Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 07:34:05 -0700 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Lotis, Harry" Subject: Re: Schoolhouse Pond - Leonid sightings MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" On Saturday Nov 17th, the night before the Leonid occurrence, a cool wind came in from the west after 3 PM. I was at School House Pond from noon to dark talking to a Cherokee fisherman. From 3-4 PM, the cold front came in, and with it, all kind of sightings unusual for the Pond. * While Canadian Geese fly and land in tight formation, apparently just one of the dozen V's landing I saw here was having trouble. At first I thought the leader was deciding whether to settle down on the golf course or on the water. But after the third attempt, I thought the leader seemed very undecided or wary, because it dipped and prepared for landings more than 2-3 times. On the fourth circle, the loose V awkwardly landed, not in a tight V formation, but scattered. I observed that one of them seemed to be albino and slightly smaller. It had a black beak and tail and its head and neck had the peppery look of an immature or interbreed. After research, it could have been a Snow Goose, light Blue phase. * I thought I saw 3 Ruddies, but on closer observation in sunlight, the color was deep black not dark brownor gray. The Ruddy has a white throat patch and often a stiff tail. These had a circular white patch under the eye. The belly appeared to be slightly striped. While I did not record the color of the eye, I wonder if the 3 were Common Goldeneyes. I read these are related to Bufflehead which are about the same size. * I also counted and unusual number of Northern Shoveler, 18 and Gadwall, 12, and Coot 2. * A pair of local Wood Duck came home about 4pm too, settling in for the night. * I guess that the hovering Gulls from the nearby County landfill area (in the thousands) probably are a clue to Ducks and Geese as to the location of the Pond. At the Recycle Pond on Brown Station Road on Monday Nov 19. * 28 Gadwall * 18 Hooded Mergansers which probably will stay around for a while Depot Pond * Monday, Nov 19th, empty of waterfowl except for 2 pair of Northern Shovelers and some sunning turtles. Harry.Lotis Reston/Kettering ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: Fred Shaffer [ mailto:fshaffer@MNCPPC.STATE.MD.US] Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2001 8:03 AM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Schoolhouse Pond Bald Eagle This morning I had a flyover immature Bald Eagle at Schoolhouse Pond in Upper Marlboro. Other birds included the usual 20+ Shovelers, 2 Gadwall, many Canada Geese, and a Hermit Thrush. The White Throated Sparrows were also numerous. Also of note recently have been the pair of Swamp Sparrows which I have been seeing in the mornings, a female Ring Necked Duck, several Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers, two Pileated Woodpeckers (last week), and a Golden Crowned Kinglet (yesterday). 3 Great Egrets have also consistently been at the Pond. The gull numbers have also been very high at lunchtime lately, with over 3,000 being present yesterday. They were almost all Laughing Gulls, with a few Ring Billed and Herring Gulls mixed in, but I plan to keep my eyes open for rarities over the coming weeks. Finally, about a week ago I enjoyed close looks at a Rusty Blackbird when the bird suddenly darted out of my field of view. I looked up to see a Cooper's Hawk hot on his tail. The blackbird escaped safely into some brush. Fred Shaffer Crofton, MD ======================================================================= 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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================