Trip Day 35  Friday  May 28, 2021 At  Merry Meadows , Freeland MD on the Mason Dixon Line.

This Memorial Day weekend here in MD will be rainy it looks like. We traveled out to get to some birding spots before the rains came and we did just that. The rains were not severe at first but just steady drizzles.

The neighbors that moved in next to us were friendly and cheerful. That always helps in a close quarters situation and these sites although they are long 80-90 feet, are about 20 feet wide.

Those cedar "hedges"

 

 

 

 

The Tulip trees are still blooming in MD

 

 

 

 

 

 

By this evening on Friday of the weekend they are pouring in to the campground and filling all the spaces that I showed in a photo yesterday.

We headed out at 9:30 for a place called Bee Tree Refuge. It has trails but because of the heavy forest and meadows could be good bird watching. We started out on Mt. Zion Rd near the campground which has a United  Methodist church on it of the same name.

The road leads to many small homes back in the hills and again  then roads are those winding, up and down type. Not so steep as southern MD but beautiful especially without the trailer behind.  There were many places to stop and view as the traffic was nil. That gave us a chance to view a few birds we have not seen much. Namely the OLIVE SIDED and the WILLOW FLYCATCHER, PILEATED WOODPECKER, EASTERN KINGBIRD, HOUSE WREN, and NORTHERN FLICKER among others with a total of 25 today.

So far on the trip we have seen 90 species , but nothing that is new to our “big ”list”.

The goal was to get to Bee Tree Refuge , but we passed the ‘turnoff’ road and just continued on Gore Mill Rd as it was a beautiful drive. We turned around and came back to the turn road so it worked out well.  BUT on Gore Mill Rd. was a beautiful site where a Mill built in 1735 still stood. It is still owned by a grandson of the family and although pieces of the wheel and the sluice bringing water from the stream still are there they are not in use any more (see). We did talk with the grandson briefly. (see chimney).  It was the longest operating Paper mill in Maryland. (1950's)

The old Gore Mill site years ago

The mill race today with the old dam

The Gore chimney at paper mill     

 

 

 Bentley Rd. where we turned, has on it some very unique cedar hedges. They are really tall and closed in. (see) There were quite a few “blocks length” worth of them, rising up about 40 feet or  so. Amazing and dense for the birds to hide.
 

Roadside gardens in th neighbrhood

Before the Refuge ,the Presbyterian church of Towson, which owns the properties has a cemetery that is entered only with permission (gate locked) . (see) Few  birds there.

But a little further down the road was the Bee Tree Refuge itself  where we found a platform shelter  and a place to eat lunch. This was overlooking the meadow, and the greenery was made for wildlife. There was a large “open play yard”, in the middle of the meadow. We did see some species there and listened to a House Wren for minutes until we saw it just before it flew. The Refuge  was a hidden place on this quiet road (Kaufman) and probably seldom visited. (see)

The Cicada are found almost everywhere and sing together at times during the day , which fills the air mysteriously. The shell the cidadas leave when they come out of the ground is called  an 'exuviae' and is very hard from the years of excrement under ground.

Just before we left that remote area near the main road (York Hwy.) there was a dead end street  I just took to “see”.It was a short street loaded with well manicured homes with landscaping that was exceptionally well done. See these few photos . I liked the one especially with the fern lawn and an entire ground cover yard. (see)

Ruth selects the barns to photograph

One of millions of Cicada these days

Siberian Iris at pond by Buffalo farm

 That ended the bird watching on the back roads but the next road to the RV Park we like to take. It is Morris Rd that used to have a herd of  Buffalo. Today there was just one, but we did find birds on this hilly ,winding ,open land where we could see a long ways .There was a pond (see) and some wetland area of which there is very little in this hilly land.

It is 6:30PM and the rain is starting to get serious out there, so after a supper of spaghetti  we are slowing down for the evening, Ruth with a movie “Brassed Off”(British), and me here on the blog. The campground is essentially FULL.

Rain is scheduled through tomorrow noon so we will have a late  start to that other site ,the “Pretty Boy” Reservoir about 8  miles from here.  See you then.