Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2002 23:39:43 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Phil Davis Subject: Subject Lines [was: Re: [MDOSPREY] Meadowside Nature Center, Saturday AM] In-Reply-To: <151.13579b9f.2aa28b75@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed All - Just a thought / suggestion / plea to all for the future ... on messages like this one from Rick, please highlight "timely" items of note in the subject line ... maybe something like: "Subject:Olive-sided Flycatcher - Meadowside Nature Center". I didn't open this message until the evening of September 3rd (and might not have opened it all) ... however, I would have immediately opened a Maryland Olive-side Flycatcher message! Thanks Phil At 05:13 PM 8/31/2002 -0400, Rick Sussman wrote: Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Meadowside Nature Center, Saturday AM >Hi all, > For lack of any place better, I went over to Meadowside Nature Center in >Rockville this morning. I knew as soon as I raised my bins that it would be a >productive morning, as my first bird was an immature Chestnut-sided Warbler. >This was at the area around the picnic tables at the top of the ridge >overlooking the "meadow". A lot of action from a small group of birds >(Red-eyed Vireos, A. Redstart, titmice and chickadees), feeding in some trees >with lots of bittersweet vine. Shortly, my eyes caught a flycatcher at the >top of a tree, perched in dead branches. Could it be an Olive-sided? Well, >the light here was terrible, with the sun coming up behind the bird, and no >place to get a better view. The bird flew out and audibly snapped up a flying >insect, then went back to the perch. From its silhouette, I could see a >rather large bill and, large, peaked head shape, but not much else. Finally, >I was able to see the bird against a dark background of leaves behind it, and >indeed it was an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. But no, wait. What's that on the >adjacent branch? Why, another Olive-sided Flycatcher! 2 in one binocular >field!! They chased each other around for a while, alternately landing and >chasing each other and insects. I phoned my friend Mike from my cell and he >rushed on over (actually he was just getting in his car to come over anyway, >when he went back in to grab the phone). The birds remained for about 10 >minutes after he arrived, putting on quite a show, then disappeared down the >hill and into the park. > Also in the area was a single Eastern Kingbird, N. Parula, and both Carolina >and House Wrens. A walk around the park, taking the rest of the morning >didn't turn up anything quite as exciting, but we found Common Yellowthroat, >and 2 Ovenbirds, a good number of young empids, E. Wood-pewee and E. Phoebe, >a hummingbird making good use of a field of thistle flowers, Red-shouldered >Hawk, local woodpeckers, gnatcatchers, Chimney Swifts soaring with Black >Vultures and a few Turkey Vultures, and Great Blue and Green Herons. > > Things should be on the move tomorrow if the winds push the front through, >and we don't get rained out. ================================== Phil Davis Davidsonville, Maryland USA mailto:PDavis@ix.netcom.com ================================== ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================