Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 08:31:35 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Walter Ellison Subject: Dorchester Co 22 March - Kent Co 23 March MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi All, Peter Mann and I joined the Cecil Bird Club trip to Blackwater on = Saturday and peeled-off to go to Elliot Island after the rest of the = crew departed for Ocean City. At Blackwater we had a few birds not found = by the Cecil crew highlighted by a Tricolored Heron (flying over) and 4 = Pectoral Sandpipers seen at Headquarters. We also enjoyed some other = signs of spring including at least two questionmark and one mourning = cloak butterflies, and four turtle species. We moved a terrapin (a good = omen for the NCAA tourney?) off the causeway on Key Wallace Drive, and a = mud turtle off of Bestpitch Ferry Road. Elliot Island was breezy, but delightfully 'skeeter-free, we located 59 = species there. There were a lot of dabbling ducks in salt pannes in the = open marsh and excellent numbers of fowl on Fishing Bay. Our best finds = were 4 Red-throated Loons off the boat ramp at Elliot along with 3 = Horned Grebes and at least 30 Surf Scoters. Among the other waterfowl = were 49 Gadwall, 16 American Wigeon, 7 Blue-winged Teal, 30 shovelers, = 40 Canvasback, and 900 Ruddy Ducks. We were also introduced to the = concept of "just another harrier" as we counted 15 of these handsome = hunters. Among the harriers were two light morph Rough-legged Hawks = including an adult male perched in the tiny topmost branchlets of a = groundsel-tree close to the road. Dickie birds included 6 Brown-headed = Nuthatches, Savannah and Swamp sparrows, and 16 Eastern Meadowlarks.=20 We decided to give Bestpitch Ferry and Maple Dam Roads another pass and = returned to Route 50 via Cambridge instead of Vienna. On the way we saw = the new impoundments Harry mentioned last week on Maple Dam Rd ca. 0.5 = miles north of the intersection with Key Wallace Drive - they had a = *lot* of birds in them. The pools are screened from the road by a single = line of young pines and there is a sign annoucing that the project is = sponsored by the Chesapeake Wildlife Trust (or something similar, I = forgot to write the name in my notes). It was at dusk so we may have = missed some birds, but what we could see was impressive including 200 = Green-winged Teal, 30 American Wigeon, 20 Gadwall, 4 pintail, 10 = shovelers, 60 Greater Yellowlegs, 10 Lesser Yellowlegs, and 40 Dunlin. = Definitely worth checking out if you're in the neighborhood. On Sunday Nancy, Ian and I took a late afternoon trip to Eastern Neck = NWR with selected stops along the way including a look at the Chesapeake = [was Remington] Farms' main impoundment. Chesapeake Farms produced 8 = Green-winged Teal, 20 wigeon, 2 Gadwall, 84 shovelers, 32 Ring-necked = Duck, 4 Lesser Scaup, 80 Ruddy Ducks, a male harrier, 2 Barn Swallows, = and 4 White-crowned Sparrows. Eastern Neck was in excellent form. Our highlights there included 5 = Red-throated Loons (all seen form Bogle's Wharf), 18 Common Loons (many = in alternate plumage), 2 Red-necked Grebes (one at Bogle's Wharf, and = one north of the refuge closer to Rock Hall), 44 Horned Grebes, 110 = Canvasback, 120 Long-tailed Ducks, 80 Common Goldeneye, 250 Bufflehead, = 30 Red-breasted Mergansers, and 20 Bonaparte's Gulls (Laughing Gull and = Forster's Terns were also "back" in small numbers). It was a very nice = weekend. 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 =========================================================================