Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 16:06:16 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Denise Ryan Subject: Re: Zoo birding MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" Next time I head over there (it is just a few blocks away from my home), I am taking a detailed map. I noticed dozens of old nests all over the greater waterfowl pond area (sometimes a half dozen per tree). I've got to make notes for Spring breeding surveys before the leaves come out. On a side note, the water fowl habitat is close to the Giant Pandas and the new baby Elephant (born Nov. 2001). -----Original Message----- From: Mark S. Garland [mailto:mark@NJAUDUBON.ORG] Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 3:52 PM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Zoo birding I have to chime in on birding at the National Zoo. Years ago, the late, great Claudia Wilds used to lead an annual field trip to study the waterfowl there. More than a few of the waterfowl slides I teach with were taken at the zoo's old waterfowl pond. And soon, in early spring, the Black-crowned Night-Herons will be nesting above the Bald Eagle aviary. Sheesh, I feel a twinge of homesickness. Cheers all, Mark S. Garland Senior Naturalist Cape May Bird Observatory Northwood Center 701 E. Lake Dr. PO Box 3 Cape May Point, NJ 08212 (609) 884-2736 mark@njaudubon.org www.njaudubon.org -----Original Message----- From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM] On Behalf Of Denise Ryan Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 12:12 PM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Pintails Speaking of Pintails, I know this may seem kind of lame to some, but some fun birding can be had at the National Zoo. Last Monday on MLK Day I was off of work but without a vehicle. I took off to the zoo to visit the wetlands exhibit and really enjoyed getting close to the captive water birds. Honestly, it was the first time that I saw the courtship behavior and vocalizations of several kinds of species. I especially enjoyed the croaking of the Hooded Mergansers and the calls of the Pintails, which this novice birder had never heard before. There are also several pairs of Barrow's Goldeneye. There were two especially active Hooded Mergansers competing for a female that were a lot of fun to check out. Who needs binoculars when you are standing over them on the board walk. The zoo makes for a pretty good water foul study spot for the beginner. You can really do a nice comparison between the species and relative sizes. For example, any field guide would have told me how big a Bufflehead is, but it did not register in comparison with a Mallard until you see the two side by side with all the others. I also enjoyed the small group of Smews and the plentiful Wood Ducks which I have been unable to locate yet this year outside of a captive environment. I plan to make more visits to enjoy the group again soon. Of course there are also foreign species that are fun to check out as well, especially the Mandarin Ducks. ======================================================================= 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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================