Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 08:29:31 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "rick@blazie.net" Subject: Re: Fall Count -- Soldiers Delight 9/15 AM MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I am interested in more information on the report of 26 Black-capped Chickadees from Soldiers Delight in Baltimore County (see below). The occurence of 26 Black-cappeds would certainly be exceptional. The only chickadees that breed in Baltimore County are Carolinas and Black-cappeds only occur in invasion years. There has not been an invasion in at least 10 years. It would also be, I suspect, the first time ever that Black-cappeds outnumbered Carolinas (7 reported) in the county because even in the biggest invasion years they are far less numerous than Carolinas. In years when Black-cappeds invade they are typically not found before November in most of Maryland and certainly not in Baltimore County. September records in this part of the state would be extraordinary. Separating the two can be extremely difficult. Song is not reliable. Both species regularly sing two, three, and four note songs. The only plumage character that is reasonably reliable is the presence of strong white edgings on the greater coverts of Black-cappeds but in fresh fall plumage Carolinas can show grey edgings and caution and experience with both species in this season is important in recognizing the difference. All other reported plumage differences are subject to considerable overlap and may be suggestive but are not diagnostic. Even in invasion years, when measurments by banders can be used to confirm the presence of Black-cappeds, most observers are compelled to list some birds as chickadee sp. because field identification is not always possible. The problem is exacerbated by the presence of hybrids in the overlap zones. The overlap zone in Maryland is primarily in western Washington County. The only Black-cappeds that are known to occur east of there is a very small population at the highest elevations of the Catoctin Mountains. There is as yet no evidence that hybrids ever migrate or invade. Hybrids are absolutely not identifiable in the field and certainty requires genetic comparison. Eirik A.T. Blom 4318 Cowan Place Belcamp, Md 21017 410-575-6086 rick@blazie.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe & Carol McDaniel" To: Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2001 1:13 PM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Fall Count -- Soldiers Delight 9/15 AM > Weather: Started at about 45 at 8 AM and probably 55 to 60 at 10 am. > Windy/Gusty. Sky clear and sunny. > > Duration: Started at 7:50, ended at 10:20AM. Covered about 3 miles of scrub, > grass, and mixed deciduous/coniferous forest. > > Location: Soldiers Delight, Baltimore County, Eastern Section (closer to > Owings Mills New Town) > > Observers: Joe and Carol McDaniel > > Turkey Vulture 1 > Canada Goose 5 > Northern Harrier 1 > Red-Bellied Woodpecker 3 > Downy Woodpecker 1 > Northern Flicker 5 > Eastern Wood-Pewee 1 > Eastern Phoebe 1 > Blue Jay 9 > American Crow 16 > Carolina Chickadee 7 > Black-capped Chickadee 26 > Tufted Titmouse 3 > Red-breasted Nuthatch 3 > White-breasted Nuthatch 5 > House Wren 3 > American Robin 6 > Gray Catbird 2 > Black-throated Blue Warbler 2 > Pine Warbler 3 > Eastern Towhee 3 > Northern Cardinal 1 > House Finch 2 > > Oddly missing -- Eastern Bluebird. Heard a Scarlet Tanager yesterday. > Black-throated Blue and Harrier were new birds for me in SD. > > ======================================================================= > To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey > ======================================================================= > ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================