Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 07:02:07 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Saunders_N Subject: Worcester Birds MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Fran and I spent about an hour looking over the birds on Skimmer Island (Worcester County, Ocean City area) and other nearby exposed mudflats at low tide this past Saturday morning. We noted at least 150 BROWN PELICANS and over 100 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS loafing on the flats and on the island itself, all just north of the Rt. 50 bridge. Shorebirds included SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, KILLDEER, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, both YELLOWLEGS, lots of SANDERLINGS, and some peeps that were just too far off to be readily identified. No out of the ordinary gulls were seen but Fran managed to pick out two separate SANDWICH TERNS from among the loafing COMMON, FORSTER'S, and ROYAL TERNS. A lot of LITTLE BLUE HERONS seem to have moved into the tidal marshes over the past week--we saw 3 at Skimmer Island and at least 5 in the marsh behind Assateague Island, about a mile south of the Rt. 50 bridge. Additonal good waders were 3 TRICOLORED HERONS at Skimmer Island and a small herd of CATTLE EGRET along the parking lot for Hoopers, on the west end of the Rt. 50 bridge. BLACK SKIMMERS and AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS continue in good numbers just about everywhere we stopped to look. We had a PINE WARBLER in full song just outside the Assateague Island Visitor Center and 5-6 EASTERN MEADOWLARKS in the undeveloped lots at Rum Point Golf Course, on South Point. We had our usual yard and feeder birds over the weekend, including at least 6 BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES and 5 RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS, both vying for the title of "Feistiest Bird in the Yard!" We're keeping our fingers crossed for an out-of-range hummingbird (or more!) later this Fall! Best, Norm & Fran ===================================== Norman C. Saunders Colesville (Montgomery) and West Ocean City (Worcester), MD 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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================