Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 20:39:57 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Stan Arnold Subject: : Alder Flycatcher in Howard Co. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Folks, While walking along the Patapsco River in Howard Co. early this a.m., I was ending the walk and heard what I at first thought was Willow Flycatcher, but as quickly as I made this assessment, I just as quickly realized that I was not hearing the familiar "Fitz-bew" of the Willow that I had heard over and over just yesterday. This was easily a "Three-beeee-o" with emphasis on the second syllable, rather than the first--an ALDER FLYCTCHER. The bird only gave two renditions of the song, clearly heard, and then clammed up. I spent 15-20 minutes searching for it, in vain, then had to get to work. Interesting, because only a day or two ago someone else reported hearing and seeing an Alder in the DC area, though I didn't save the message, and forget the details. The bird was singing along the river in Patapsco Valley State Park, abeam the entry gate to the Orange Grove area, and just past the picnic pavilions. The park is accessed off of US 1, immediately south of I-195. Though the only documentation I have is what's written above, I think no one would doubt that this bird migrates through every county in Maryland (and nests in the western one or two counties). But since habitat and song are virtually the only way to separate its identity from that of the Willow, it is almost never possitively identified during migration, because it seldom vocalizes. Even bird banders list this species as "Traill's Flycatcher" (the forrunner of the Willow and Alder before they split), and then in the remarks section of their report can note which species they think it is (tricky at best). The warbler migration which was so spectacular during May Count, and then abruptly ended, seems to have resurected itself in this neck of the woods, perhaps what Dave M. was talking about in his recent report. Nine species were tallied during the two hour jaunt, including good looks at PARULA and CHESTNUT-SIDED, singing BLACKBURNIAN, abundant BLACKPOLLs, and half a dozen NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, one of which was well seen. I was able to confirm LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH for the atlas when I saw a bird with what I thought was nesting material, and it led my binoculars to a cute little downy youngster sitting on a low branch, endlessly bobbing its almost non-existent tail. SWAINSON'S THRUSH was also abundant. This afternoon at the Halethorpe ponds in AA County, the warblers were once again quite good. Unusual was that I didn't hear many, but saw quite a few. I had great looks at YELLOW-THROATED, CHESTNUT-SIDED, CANADA, a female PROTHONOTARY, and two female REDSTARTs. Heard were many BLACKPOLLs, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, YELLOW, and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. The female Prothonotary disappeared into a tree near its base, but the tree was wrapped in poison ivy, and I didn't investigate. A pair of BALTIMORE ORIOLEs was chasing a FISH CROW, which made several passes over one of the ponds, probably in search of some eggs or chicks for a meal. Stan Arnold Glen Burnie blackrail@earthlink.net ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================