Date: 1/12/13 5:25 pm
From: danny poet <birder231...>
Subject: RE: [MDBirding] Foiled by fog and hunters-Worcester Co.



Hey Marcia sorry about the hunting it get madding sometimes . I am daring to ask where on Assateaque did you see the Northern Saw - Whet Owl . If you do not want o say thats ok . better luck tommorrow .


Danny


> From: <mebalestri...>
> Subject: [MDBirding] Foiled by fog and hunters-Worcester Co.
> Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:18:25 -0500
> CC: <mebalestri...>
> To: <mdbirding...>
>
> Due to morning fog along the coast we headed down to EA Vaughn hoping to find an egret or two, maybe some ducks, and anything else we might run into. We stopped along the highway to look at a huge blackbird flock; mostly grackles. I swear I heard a Rusty Blackbird in among them, but I don't usually associate them in with big flocks in open fields. EA Vaughn started out good--right around the parking lot was very birdy; a morning Eastern Screech-Owl, lots of sparrows, and a Gray Catbird. It went downhill from there. We walked toward the pond, but saw a couple of hunters down on a point in the pond. So no egrets, no nothing. A hapless Bufflehead wandered over and that was the end of him (lots of ammo to take him down). He was only wounded at first and was swimming along, so one of the hunters waded out to finish him off. We went to Taylor's Landing to find a Forster's Tern and a Horned Grebe, but not much happening in the marsh.
>
> On to Truitt's--pretty quiet there as well. A few Greater Yellowlegs, about 1000 Green-winged Teal (couldn't pull out a Common), 3 Forster's Terns, and a Wilson's Snipe kept me entertained for a while. On the way out, a Sharp-shinned Hawk buzzed the car chasing something and putting nearby robins into quite a panic.
>
> After lunch, we stopped in at Assateague SP to visit with the Northern Saw-whet Owl briefly and to try to find something else, but the fog was just too thick to see anything. Bayview was the same although I did manage to pick out the Redhead, so it is still there. West Ocean City Pond (usual ducks), Skimmer (several American Oystercatchers and a flyby Cooper's Hawk with a very full gullet) and the inlet were all still socked in, so I worked on my shape ID skills for a bit. After a while we just gave up. Tomorrow.
>
> ____________________
>
> Marcia Balestri
> Frederick, MD
> <mebalestri...>
>
>
>
> --
> -- 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...>
>
>


--