Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2002 23:32:26 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Rich Dolesh Subject: Re: possible Sandhill Crane at Flag Ponds In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.7.2.20020830201542.00aa52f0@64.38.115.52> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Arlene, Were there any other field marks or distinguishing behavior that your friends observed about this bird? Very tantalizing description. I have often seen GBH's fly with neck extended, sometimes for a fairly long period of time, in preparation for landing, or when taking off, or when flying from tree perch to tree perch. Rich Dolesh -----Original Message----- From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM]On Behalf Of Arlene Ripley Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 8:29 PM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: [MDOSPREY] possible Sandhill Crane at Flag Ponds 8/30/02 -- This morning at 9:30 AM, a possible Sandhill Crane was observed by two of the staff at Flag Ponds Nature Park, Calvert County, MD. Unfortunately the message didn't reach me until 6 hours later (I wasn't home). Neither of the observers are familiar with Sandhills but they did consult a field guide and came to the conclusion they had seen a crane. Here is how it was described to me: A large gray bird, similar in size to a Great Blue Heron, soaring in circles above one of the ponds. The neck was held out very straight and appeared lighter in color than the rest of the body. The bird didn't land in the ponds but continued west flying above North Ridge Trail and disappearing over the crest. They did not see it again. I arrived at Flag Ponds around 4 PM, checked the ponds and the field which is intersected by the powerline next to Route 2/4. The field is very overgrown and even a large bird like a crane could easily be missed in the tall grass and uneven terrain. I next drove east of Route 2/4 to where there are large farms. Even though I was looking for a large bird, I felt like I was looking for a needle in a haystack. The fact that it was "rush hour" didn't help my effort -- cars rapidly approached me from behind and made it impossible to scan the fields while driving. Narrow roads made pulling off to the side difficult. I was unable to locate the bird in question. Hopefully this bird will show up again as I believe it would be a first county record. In any event, keep an eye out as you never know where it might turn up. Arlene Ripley Calvert County, MD aripley@nestbox.com http://www.nestbox.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey =======================================================================