Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 12:47:27 -0700 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Steve Noyes Subject: PRR 4/20 (a.m.) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Fellow birders, Purple martins have arrived at the North Tract Wildlife Viewing Area martin houses at the Patuxent Research Refuge. Two males were busily defending one house against a horde of tree swallows. Several females were feeding on the ground nearby. Barn and n.rough-wing swallows were also present; a barn swallow nest has been constructed under the eaves of the old range tower along with a phoebe nest. A spotted sandpiper was feeding on one of the islands on Merganser Pond and a Canada goose was nesting on the other. A pair of bluebirds were bringing nesting material to a nest box. One of the nest boxes I monitor had a strange nest being built (the box is quite near a wood's edge). Inside the box was a thick layer of pieces of bark (looked like pine) and then covered with long pieces of broad-leaf dry grass formed into a deep cup. Any ideas? I've been monitoring boxes there for 9 years and have never seen this nest construction. Steve Noyes, Volunteer Naturalist, Patuxent Research Refuge, Laurel MD noyessh@yahoo.com --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more =========================================================================