Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 10:53:00 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Walter Ellison Subject: OC and environs 3/9/03 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Everybody, It seems the sunny weekend weather drew almost as many birders as beach = goers to Ocean City. Nancy, Ian and I went to Worcester County, = ostensibly to do a bit of scouting for a Kent County Bird Club trip next = Saturday. Sorry I missed David Holmes, George Jett and Gwen Brewer. We started our birding on Evans Road. The strong SW breeze kept birds = down a bit, but I eventually did find a House Wren and the Clay-colored = Sparrow. The sparrow was closer to the new house site than to the cedar = filled hedge before the sharp bend in the road. It was feeding on the = ground in the field on the west behind the hedgerow with Field Sparrows = and a Savannah Sparrow amid rank growth dominated by horse nettle. It = was not an easy find, I didn't see it until my third pass on foot along = the hedgerow. We also saw the five White-crowns George alluded to in his = post. Nancy noted a flyby Tree Swallow here as well. It was a pleasure = to hear all the chorous frogs in the ditches, frogs sound like spring to = me. At the bridge over Sinepuxent Bay to Assateague there were both loons, = three Red-necked Grebes, 33 Brant, a thrid year (white belly) Bald = Eagle, and an Osprey back on its nest site, as well as lots of = Red-breasted Mergansers, Bufflehead, and several Horned Grebes. At the = main swimming beach at the State Park we saw all three scoters, and a = sub-adult drake Common Eider (w/Black Scoters). There were 33 Horned = Grebes off the boat launch at South Point. At Eagle's Nest Campground = there were 7 American Wigeon, 130 Black-bellied Plovers, 3 = oystercatchers, 12 Ruddy Turnstones, 4 Sanderling, and 2000 Dunlin. We didn't have quite the diversity at W. Ocean City Pd. George and David = did, probably due to sun in our eyes. We can add two Hooded Mergansers = to the total. There looked to be a lot more than 300 cans in the pond by = late afternoon. At the inlet late in the day there were 30 Red-throated Loons, 20 Common = Loons (one in splendid alternate plumage), only one Red-necked Grebe was = there at the time, 29 Brant, Surf and Black scoters flying by well out, = a single flyby Greater Scaup, 12 Ruddy Turnstones, 45 Purple Sandpipers = (stunning views), a single adult Laughing Gull trying to mooch with the = horde of ring-bills in the lot, and 27 Bonaparte's Gulls, mostly = northbound. There were at least seven oystercatchers at Fourth = Street/Skimmer I.=20 We had 69 total species on the shore not counting road birds identified = on the fly as we drove south on 213 and 50 from Kent County. Maybe I'll = see some of you next week as we do our field trip. 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 =========================================================================