Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 17:00:35 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Arlene Ripley Subject: Greater White-fronted Goose, Calvert County, MD Comments: To: MD-SMAS-GENERAL@LIST.AUDUBON.ORG Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed I wasn't really birding today but made a few stops here and there. While at Battle Creek Cypress Swamp (a few Fox Sparrows, and one angle-wing butterfly, not a whole lot else but it was midday), I was told about a phone call they had received about a possible Greater White-fronted Goose at small lake in the Victoria Station subdivision in the northern part of the county. I didn't have my scope with me (took it out this morning!) but did have my bins so I drove to the lake and checked out the mixed flock of Canadas, scaup, Ring-necked Ducks, Mallards and various hybrids. Sure enough way on the other side there was a pretty plausible looking GWF goose. I went home and retrieved the scope (that'll teach me). On second observation, the bird had all the characteristics of a Greenland adult, Anser albifrons flavirostris. The bill was orange with pale tip, the legs were orange, and when the bird raised itself from the water, flapping its wings the heaving barring on the chest was obvious. The bird did not take flight so I was not able to observe other features such as white rump band. It was slightly smaller than the surrounding Canadas. Directions to this lake: From Route 4 from the north, pass through Dunkirk and the Chaneyville Road stoplight. The next street is Skinner's Turn Road. Turn left and follow the road a short distance to the Victoria Station subdivision. Turn left into the subdivision onto Lake Shore Road. The first right will be Cannery Road. Turn right and drive down to where there are tennis courts on the left. You can park along the edge of this road. The lake is visible from here and it is just a short walk to the edge. This is really the only good spot to stop and the rest of the lake shore is private property with no access with parking that I could see. Earlier in the day, I was in North Beach (again not birding) but I always drive by the boardwalk area and the numbers of ducks on the bay and in the sky was truly awesome. It looked to be huge raft of scaup but I'm sure other birds were mixed in. I felt like I was at a wildlife refuge. Will have to run back over there tomorrow. ////// Arlene Ripley | || Calvert County, MD | 0 || aripley@nestbox.com | || http://www.nestbox.com || ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================