Dans Rock Bird Count (2025)

Please welcome Aaron Graham, our lead counter for the fourth season of the Dans Rock Bird Count. We'll continue gathering valuable migration data from the iconic Dans Rock Overlook, which is located south of Frostburg at the highest point in Allegany County, Maryland. The count will document fall bird migration here from August 1st through November 30th.

If you would like to support this effort, please donate via the link above. You can monitor updates via Trektellen and eBird as well as via the MBP special projects blog and on social media (MBP on Facebook and Instagram).

Meet the Counter

◆ Aaron Graham

Aaron was born in West Virginia, spending the majority of his childhood exploring the hills and hollows right across the border in Maryland. From spending any opportunity outside in the extensive property his family was blessed with stewarding, a love in birds only naturally developed. While attending a local elementary school who put an emphasis on environmental education, a pair of knowledgeable local birders made regular visits to help educate the students on the natural world. Upon noticing Aaron's interest in birding, they began to get him out in the field where his passion for birds and the natural world blossomed. Aaron notes his early expeditions onto his family's property to locate Pileated Woodpeckers and coming across the Brown Creeper with his dad as a moment that still spurs him on today as he looks to further himself in his birding pursuits and the ornithological field.

Aaron has taken a particular interest in migration based counts, rather that be stationed amongst a mountain pass or atop a dune conducting morning flight counts, or finding the most suitable windbreak to conduct an epic seawatch. Additionally, his love of the outdoors has gotten him to delve into butterflies, odonata, and salamanders as he continues to seek a better understanding of the natural world around him.

Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Professional Wildlife Biology from Frostburg State University, Aaron has conducted ornithological fieldwork in West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Rhode Island. Aaron is an eBird Reviewer for the state of West Virginia where his interest in birding areas with little to no coverage has been to the benefit of the new local eBird filters. Aaron is an author on the Blackwater River Watershed Field Guide aiding in the identification and understanding of taxa from birds to plants in the reaches of this watershed in West Virginia. Aaron is a guide for West Virginia Birding Guides and Arizona Birding Guides. Outside of birding he coached high school soccer for several years before recently transferring to the college game where he is now the Assistant Coach for the Garrett College Men's Soccer program. In the winter you can find him out on the ski slopes as a ski instructor where he helps to run the Wisp Kids program at Wisp Resort.

Read more about the Count on the MBP blog page.