Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 20:23:10 -0500 Reply-To: paulas@erols.com Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Paula Sullivan Subject: Re: Eastern Shore Trip MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Benjamin Poscover wrote: > Later this week, my wife and I want to do a birding trip to the Eastern Shore. We will come through Delaware, overnight in Ocean City, and return home after first visiting Blackwater NWR and stopping at Cambridge. > We want to try for Great Cormorants at Indian River Inlet, the Tufted Duck at Rehoboth, the Harlequins at Ocean City inlet, and whatever else we can pick up. > So what is happening? Are there any suggestions that we can use that would help us with our birding trip. Ben, My husband and I just returned today (1/29) from the Eastern Shore, visiting Ocean City and environs, and Rehoboth. I'm happy to report that we saw 6 Harlequins (one female with five handsome male escorts), around 8:30 AM and again at 5 PM (1/28) in the Ocean City Inlet area. Lots of Purple Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones were present, but no Eiders. Also in Ocean City area, I would recommend parking at Hooper's Restaurant (on the mainland side of the Rt. 50 bridge) and walking on the pedestrian walkway of the bridge to view Skimmer's Island to the north. There were Black-bellied Plovers, Sanderlings, Dunlins, Bufflehead, and Red-Breasted Mergansers when I was there about mid-morning. Passing over the bridge late in the afternoon, it looked even better. The Eagle Nest Campground boat dock was rewarding shortly before sunset, with Killdeer, Black-bellied Plover, a flock of about 450 Brant, Dunlins, and Red-breasted Mergs. There were also a couple of tantalizing peeps, probably Western Sandpipers, on a distant sandbar, one of which flashed what seemed to be red and green bands on its legs. Four Great Cormorants were sitting on the superstructure (excuse my ignorance, it may be a signaling beacon of some kind) and Sanderlings were plying the rip-rap on both sides of the Indian River Inlet today. There were about 20 Long-tailed Ducks and 10 C. Loons off shore to the north of the inlet. I was disappointed that there were no Bonaparte's Gulls to be seen there. We stopped at Silver Lake only briefly and so could have missed the Tufted Duck. I could attest to only lots of mostly sleeping Blacks, Mallards, Hooded Mergansers, N. Shovelers, Ring-necked Ducks, Canvasbacks, Ruddies, Coots, and L. Scaup. By the way, our favorite restaurant in Ocean City is Restaurante Antipasti at about 33rd and Philadelphia. Not cheap, but great food and service. Have fun and good birding! Paula Sullivan Alexandria, VA paulas@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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================