Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 22:48:31 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Steve Huy Subject: (no subject) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I finally heard Bobwhite while sitting in the back yard listening to the toads (which started calling about 5PM this evening). Several Gnatchatch= ers fed in the trees overhead and Bluebirds have started moving into the nest box. At one point I thought I heard a Grasshopper sparrow. Something kept flushing Snipe from the field next to Stone Manor. I coul= dn't see what it was but suspect one of the foxes was hunting there. I also h= eard what sounded like some sort of accipiter call. I'm not sure what it was = and never saw it, but I've seen both Coopers and Sharpshins here regularly th= e last few weeks. I suspect the Great Horned owls off Poffenberger Road have probably fledg= ed or are getting close. I observed one sitting on the edge of the nest tha= t I believe may have been a juvenile, but I didn't have my scope and the sun = made it hard to see. I was watching a nearby Redtail nest and was lucky enough to observe a fo= od exchange. One flew in with a large mammal, probably a rabbit. The other took it and left the nest and the new arrival settled down to brood the contents. I didn't see any sign of young, but another nest had what look= ed like white spattered over the sides. It may have only been feathers, but= I was driving by at about 60 MPH so I didn't get the best look. I'm going to try to get some photos of inflated toads. I had walked down= to the creek to get a closer look earlier. I picked one up while it was sin= ging and it continued. It then reinflated and started again while in my hand. The green frogs are smarter and I wasn't able to catch them. Steve Huy Project Owlnet Middletown, MD ========================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ========================================================================= ===========================================================================