Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 22:15:41 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Walter Ellison Subject: Kent Co. 1/25/03 - House Wren, etc. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Everybody, I had an afternoon outing today in western Kent County from Great Oak = Landing south to Eastern Neck. Not too much about in spite of the = improved temperature and wind conditions. The highlight of my time = afield was a House Wren in a weedy field on the sheep farm at the west = end of Reese's Corner Road north of Rock Hall. Also presiding over the = roadside there was a young Red-shouldered Hawk. In terms of spectacle the most impressive sight today was Cheasapeake = Bay filled with ice thrown-up into long pressure ridges with only = scattered small leads of open water. At one location along Swan Creek I = noted seven Rockfish suffocated under the ice. Here and there I found = flocks of waterbirds around the leads, there were about 200 gulls of the = three expected species in Rock Hall Harbor and around leads offshore. = Accompanying the gulls at one distant offshore lead were two Great Blue = Herons. I also saw a Great Blue competing with a Turkey Vulture and two = American Crows over an unspecified carcass in the ice at Great Oak = Landing.=20 There was a decent diversity of waterfowl in leads around Eastern Neck = Narrows and Bogles Wharf including 385 Tundra Swans and 250 black ducks. = Other species present included Northern Pintail (E. Neck Narrows), = Gadwall (Bogle's Wharf), Canvasback (Bogle's), Greater Scaup (Narrows), = and Hooded Merganser (Bogle's). Raptors at Eastern Neck included two = harriers, a Cooper's Hawk, four Bald Eagles, and a Great Horned Owl = hooting at the Narrows at 4:00 PM. It took some patience but there were = some decent birds around after all. Good Birding, Walter Ellison MD-DC Atlas Coordinator - MOS 23460 Clarissa Road Chestertown, MD 21620 phone: 410-778-9568 e-mail: rossgull@crosslink.net "A person who is looking for something doesn't travel very fast" - E. B. = White (in "Stuart Little") =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 =========================================================================