Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 18:02:49 PST Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: sue hamilton Subject: Washington County Highlights Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed I spent 9 days in the St. Paul's Rd area of Washington County, babysitting my grandson, who was, unfortunately, sick. Also the snow was pretty deep for long hikes with baby on back. However, I had brought lots of bird seed, so I enjoyed the feeder birds, including a large flock (6) of White-crowned sparrows. There are two resident kestrels on the farm, plenty of Horned Larks and a Great Horned Owl who woke me up one morning before the baby did. A spring fed stream flows across the farm, so one morning when I took a ramble through the snow by the open water, I spooked not one but 3 Common Snipe! When the baby was better, we took to the road a little, so I was able to spot a Common Raven flying across the road in the mountains just east of Sideling Hill. Now, Jim and Marshall had reported a Short-eared Owl at the intersection of Broadfording and Spickler Road, so, every time I drove somewhere, I went by way of Broadfording Road. For seven days, no owl, just red-tails. On the eighth, 2/10, I was returning north on St Paul's Road at 5:30 pm, when a Short-eared Owl flew east across the road, just short of the intersection with Broadfording Road. (One country block from Spickler.) I added Mute Swan and American Coot to my Wash. Co. List when I took a trip to Hagerstown's City Park. (I note that these birds are considered "?" and "." for Washington County in the yellow book.) Among the white domestic geese I spotted one Snow Goose. Sue Hamilton ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================