Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 17:09:59 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Norm Saunders Subject: Yes, oh, yes ! ! ! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit OC-bound birders can now stop mopin' For the Salisbury Bypass did this week open! And, as anticipated by Phil Davis some time back, it is sweeeeeeet! Now, if we could just get one around Easton! (apologies to Talbot County) Anyway, our traditional circuit this past Saturday turned up good numbers of all the usual gulls, a good flock of Northern Gannet feeding about 20-30 yards offshore, a Great Cormorant flying in the inlet, lots of sanderlings and ruddy turnstones, and a half-dozen or so brant, these all seen at the inlet. Moving on to Skimmer Island (viewed both from 3rd St. and from Hooper's dock) we noted about 150 double-crested cormorants and 3 great cormorants, two Caspian terns amidst a good-sized flock of royals, about 15 or so oystercatchers, a lone black skimmer (juvenile), good numbers of black-bellied plovers, sanderlings, and peeps, and three more brant. West Pond held 5 tundra swan, lots of Canada geese, mallards, and black ducks, 18 gadwall, 20 northern shoveler, 20 green-winged teal, 7 American wigeon, 1 ring-necked duck, 1 northern pintail, a good number of black-crowned night-herons and great blue herons (but no other waders this visit). We managed to add junco, northern gannet, and pied-billed grebe to our yard list, as well! Good birding, Norm & Fran ============================ Norman C. Saunders Colesville, Montgomery County, 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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================