So on Saturday, there was that RED CROSSBILL at Sandy Point State
Park. After a long discussion with Bill Schreitz, who was birding
that morning with me, we both agree that the monotonous call notes
being belted out were not of local origin and were, in our opinion, a
Red Crossbill. Admittedly, we were unfortunately pulled away from
that astounding bird by two Red-breasted Nuthatches. Oh to go back in
time...
The somewhat portly bird sat motionless in the thick of a pine, and as
I mentioned in last night's email, I took two photos simply to show
Bill (*in my camera's viewfinder) where to look... for the bird making
that odd call note repeatedly in the pine.
I tweaked one of the photos, making it slightly more cropped, a bit
more exposed and a touch more saturated. The skies that morning were
cloudy making the lighting rather poor. Here is the link to the
enhanced photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nervousbird/7926483676/
In it, I believe it shows a dumpy, drab, slightly-thick bird with
substantial feet and if you really, really look closely... I think the
lower mandible of the bird's sizable crossed bill is noticeable.
Onward to other highlights:
KINDER FARM PARK: Sunday, I went to look for Wendy Crowe's Philly
Vireo. It took me three and a half hours, but I happily relocated it
in the back corner of the park, close to the Kilmarnock community,
where I believe there is an entrance (but little parking).
YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER
PHILADELPHIA VIREO (Wendy Crowe found this bird on Saturday, or it
might have been Friday??)
Ovenbird 4
BLUE-WINGED WARBLER
BAY-BREASTED WARBLER
Yellow Warbler 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 3
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
CANADA WARBLER
BLACKPOLL WARBLER
Yellow-breasted Chat
warbler sp. Likely a Western Palm. Drab, tail-pumper, but looks
we're insufficient.
Blue Grosbeak LOADS
Baltimore Oriole
WHITEHALL ROAD, near the Bay Bridge this afternoon:
-a long Purple Martin, an odd looking Mockingbird with no neck
feathers, seven Cattle Egret and an interesting empid that looks a bit
like a Yellow-bellied. Here is the bird:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nervousbird/7926375524/
As I was returning home, I thought I'd stop and check out a little
area in my neighborhood that always seems to hold good birds. This
afternoon it offered up a MOURNING WARBLER.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nervousbird/7926339266/
I found it very interesting that the bird stayed UP above my head the
entire time, foraging around within the safety of a dense evergreen.
And when it finally did fly, it flew UP into the depths of a Sycamore.
(That tree, I should tell you, is a stump that has sprouted new
growth, so it is really thick, dense foliage, on an out-of-proportion,
oversized tree trunk.) In any case, I've always searched LOW for this
skulking warbler, but from now on... I'll search both HIGH and LOW.
Good Birding,
Dan Haas
St. Margaret's, MD
--
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Group 'Maryland & DC Birding'.
To view group guidelines or change email preferences, visit this group on the web at http://www.mdbirding.com
Posts can be sent to the group by sending an email to <mdbirding...>
|