Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2003 17:31:47 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Chris Starling Subject: Perry Point 4/5/03... Greetings, I spent the afternoon at work birding the grounds of the Perry Point VA center. There were a few birds around. Three and a half hours of looking scored 47 species with a few notable species. Land Birds: Barn, Tree, and Rough-winged Swallow were all tallied. Raptors were few in species but numerous in individual birds. 7 Bald Eagles were seen (4 on nests), 8 Opsreys were also seen (2 on nests). A single Cooper's Hawk was also noted riding air currents in long graceful circles like a Broad-winged would. Two very fresh looking Savannah Sparrows were also seen in a field. An Eastern Phoebe (my first for the spring at Perry Point) was hawking insects from a bare gum tree. 2 Belted kingfishers were seen fishing over Mill Creek. Warblers, which were my main objective were few (as expected). 6 Yellow-rumped Warblers and two very yellow Pine Warblers were seen foraging on the ground and in the nearby maple trees. Water Birds: It seems that most, if not all, of Perry Point's waterfowl has moved out as no regular wintering species of ducks were noted for the first time since early October. A Blue-winged Teal was seen however mixing in with a small raft of Wood Duck at a wooded pond. More Wood Ducks were seen on Mill Creek. There are still many Red-necked Grebes hanging around. eight were seen today around the mouth of the Susquehanna River. Gull Species were few however, 10 Bonaparte's Gulls were seen at the mouth of the Susquehanna River. Also a Forster's Tern flew along the shore near the main gate to the facility. Lastly, two Common Loons in full alternate plumage proved to be the best birds of the day. They were seen at the mouth of Furnace Bay on the Susquehana Flats. They were about 3000 feet out and were seen via scope. Good Birding, Chris Starling ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================