Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2001 03:11:22 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Linda Baker Subject: Kinder Park raven?; kestrels Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hello All While checking blue bird boxes Wednesday afternoon I noticed the crows were unusually vocal. I kept looking for something that might be the object of their attention, but to no avail. The crows were mostly in the tree tops, in several directions and moving about from tree to tree without any obvious focus of their disapproval. I relocated to the parking area nearest the wildflower meadow intending to walk along the mowed margin near a small patch of older trees. As I parked, I noticed 2 crows diving at a larger bird. The silhouette didn't quite fit for raptors. So looking thru binoculars(12x), I saw a large, all evenly dark bird, about 20 per cent larger than the dive-bombing crows, which were probably American. (All of the numerous crow vocalizations that I had heard were American crows.) The tail was proportionatly longer than that of the crows and not straight across the end, but wedge-shaped. I did not hear any vocalizations from these three birds. The three birds disappeared over the trees before I got more comparisons made. I went in the same direction, but did not see the bird again. The crows were all silent and remained so for the next hour. Has anyone else seen a raven in central Maryland recently? No, not the kind with purple uniforms!! I know this is not their usual haunt. Also, the local kestrels seem to have fledged young. The male was buzzing me and fussing when I checked a bluebird box in the general vicinity of the kestrel box. When I got further away, he settled down in treetop, adjacent to and possibly touching the female. When they flew from this perch, two other kestrels flew with them toward the ballfields. Talking to another birder in that area (hoping that she had seen the crows and raven, not so); she said there were 6 kestrels a day or so ago. And I understand from another birder that they had fledged a brood earlier in the summer. Of additonal interest--an Eastern wood pewee, a flycatcher sp, a red-shouldered hawk (juvenile--unmolested by crows), a green heron, lots of young bluebirds and tons of American goldfinches. And butterflies, of assorted sizes and colors but I don't know their names. Good birding! Linda Baker Severna Park MD quiltbird@annapoplis.net ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================