THIS TRIP IS FULL. Bundle up for a 2 to 2½ hour LATE AFTERNOON search for wintering sparrows and raptors, including possible Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls. Mostly open terrain with some ponds, which we will check if they are not frozen over. Reservations required at least a week ahead of the trip for names to be submitted to the county. Limit: 16. We will gather at 3:15 p.m. on the landfill entrance drive at 6001 Rt. 108, Laytonsville, Md. For reservations and more information, contact the LEADER: Mark England at 240-308-4114 or [email protected].

Two years of data collection are now complete for the Maryland & DC Breeding Bird Atlas 3 (BBA3). This five-year community science project is documenting the distribution, abundance, and timing of each bird species that breeds in Maryland or DC. When complete, the BBA3 dataset can be compared to similar past projects and will provide an unparalleled record of how local bird distributions have changed over the last 40 years. Atlas Coordinator Gabriel Foley will provide an overview of how the project collects data, an update on the current status, and discuss how you can get involved and submit your own observations.

We will bird the Ocean City inlet in the morning, looking for sea ducks, gulls, wintering shorebirds and anything else that might be around (hopefully Razorbill). After that, we will check a few local areas around OC and then, depending on what is being seen in the area, head further north, possibly to Indian River Inlet or a little further inland. We will start at 8 a.m. in the Ocean City Inlet parking lot, so either get up early or stay overnight in the area! Scopes would be useful. Trip is limited to 8. Possible additional birding on the way down Friday afternoon, including a stop by Salisbury landfill, depending on the weather and the leader’s availability. For reservations (required) and information, contact the LEADER: Clive Harris at [email protected].