Hi all:
Went looking for the reported shrike (jflowers / 8 Dec). This spot is in
the local CBC circle (Gettysburg, PA) and I am compiler, so I was doing a
little scouting as our count date is Saturday.
I live in the area. They bred here 10 years ago. One nested here later
than that but the location was close-hold at the time. The last time we had
one here for a while, there were as many as three at one point, and at
least two separate birds were present for weeks. One bird (not sure if the
same bird the entire time) was being seen for just over a year.
So I did not find the Loggerhead but did have a Say's Phoebe.
Very tame and unafraid of people like phoebe's are. I remained in the car
and the bird stayed about 4 or 5 minutes.
Operated from the ground which Say's apparently does regularly. Did land on
one of those "reproduction" civil war era battlefield picket fences briefly
and returned to ground. Assumed it was looking for insects. No berries in
immediate area. Hovered at the fence a couple of times. Dipped as well as
flared its tail repeatedly. It did not vocalize during the time it was
there. Plumage was pretty much classic Say's.
I drove around a bit and returned several times to the site I had it at
over the course of about an hour. Never relocated the bird. Went back near
dusk and still no luck. Will give it a go tomorrow.
There are numerous reports extant throughout the mid-Atlantic region of
Say's. One in Bucks Cty, PA; at least four maybe five in VA - including one
at Big Sky Meadows, one in Highland Cty, one at the Kiptopeke hawk watch
platform and one at Pleasure House Point. Think there was one in Delaware
also.
Will post back to this list.serv if it is seen again.
Michael O'Brien
Adams County, PA
On Sat, Dec 8, 2012 at 9:28 PM, jflowers <artsnimages...> wrote:
> Hi All, I actually did the reverse starting in the Adams Grasslands and
> Pumping Station Road near the Sachs covered bridge. The real treat was
> another Loggerhead Shrike perched on a woodpile just 1/3 mile west of the
> bridge, not 20 feet off the road on the left side. Raptors were everywhere
> and up close and personal in the grasslands and included 7 Kestrels, 1
> Merlin, 3 Red Shouldered, 5 Red tails, 1 Rough-legged and 2 adult Bald
> Eagles perched in a dead tree. The highlight of the grasslands was a
> beautiful "Grey-Ghost", male Northern Harrier hunting a winter season
> grassland.
>
> Once into Maryland and along the way near the Mason Dixon Farm I spotted
> another adult Bald Eagle in flight. Bullfrog Road between Harney Road and
> Route 140 added more Red tails and a Sharpie.
>
> I ended up at the short-ear spot at the then of Bullfrog road but the darn
> sun had come out and I didn't have the time to stay later for any
> short-ears. I did notice auto tracks in the wet grass at the area so
> perhaps others may have been lucky the evening before.
>
> Jim
>
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