Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 17:29:17 EST Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Gail Mackiernan Subject: Green-tailed Towhee --not Hi all -- Barry and I decided to try for the Green-tailed Towhee found yesterday by Ray Kidder (what a way to start the year!). Because of some puppies at home, we couldn't spend as lon as we'd have liked to, but we gave it a try. We arrived at the River Road location described by Ray and about 10:15 am -- it was obvious that some other birders had been there, by the smorgasbord of seed along the roadside. We soon saw a good-sized flock of Tree Sparrows, over 25 of them, along with some White-crowns and a scattering of Songs and White-throats, in the hedgerow which runs along the treatment plant property just beyond the ponds. However, no Green-tailed Towhee. About that time, Paul O'Brien arrived and we further salted the roadside up to the next lane (by the big tree) with millet and other seed. Then we sat and waited for a while. Unfortunately, the sparrows seemed more interested in something out on the fields and along the hedgerow than in our offerings. After a while, we separated (using FRS radios) and walked the C&O Canal in both directions. There was quite a bit of sparrow activity along the canal, both banks, and anyone going out there tomorrow should keep looking here as well. G-T Towhees like scrubby, tangled edges more than fields, as I recall. Anyway to make a long story short, we had to leave at about 1:30 pm although Paul stayed on for a while. It was a bit frustrating because we certainly saw all the "cast of characters" from yesterday *except* the star! However, there is a lot of sparrow habitat and probably a number of flocks around. If seed will keep the Towhee around, then there is also plenty of that! We will certainly try again if the bird is relocated -- haven't seen that many G-T Towhees ever, and not for quite a few years at that. I WAS surprised at the lack of birders there -- hopefully more eyes will bring success in coming days. Cheers, Gail Mackiernan and Barry Cooper Colesville, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================