Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 20:53:58 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Paul Subject: Further comments on ?Snowy Owl in Queen Anne's County MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I just wanted to pass on a few more comments about the bird I saw this morning as I was driving over the Bay Bridge (at 50 mph, really officer - "Some of us know better" indeed!). The bird was first seen flying between the two spans, sort of towards me/to my left, a little above eye level. My first thought was, "oh, a big white gull. Could it be a Glaucous?" As it passed to my left it made a wide, leisurely circle, banking towards me. I could see the upper surface of the wings and tail, which were completely white. I could also see the shape of the wings, which were rounded - not pointed like a gull. The tail also looked too long for a gull. It was then that I realized that I was looking at some sort of raptor and not a gull - and Snowy Owl immediately came to mind given that it was so white. I tried to get a look at the head, which seemed blunt and owl-like, but I didn't get the sense that the bird was heavy in the front end, like I'd expect of an owl. The bird was behind me at that point, so I figured that it was in my best interest to turn my attention from the bird to the road. I never saw it again (including on the return trip at about 2:30 pm). Bottom line: if it was a Snowy Owl, it was an adult (given the extent of white in the wings, mantle, & tail), which is highly unlikely this far south, and probably equally unlikely to be flying between the spans of the Bay Bridge at about 9:45 in the morning. So in hindsight I'd say that I'm less than 99% sure this was a Snowy Owl, as I can't rule out an albino buteo with certainty. Someone else suggested a large white Cockatoo, but I think that can be ruled out on size and tail length. So another bird goes into the books as unidentified. Certainly not the first, and surely not the last. By the way, I saw at least 7 swallows as I was driving along Rts. 301 and 302. Those that I could identify were Trees (probably all were). I'm guessing that this cold front pushed a few holdouts farther south. Paul Pisano cheep@erols.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================