a bust. I saw a few Buffleheads and that was all.

Thomas Point was much better: hundreds of ducks including Scaup, Goldeneyes, Ruddys, Buffleheads, Scoters, Tundra Swans and a few passerines. Many of the ducks were too far out for good images, but a few drifted in close enough for decent pictures.

A flock of Cedar Waxwings were feeding in a tree at the point.

Several Tundra Swans flew over the Point.

A small flock of Scaup flew in as I was leaving.

Many Bufflehead were in the area.

This is a female Long Tailed Duck.

Several Common Goldeneye hens were foraging at the point.

A single Yellow Rumped Warbler was feeding near the car park.

Many Ruddy Ducks were in big flocks near the point.

Eastern Bluebirds are regulars at the point.

Graeme has a very nice exhibit in place at Patuxent NWR, so I met him there early this morning and we went looking for birds before the Visitor Center opened at 9:00.

We spent a couple of hours walking in the soggy woods, but we didn’t have much luck until we were almost back at the Center.

There were quite a few Sparrows around, but they spook easily and we didn’t get many opportunities to get decent images. A Chipmunk crossed our path, and a Fox Sparrow paused long enough for a decent picture.

We spent an hour in the Visitor Center looking at his exhibit and the other displays, which I confess I hadn’t visited before. They are excellent and very professional.

Goose Pond can be very attractive in the Fall.

There were several Blue Jays in the area.

A pair of Eastern Bluebirds were foraging near the marsh.

A single Chickadee was searching for breakfast.

This is the first Fox Sparrow I’ve seen all year.

We saw several Song Sparrows.

Graeme, standing in front of the exhibit.

It was seriously cold this morning, but I tried for some sunrise images at Sandy Point anyway. It was a waste of time.You really can’t tell what’s going to happen until you’re there, and even then you may have to wait a while to see if a good sky will develop. I’ve wasted a lot of mornings this year when the sky remained gray from horizon to far overhead.

I stopped at Possum Point after Sandy Point, and found a few ducks, but nothing worth spending time on. Thomas Point wasn’t really much better, with just a few birds close enough for pictures.

I then stopped at my friend’s house on Thomas Point Road, where there was a good variety, with most  of the birds being fairly close.

Many Tundra Swans were hanging out at the dock.

This pair of Canvasbacks will remain most of the Winter.

Buffleheads are getting more numerous.

Many Mallards were in the area.

I found this Ruddy Duck at Possum Point.

I saw only a few Redheads.

The doldrums have struck again, at least locally, so I made the trip to Bombay Hook again this morning.  It’s about an hour and a half, which is about my limit for road trips these days.

The water us still high in the pools, which limits the variety of birds, especially Sandpipers, who prefer foraging on mud flats and shallow water. Even the ducks were limited, but that will change as the season progresses.

A thousand or more Snow Geese flew over, and a small flock of American Avocets, but there weren’t any decent photo ops.

The Hairy Woodpecker was a nice find, as I don’t see many.

Only a few Tundra Swans were in evidence.

This Red Tailed Hawk flew over as i was leaving.

Only a few sleeping Northern Pintails were around.

This Dark Eyed Junco is for my sister.

A few Yellow Rumped Warblers were foraging on the boardwalk trail.

This appears to be a Savannah Sparrow.

This Swamp Sparrow was in the field across from the visitor center.

I found only one Great Blue Heron this morning.

This is a Northern Shoveler, probably a juvenile.

I see more Black Ducks at Bombay Hook that anywhere else.

I seem to be seeing a lot of Mallards this year.

The long beak and lack of red on the head identifies this as a female Hairy Woodpecker.

It’s been slow birding and crummy weather for nearly a week, so it was nice to have a decent morning for a change.

I got to Artemesia early, and there wasn’t much to see for over an hour. Canada Geese started arriving, and a few Wood Ducks and Grebes got active.

Early on, I found a few Buffleheads and Ring Necked Ducks, as well as a couple of Great Blue Herons. A decent morning, all things considered.

I’m throwing in a few images from other brief recent trips.

Quiet Waters Cove.

Lake Artemesia.

A pair of Wood Ducks was cruising the lake.

A few Bufflehead were feeding near shore.

I just barely got a look at this Great Blue Heron.

I found this Mallard at Thomas Point.

The Tundra Swans have returned!

This Bald Eagle flew over just as I arrived at Thomas Point.

There were 20 or more Ring Necked Ducks cruising the lake.

I met Graeme at Lake Artemesia this morning, and we circled the lake several times in hopes of finding a few good birds.

We can’t really complain, as I got a couple of first of season birds, and the weather was quite good for November.

There could have been more variety, but the light was perfect, the weather was excellent and we nearly had the place to ourselves.

Lake Artemesia.

Graeme Simpson contemplates the next shot.

I found this Cardinal yesterday at Quiet Waters.

Several White Throated Sparrows were forging near Indian Creek.

A single Pied Billed Grebe was swimming in the lake.

Starlings can be very attractive in the right light.

This juvenile Bald Eagle circled the lake for several minutes.

We saw only a few Mallards.

A large flock of Canada Geese spent the night at the lake.

Two flocks of Buffleheads were hanging out near shore.

A few Ring Necked Ducks were foraging near the Buffleheads.

A single Great Blue Heron was fishing.

This Belted Kingfisher was fishing yesterday at Quiet Waters.

We had a couple of days of rain, so It was good to be able to get out again.

I’ve hard of some nice bird at Bombay Hook, so I left Annapolis around 5:00 AM and got to Bombay Hook at 6:30. There’s very little traffic at that hour.

The morning was quite sunny, but the resident birds were staying well out in the marsh and it was tough to get good images.

Most of the ducks (Shovelers, Pintails, Teal, Mallards) were young or females. I suppose that’s standard for Fall migration. There were very few Sandpipers, which is probably because the water was quite high.

Hopefully, there’ll be more variety soon.

A lake at Bombay Hook.

Northern Pintails were in every pool.

This Turkey Vulture seemed to be drying his wings.

I found only one Greater Yellowlegs.

This Bald Eagle is probably in his first year.

Many juvenile White Crowned Sparrows were in the field across from the visitor center.

Only a few Great Egrets are still hanging around.

Black Ducks seem to favor Bombay Hook.

Most of the American Avocets were too far away for photos.

Many Mallards were feeding in the marsh.

Most of the Northern Shovelers were females or juveniles.