Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 21:46:17 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Sherry Peruzzi Subject: MPEA Howard County MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Yesterday Gail Frantz, Ken Board and I went to the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area to see the Red-headed Woodpecker. We all sat down on a conveniently-placed log, but we didn't have long to wait -- in less than 10 minutes Ken spotted our quarry across the river, and we all got excellent views. Its head is pretty much all red by now. There was a pair of Mallards swimming down the river near Post 12, and a Belted Kingfisher was heard in the same area. A Red-shouldered Hawk circled overhead nearby. A Red-tailed Hawk was circling over the house across the road from the entrance to the MPEA when we arrived; Ken and I have seen it in the same place on other visits. In the woods, several Pine Siskins accompanied a flock of American Goldfinches, and a Brown Creeper made a brief appearance nearby. Two male Eastern Bluebirds on almost adjacent branches seemed unperturbed by each other's presence even though a female was a short distance away. Also present along with the usual suspects were Downy, Hairy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Eastern Towhees, White-throated Sparrows, and White-breasted Nuthatches. A White-crowned Sparrow was heard in the succession area near Post 2, but we were unable to find it. With the beautiful weather and the very cooperative woodpecker, we all found the trip very enjoyable. Sherry Peruzzi Columbia, Howard County bookworms@comcast.net [note address change] ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================