Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 16:32:22 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Walter Ellison Subject: Black-billed Cuckoo et al. in Kent Co. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi All, Spring migrantion can be like looking under the Christmas tree = sometimes. We have added four birds to our cumulative yard list over the = last two days. This started with a Warbling Vireo singing in the oaks in = the front yard yesterday morning. When I got back from a meeting at = Patuxent WRC today I heard a Yellow Warbler in the yard, oddly enough = the first for us here. YWARs are peculiarly scarce in our bailiwick. = Nancy announced that a Black-billed Cuckoo had been sounding off in the = neighborhood. Bless the bird's heart he started to repeatedly give an = abbreviated "cu-cu" after I stepped back out on the deck. A chat was = also hooting, cawing and clattering - yet another first for the yard. I = made an attempt to see the cuckoo and found that not only had a = Black-bill been attracted to the local tent caterpillar infestation but = so had our first Yellow-billed Cuckoo of the season. It was = instructional to listen to them trade their calls, "kouu-kouu-kouu" with = slow cadence for the Yellow-bill versus the rapid hollow "cu-cu" of the = Black-bill. Then they traded throaty rattles, the Black-bill's a bit = more musical and rolling versus the more wooden Yellow-bill - if you = have the O'Brien & Evans flight calls CD these sounds are well-compared = on it. To top it off a Least Tern flew up Mill Creek down at the landing = just before I climbed the hill back to the house. Gosh, I enjoy spring. Good Birding & Atlasing, 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 =========================================================================