Garrett County: January 4, 2014

Pleasant Valley, Garrett County, MD

Friday evening, January 3rd,  I received an email that showed a photo of a Snowy Owl sitting on top of a telephone pole in the Pleasant Valley of Garrett County, MD. Garrett County is the western most county in Maryland and a hefty 4 hour drive from Easton. I have spent a lot of time birding in Garrett County and the chance to add Snowy Owl to my county list was enough for me to see if there was any interest in chasing the owl. John Hubbel quickly responded and we set up a meeting time for the following morning.

When I got in the car early Saturday the thermometer read 10 degrees. On the way to the western shore the lowest temperature recorded was 7 degrees.  It was cold and I was worried what the weather was going to be like out in the mountains. I picked up John in Montgomery County and by 9:30am we were in Garrett County looking at the telephone pole where the Snowy Owl had been observed the previous evening.  There was no owl present.

Pleasant Valley, Garrett County, MD

The Pleasant Valley is a large area in the southwest corner of Garrett County. Most of the land is agricultural with lots of wide open spaces. It is a perfect place for a Snowy Owl. Most of the roads were covered in snow but easily passable. Temperatures were in the low teens and thankfully there was no wind. John and I decided we would cruise the back roads through the valley hoping to turn up the owl. For the next three hours we scoured every field and telephone pole in the Pleasant Valley with no luck. We ran into fellow birders Bill Pope, JB Churchill, and Aaron Graham who were also searching for the owl. John and I did find a small flock of American Tree Sparrows, a Peregrine Falcon, and a flock of 45 Horned Larks which unfortunately did not hold any Snow Buntings or longspurs.

Muskrat, Garrett County, MD

One of the highlights of our Garrett excursion was finding a Muskrat feeding along the roadside. I was amazed that this small rodent was not hibernating. There was a small flowing creek off the road where he must have built a lodge. I was able to get a couple photographs before he scurried back towards the creek. After checking the original Snowy Owl location one last time, John and I decided to give up on the owl and head east. Our next stop was the terminus in the town of Cumberland. Situated at the confluence of Wills Creek and the Potomac River, the terminus typically has flowing water in winter and holds the possibility of large congregations of waterfowl. A quick stop yielded a white domestic Peking Duck hanging with a small flock of Mallards, a couple hundred Canada Geese, and a few Hooded Mergansers. Nothing very exciting.

Cumberland Terminus, Allegany County, MD

Even though we missed our main target, it had been a productive day with a handful of difficult species observed. Peregrine Falcons are very uncommon in Garrett County and to get stellar Muskrat photographs was very exciting. Unfortunately, it would not be my last Snowy Owl miss of the year.