Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 23:39:52 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: gonbrdn Subject: Cecil Avalon Trip- Results MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi All: I had several inquiries as to the outcome of our trip; so below is writeup I did for our newsletter, mindful of course, that these are NJ and not MD birds!! 8 Cecil and Harford cohorts birding away from home on this full day trip deemed the day a success!! At the Avalon Seawatch, our first scheduled stop, we enjoyed flights of BLACK SCOTER, GANNETT and both COMMON and RED-THROATED LOON. All enjoyed a flyby of BROWN PELICAN. Many FORSTERS TERN streamed by, with the occasional BONAPARTES GULL. The usual SANDERLING and RUDDY TURNSTONE occupied the seawall rocks. Driving from destination to destination, BRANT seemed to be everywhere!! At Stone Harbour Point, we enjoyed quite a spectacle of many GANNETT feeding and diving right off shore, good naked eye view, both gleaming adult and dusky plumaged immatures. Both CASPIAN and ROYAL TERN were viewed here as well. Scoping the flats of Grassy Sound on the bay side of Stone Harbour, we found MARBLED GODWIT, best bird of the day. From this location, we also enjoyed OYSTERCATCHER, numerous BRANT, late SNOWY EGRET and OSPREY. Other shorebirds included BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, DUNLIN, YELLOWLEGS and DOWITCHER. Onto the hawk watch, we again found quiet going, but enjoyed a nice assortment of waterfowl in the ponds, including RING-NECKED DUCK, HOODED MERG and WIDGEON. At 3 PM, feeling thoroughly buffeted by the unrelenting wind, satisfied birders called it a day and headed for home. But, a stop at the Goshen center yielded one more surprise, a probable RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD feeding on late nectar flowers!! Leslie Fisher Cecil Co. ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================