Date:         Wed, 22 Jan 2003 13:54:51 -0500
Reply-To:     Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Sender:       Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
From:         Jim Felley <irmss668@SIVM.SI.EDU>
Subject:      Mall notes, 1/22
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Today once again, the place to be if you're a robin seems
to be the Enid Haupt Garden behind the Castle.  And at
1:00 PM, an immature Red-tailed Hawk was sitting right
in the same tree it was in yesterday (a weepy-looking tree=20
on the east side of the Castle).  By the way, there are at=20
least three individual Red-tails around the Mall now -=20
the two immatures I saw yesterday, and one adult I saw=20
late last week.  Also, there is an adult Cooper's Hawk about.
   The Tidal Basin is not quite frozen over, though the open=20
spots are quite small.  There was only a small gathering
of gulls by the edge of the main open area.  Only the usual=20
were there: Ring-billed, Herring, Greater black-backed.
   Don't expect any major fish kill until the basin freezes over=20
totally and remains that way for a few days at least. =20
However, the amount of frozen area now is quite large, and=20
we can expect some of the more vulnerable fishes to=20
succumb (mostly the older gizzard shads, they succumb to=20
lower oxygen levels that develop once the water sealed from=20
contact with the air). =20
   However, the dead fish will not be apparent to the gulls
until their little bloated bellies appear under the ice.  At that=20
point the gulls will start pecking to get at them, and more=20
gulls should start accumulating.  I'll keep an eye on the Tidal=20
Basin when I can and will let you all know is happening.
                                        Jim

Jim Felley
Smithsonian Institution
irmss668@sivm.si.edu

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com
with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
=========================================================================