Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2002 19:15:35 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Norm Saunders Subject: Re: Ocean City Birding? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Parke John writes: > I'd like to do a trip within the next two weeks to OC, MD. I'm > targeting Black Skimmers and Least Terns. I'd also like to see as many > shorebirds as possible, especially: White-rumped Sandpipers, Short-billed > Dowitchers, Stilt Sandpipers, etc. Other than the OC jetty, where are the > best places to bird between the jetty and the DE line? Parke, You need to spend some time scanning Skimmer Island and the surrounding flats. This coming weekend low tide is in the morning (8am to 10am, Friday thru Sunday) and that's the best time to get lots of exposed flats for the birds to loaf on. If you pull into Hooper's parking lot (just northwest of the Rt. 50 bridge out of Ocean City) you can walk out on their dock with your scope and get good looks at the mudflats close to the mainland. If Skimmer Island itself looks promising, walk back along Rt. 50 to the bridge and scan the island from the bridge itself. If you dip on Black Skimmer here, drive west on Rt. 50 to Rt. 611. Turn left (south) and drive about two miles to the entrance to Mystic Harbor on your left. (If you reach the airport road, you have driven too far). Follow the entrance road (Mystic Harbor Boulevard) to the third right turn, Blue Heron Circle. Turn right on Blue Heron and check the ponds you pass, one on each side of the road. We've seen the skimmers here often over the past four weeks. Continue past the ponds to the vacant lots facing Sinepuxent Bay. Scan the bay with your scope--here is your best chance of locating the skimmers. If these two locations don't pan out and if it's still low tide, drive a bit further south on Rt. 611 to Eagle's Nest (or Eagle's Landing, I can never remember) Road and drive back to the campground. Ask at the office if it's okay for you to stand on the dock and scan for birds, then drive back to the campsite under the trees, park off the road away from the campsites, and walk in with your scope to the dock. The flats here can have some good shorebirds, among other things. We've not seen any Least Terns since fairly early this summer and they were all at Truitt's Landing Road, a lot further south in the county. Maybe someone else can give you ideas on them. Have a good trip! Norm ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================