Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 10:56:22 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Walter Ellison Subject: Rainy "Dump Duck" (Gull) trip - 1 Feb MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi All, Sorry for the belated post about the Saturday Kent County Bird Club trip = to the scenic Beulah Landfill in Dorchester County to seek the elusive = gull. Bill Mechlin met us in Chestertown and we went off hopefully into = the rain and gloom. There were a lot of gulls at the landfill after we = dutifully signed-in with the attendant at the entrance, but they left = for an extended period after the fellow operating the bulldozer stopped = exposing "the good stuff". We used that time to discuss gull plumage = development, the whys and wherefores of delaying maturation in seabirds, = and gull ID. The gulls eventually returned in force. Our tally for the = day was 400 Herring Gulls, 150 Ring-billed Gulls, 30 Great Black-backed = Gulls, and 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls including two first winters, one = second winter and one third winter (looking very like an adult). Also = present were 120 Fish Crows (so *that's* where they are), and a = Red-shouldered Hawk that came into the fray at one point and made off = with some nasty looking chicken meat. We also visited Hurlock but the = waterfowl seen by the folks from Anne Arundel County in the morning had = dispersed for the day. Bill had to go home at this point and Nancy and I = went on to other parts of the county for some post-trip birding at = Blackwater. We invite anyone who might be interested to call Peter Mann = (410-648-5205) or me (see phone no. below) about the Kent County = Mid-winter count this Saturday. Good Birding, =20 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 =========================================================================