Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 07:32:47 EST Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Mark Hoffman Subject: Laughing Gull Arrival Dates MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Re. the query on Wicomico County arrival dates for Laughing Gull, I wouldn't dare comment (isn't that some place between the Western Shore and the coast?). But for those comparing this spring to those past, listed below are Laughing Gull records for Worcester County for Feb-Mar 19, after species the species is usually present in good numbers. Arguably, the arrival record is 29 Feb, with only 3 March records prior to the 10th. Interestingly, the first reports this spring were from the Bay region (Jug Bay), and it is interesting to speculate that they arrive there first, just as they stay in the Bay region later into the winter. Better reporting could document this ... It would appear Dave/Mary Ann are winners of the LAGU (pronounced "le-goo") award. A Cape May tradition, it is given to the person or persons to spot the first Laughing Gull of spring. No monetary value, however. HA-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. I can hear them in my sleep. Maybe if the early spring continues I can get my gnatcatcher this year. Regards, Mark Hoffman Sykesville, MD Mhoff36100@aol.com Worcester County Records of Laughing Gull (Feb-Mar 19) LAGU 02/08/1976 OC 2 "OC area". (MLH) Unpub. Obs. LAGU 02/11/1995 OC 4 "winter plumage". (Lawler, E.) MB 52:69 LAGU 02/29/1992 OC 2 "very early". (Czaplak, D., Jett, G., Kruger, J. H.) MB 48:69 LAGU 03/06/1993 OC 2 Arrival. (Gough, G., Osenton, P.) MB 51:15 LAGU 03/08/1992 WC 1 AB "returned 03/08-09, earlier than usual". AB cites MLH and C&DB for period. (Unk) AB 46:406 By inference, obs. must have been C&DB (MLH obs. on 03/09). LAGU 03/09/1992 WC/SE 3 AB no #. AB "returned 03/08-09". Stockton-Little M-GIL-Vaughn/C-Truitt's L. AB cites MLH, C&DB for period. (MLH, O'Brien, M.) AB 46:406 Unpub. Obs. AB "returned somewhat earlier then usual". 0915:1930. LAGU 03/10/1991 OC 2 "first of season". (O'Brien, M., et al.) MB 47:119 LAGU 03/10/1992 OC 8 Inlet, ocean stops. (MLH, O'Brien, M., Wierenga, H. L.) Unpub. Obs. LAGU 03/11/1992 OC/INLET 2 (MLH) Unpub. Obs. 0840:1000. LAGU 03/11/1992 WCCL 10 1 subad. (MLH) Unpub. Obs. 1400:1600. LAGU 03/11/1995 OC/23RD 1 (MLH, Thornton, A.) Unpub. Obs. LAGU 03/11/1995 OC/JAMETRD 1 (MLH, Thornton, A.) Unpub. Obs. LAGU 03/12/1983 OC 1 ADT. "early". (Klockner, W.) MB 39:67, 78 LAGU 03/12/1992 OC 5 Inlet, 4th, 23rd, ocean stops. (MLH) Unpub. Obs. 0750:1700. LAGU 03/12/1995 WC/S 1 NS. (MLH, Thornton, A.) Unpub. Obs. LAGU 03/13/1994 OC 1 MB arrivals. MB cites Davis, MLH+. (MLH, Farrell, J., O'Brien, M.) MB 51:116 Unpub. Obs. LAGU 03/14/1982 AI 4 ADT. MB no #. AB "first". (Mignogno, D., Wierenga, H. L.) MB 38:89 AB 36:838 LAGU 03/16/1975 OCP 1 NS. "earliest" cited in Rowlett 1980. Persumably in MD waters. (Rowlett, R. A., et al.) Rowlett 1980 LAGU 03/16/1984 OC 1 (Slaughter, E.) MB 40:67 LAGU 03/16/1995 OC 1 Arrival. (Broderick, C., Broderick, D.) MB 52:86 LAGU 03/18/1972 WC 1 ADT. (Unk) MB 28:106 LAGU 03/19/1989 OC 4 "first reports". (O'Brien, M.) MB 45:108 LAGU 03/19/1994 OC/INLET 4 (MLH, Czaplak, D., Todd, M. A.) Unpub. Obs. 1700:1800. LAGU 03/19/1994 WC/N 1 90-St.Martins-Back Crk-Jarvis-Collins-Bunting (MLH) Unpub. Obs. Pitts-Shockley-Campbellton-346. ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================