birding...

Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula ©Stephen O Muskie http://www.outtakes.com/birds/index.html

Extending from the barrier island beaches of the Atlantic Coast to the mountain highlands of Garrett County in the West, Maryland spans four distinct geophysical regions: the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau, the Ridge and Valley area and the Allegheny Mountains. These four areas encompass a wide variety of habitats that offer the active birder many opportunities to seek out Maryland`s 415 species of birds.

The Coastal Plain includes the Eastern Shore Counties of Worcester, Somerset, Wicomico, Dorchester, and Talbot, the Assateague Island barrier beaches, and the back bays of Sinepuxent, Chincoteague, Isle of Wight, and Assawoman. These bays and their associated tidal wetlands teem with birdlife at all seasons of the year and are matched only by the vast wetland expanses bordering the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Further north, the Coastal Plain includes Caroline, Queen Anne`s, Kent, Cecil, and the shoreline areas of Harford and Baltimore Counties, all in the Upper Chesapeake section. Moving down the Western Shore of Chesapeake Bay leads the avid birder to the counties of Southern Maryland, including Anne Arundel, Prince George`s, Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary`s. Southern Maryland includes the wide expanses of the Patuxent and Potomac Rivers, two important watersheds of Eastern Maryland.

The Piedmont Plateau includes Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, Carroll, Howard, Montgomery, and eastern Frederick Counties and is the area of the state most beset by rampant growth. At the same time many wild areas are preserved as State or local parks or wildlife management areas and continue to offer oases of bird diversity amidst to canyons of office buildings and expanses of suburban lawns.

Frederick and Washington Counties comprise the Ridge and Valley area, with Allegany and Garrett Counties making up the Allegheny (and yes, they ARE spelled differently!) Mountain area. The Ridge and Valley section is essentially a transition zone between central Maryland and the mountain area to the West and is noted for its many species of grassland birds that breed in the wide valleys between the mountain regions. The Allegheny Mountains are the summer home for many species that normally breed far north of Maryland.

Although experienced birders flock to Worcester County, the diversity of birding habitats in the state offers birders a rewarding birding experience just about anywhere! The Maryland Ornithological Society`s State Web Site is your key to birding in the state. Here you will find information about birding in the state and the District of Columbia, as well as the official checklists, pictures of rare state birds, links to chapter sites and information about the activities of the MD/DC Records Committee. The Society`s newsletter is available for downloading, and you can also link to the Maryland discussion list archives from the home page.

Maryland is beautiful, as the state slogan goes, and we look forward to seeing you here!