Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2001 13:38:54 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Stan Arnold Subject: Eared Grebe, Am. Coot at Hurlock MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Folks, I've made three trips to Hurlock WWTP, Dorchester Co., during the past week, but was unsuccessful in locating the Black-headed Gull. The Laughing Gull flock of roughly 1500 reported by Marshall Iliff on Monday, 15 Oct, was no more than 300-400 birds on Tuesday, 16 Oct and again on Sat., 20 Oct, and did not contain the desired gull. There were no laughing gulls there when I visited on Friday, 19 Oct, but instead there was a large flock about five miles west, on the west side of Highway 16/392, a few miles north of US 50. The consolation prize was a basic-plumaged EARED GREBE, seen both Friday, 19 Oct and Sat. 20 Oct in the southwest cell at Hurlock. The dusky face patch extending well below and behind the red eye was the primary source of identification, separating it from Horned Grebe. The bird was seen along the western edge of the cell both days, and favored the northwest corner of the southwest cell on Saturday, where it rendered tremendous scope views after the myriad of Canada Geese, shovelers, and Ruddy Ducks all scattered. Also on Saturday, in the northwest cell, I saw my first AMERICAN COOT of the season. Other birds seen at Hurlock during the visits were: Tuesday, 16 Oct: Black-bellied Plover--2 Lesser Yellowlegs--2 Least Sandpiper--2 Pectoral Sandpiper--2 Barn Swallow--2 Am. Pipit--1 flyover Friday, 19 Oct Bald Eagle--1 imm, perched on dike until it saw me, then flew off Saturday, 20 Oct: Tree Swallow--1 which allowed me to approach to within about 15 feet Barn Swallow--2 Savannah Sparrow--8 As a final note, back on Monday, 15 Oct, I saw my first FOX SPARROW of the season in northern Howard Co. This is my personal earliest of the season ever, in MD. Stan Arnold Glen Burnie, MD blackrail@earthlink.net ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================