Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2001 19:26:15 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Steve Sanford Subject: Merlin, Woodstock sparrow, Hands Up! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I got a message from a Baltimore Bird Club member Harriet Burks who reports a Merlin has been coming almost daily since October 27 to a bare walnut tree in the southeast corner of the Towson High School student parking lot off Aigburth Avenue (which is a road going east off York Rd across from Towson State University). She says it usually shows up there around 4 to 5 PM so recommends coming to the parking area then if you're interested in seeing it. It is sometimes there at other times too. Her viewpoint is from her home in the senior community called "Aigburth Vale." This morning I joined Joel Martin to check on the mystery sparrow at Woodstock. We were joined later by Gail MacKiernan, Barry Cooper, and Drew Thornblad. We saw it fleetingly a number of times. Overall, the impression was that it was a White-throated Sparrow, or possibly White-crowned, with strange white discolorations around the collar. It looks like it was hit with a white paintball on the nape that splattered on the head and back and dripped around the collar. The breast was definitely gray, and the eye was dark, not pink. It had a reddish tail similar to local White-throats. It did not seem larger than neighboring White-throats. Joel and I saw two Fox Sparrows on the way in. I saw another one off Marriottsville Road later on. I stopped at Alpha Ridge Park but decided to leave when I heard and saw the police arresting someone in the nearby landfill! I heard "Come out of the car with your hands in the air" etc, etc on the bullhorn (Who? Me?) , and soon saw someone on his knees, hands held high. Steve Sanford tanager@bcpl.net Randallstown MD Baltimore County ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey =======================================================================