Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 15:27:33 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Norman Saunders Subject: Westerrn Grebe pair MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Fran and I stopped at Horsehead this morning at 9 am and were unable to locate the Western Grebes at the location noted yesterday by Pete Webb. This wasn't surprising since the wind was howling and the locale they were in yesterday was being whipped into whitecaps. However, after a bit of searching, we DID locate the pair in sheltered water in a cove on the east side of Kent Island, just a bit south of the Kent Narrows Bridge at about 10 am. Here are directions--follow Pete Webb's directions out the marsh trail. Just before you reach the canoe put-in there is an observation tower on the right and a trail heading west on the left. Take this trail and follow it around the north end of a large pond. Behind the pond there is an abandoned house with yet another trail leading west to yet another observation tower. The viewing from this tower was abysmal--the wind was howling across the bay, shaking scopes, making eyes tear, and tearing hats off of heads. Nonetheless, after about ten minutes of scanning the relatively calm waters in the lee of Kent Island, Fran picked out the pair and got the scope on them. We watched them through the scope for about another 10 minutes and confirmed the patterning on neck and head, though the birds' bodies were difficult to see in the waves and heat shimmer on the water. After this we left because our eyes were about to fall out of their sockets. We then went looking for Hans Holbrook and his dad to tell them where we had seen the grebes but were unable to locate them--I'm glad they were able to find them later themselves! Leaving Horsehead we moved along to Eastern Neck, hoping for the "western" hat trick, but alas it wasn't to be. We birded there for for about an hour or so in the company of Bill Schreitz but saw no sign at all of the Western Kingbird. Not surprising, really, in light of the horrible winds blowing out of the west. Nonetheless, we were pleased with our day--a new state bird (especially a pairof them!) is never to be looked down upon! Best, Norm ================================= Norman C. Saunders Colesville, Montgomery County, Maryland marshhawk@att.net ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================