Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 01:52:12 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Mike Callahan Subject: Re: Grackles with white feathers MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit On Fri, 4 Feb 2000 06:14:19 -0500 Darius Ecker writes: > I've also seen random white feathers on Red-winged Blackbirds. In February 1998 we trapped and banded a partial albino Red-winged Blackbird with a group of 5th grade students at Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Education Center in Charles County. It was nice to have a normal bird and the partial white one in hand at the same time to show the students a comparison. Yesterday we had an interesting and unfortunate incident happen unfold in front of students. While removing the birds from a Potter Cell Trap, an Eastern Tufted Titmouse (ETTI) and a squirrel were at the same cell. As I approached the feeders, we saw the squirrel running away from the trap. Inside that cell I found a banded ETTI with a bite taken out of it's head. The squirrel had killed it. Unfortunately the band had been placed on the bird at the same location in the winter of 1992. I know squirrels will take eggs and young from bird nests, but are their any incidents of taking adults at feeding stations? Well I won't say too much, but the squirrel has met a similar fate and has been recycled for a captive raptor. Artificial completion of the food web. Naturally, Mike Callahan ========================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ========================================================================= ===========================================================================