Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 09:04:34 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Gail Mackiernan Subject: Re: Rails, Black and Yellow In-Reply-To: Message of Thu, 19 Apr 2001 20:41:35 -0400 from Hi Bob -- There are a number of Yellow Rail records from Maryland, several are from October when the birds are moving south -- one was found dead at Pt. Lookout SP, for example, having apparently struck the radio tower. Another was banded and released at Jug Bay. One of the most remarkable records was a bird from Potomac -- a homeowner who was a birder was mowing his large, somewhat overgrown lawn. He mowed it in an inward spiral pattern, and as the uncut grass area became smaller, a Yellow Rail flushed from the patch and fled into a pile of brush. The fellow hopped off his mower and rushed over, but the bird was not relocated. Ever since then I have toyed with the idea of letting my lawn grow good and long in the spring... That having been said, one record accepted in Maryland was a recording (only) of Yellow Rail at Elliot Island, Black Rails also heard on tape. I cannot recall the exact date (Phil?) but it was spring. Barry and I had three Yellow Rails at Pt. Mahon Rd. on Mother's Day in 1993, this was after 10 pm at night. There was a spate of YRs being heard in Delaware marshes, including at Bombay Hook where folks were allowed in at night (in an organized group) to hear them on the Marsh Trail. This was in the early 1990s, but not recently, I understand. The birds are of course on passage, and whether they stop and can be heard by birders, or fly through is very much a fluke of weather and chance. Do Black Rail surveys at Elliot Island start early enough in the year to "catch" Yellow Rail passage -- which appears to be early-mid May? Gail Mackiernan 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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================