Date:         Sun, 16 Dec 2001 09:53:57 -0500
Reply-To:     Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Sender:       Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
From:         Stan Arnold <blackrail@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      WESTERN TANAGER in Montgomery Co.
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Hi Folks,

The Western Tanager, discovered yesterday during the Triadelphia CBC, was
still in place this morning (Sun., 16 Dec 01).  I would like to acknowledge
the couple who discovered this prized bird during the count, but sadly do
not know their names.

Joan DeCarli and I were at the Ross Boddy Community Center as the sun was
rising, shortly after 7 a.m.  I expected to find other birders there as
well, and was a bit surprised that we were the first on the scene.  The
community center appears to be a former elementary school, with a big back
yard, maybe 75 yards square, and this back yard is edged with trees on three
sides.  Joan and I began walking the treeline along the eastern edge of the
yard (the left side, as you face the front of the building), where the bird
had been seen yesterday.  As we turned the corner to walk the south edge, we
were distracted by a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers, and stopped to gawk
through the scope at the male, eating berries, not more than 50 feet away.
Then back to scanning the treeline, Joan exclaimed "is that it?"  The
binoculars swung upwards, and near the top of a tree was a yellow bird with
wingbars.  That was it.

We watched in the scope and in binoculars for about five minutes when
another couple arrived, who turned out to be Gail Mackiernan and Barry
Cooper.  The bird was in the scope when they arrived, and stayed in place
for some time, offering good looks, while I returned to the car to get a
camera.

By the time I returned, the bird was now on the backside of the south
treeline, so we took a short path in the southeast corner of the yard, where
we could view the trees, and the bird, in sunlight.  This appears to be a
private nursery, by the way, so we exercised caution in staying close to the
treeline, and not go out into the field of young trees.

The bird appears to be a male in winter plumage.  It has a bright yellow
breast and belly, and an olive-colored back and wings.  The two wing bars
are very much as depicted in both Sibley and NGS, with the upper bar being
fairly yellow, and the lower bar being more of an off-white.  The eyes are
dark with a pale ring around them.  There is a tinge of red on the face,
right around the base of the peachy? colored tanager bill.  The bird was
very active during the 40 minutes or so that we viewed it, feeding on
berries.  It frequently perched in the open, for very short periods of time,
offering great looks in the excellent lighting.

I shot the better part of a roll of film using a 35mm camera through the
scope lens.  Never having done this before (at least successfully), I'm not
sure if I got anything.  Will keep fingers crossed.

Just before Joan and I left, at about 8:30 a.m., Rob Hilton arrived, then
Norm and Fran Saunders.  Hopefully they all got to see the tanager.

Directions:  to get to the Ross Boddy Community Center, take Rte 650 (New
Hampshire Ave.), and turn west on Brooke Rd. in the community of Brinklow
(there is a small green sign for the community center on the highway), then
go one mile to the center which is on the left.  Park at the far left
section of the lot, and walk behind the building.  Brooke Rd., by the way,
is approximately one mile north of Rte 108 (Sandy Spring/Ashton Rd.), and
about two miles south of Brighton Dam Rd.

Stan Arnold
Glen Burnie
blackrail@earthlink.net

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