Bird watcher experiences unusual activity while hiking in the Oxbow Lake Nature Preserve witnessed in Anne Arundel County, Maryland

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I am a 44 yr. old woman, I am submitting this in request of my husband & grown son. As an avid 'birder' (loves bird watching), I was taking an early morning walk (6:45 a.m.) around Oxbow Lake to see what birds were 'out & about'. Almost as soon as I started the short trail around the lake, I noticed that there was no activity.....none, no birds, no deer, no squirrels, nothing. This seemed VERY odd to me, because it was a beautiful spring morning, the sun was shining and there wasn't even the smallest breeze in the air. Then I noticed that the birds weren't even singing, I could not hear one bird song or call, which is very unusual because there is ALWAYS a lot of bird activity here, especially in the early morning. Then, I noticed that not even the frogs, or the peepers were making any sound...it was complete silence. When I reached the part of the trail where I usually see deer, there was nothing. It was just about in this area where I started to smell this terrible odor....har...