Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2001 18:06:48 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: June 30/July 1 @ Ferry Neck MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Rigby's Folly, Talbot County. Red-tailed Hawk attracts a crowd. An adult flew in and perched in top of a Red Cedar. Within a few minutes it was mobbed by 2 Red-winged Blackbirds, 3 Common Grackles, a kingbird, 2 Fish Crows, plus 2 mockingbirds and several Blue Jays and a bluebird also came in to investigate. Toad relocation program. We continued to clean out the garage prior to demolition, relocating 6 Fowler's Toads in the process, one of them uttering its "release call" while I was holding it. Carolina Wrens have an active nest between the back wall and an old bird feeder (filled with insulation by mice) that I'll try to relocate next weekend. Yellow-billed Cuckoo calling on June 30. A poor year for them hereabouts. Empty nest syndrome. Not yet. Carol Erwin and her family, as they came up the driveway , saw our two juvenile Bald Eagles and one of the adults - still hanging around the nest. At the base of the nest, Liz, brother Gordon, and I found a medium-sized Diamondback Terrapin carapace. Cicadas have started "calling". There's a great Stephen Vincent Benet line or two from "John Brown's Body" I often think of when I hear cicadas: "July is hot in Virginia-a parched, sun-leathered farmer sawing Dry sticks with a cicada-saw that creaks all the lukewarm night." Red Mulberry wanes. The berries are getting old and few but still attracted a Gray Squirrel, robin, grackle, cardinal, and Red-bellied Woodpecker. Butterflies this weekend: Meadow Fritillary, either an American or a Painted Lady, Little Wood Satyrs (think there were some distant ones last weekend, too), European Cabbage White, some distant sulphurs, Snout, Red-spotted Purple, and Tiger Swallowtail. Some huge, dense schools of minnows in the cove, one the size of a large carpet, the largest I've ever seen. Sea Nettles are getting common. Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA 19119. ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================