Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2003 11:36:56 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Gail Mackiernan Subject: Rock Creek Park today 4/30 Mime-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Hi -- See John Hubble has posted from the Rock Creek maintenance yard, so here's the rest of the story (as they say) from the ridge (picnic areas 17/18, equitation field, nature center etc. Arrived at 6:30 am and about the first birds other than singing Myrtles was a little flock consisting of four Scarlet tanagers, two male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and a male Baltimore Oriole - all sitting and flitting in treetops at the end of the clearing, in full brilliant sun. Talk about mind- (or eye-) blowing! After that quite a good morning but still too many Yellow-rumps around! Warblers recorded (many were heard-only) included: Myrtle (~150-200), Black-throated Green (8), Black-throated Blue (2), Black-and-White (4), Blackpoll! (1), Bluewinged (2, both unseen but one singing occasionally like a Golden-winged, however B-W is the conservative ID), Hooded (1), Nashville (4), Ovenbird (6), Palm (3, 1 Western race), Parula (4), Redstart (1), Worm-eating (1 heard again at ridge, has been singing there for over a week now), Common Yellowthroat (2). Reported by others (besides species in John's posting): Cape May, Northern Waterthrush. Other migrants (many heard-only): Great Crested Flycatcher (4), Red-eyed Vireo (6), Wood Thrush (5), Scarlet Tanager (6), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (3), Baltimore Oriole (1), Indigo Bunting (2), Catbird (12-14), House Wren (3), Yellow-billed Cuckoo (2, one seen very well near equitation field), Chipping Sparrow (8), White-throated Sparrow (12-15), Junco (1 -- he needs to get going soon!), Cooper's Hawk (1). Reported by others: White-eyed Vireo. B-G Gnatcatchers seem to be everywhere and many were collecting nesting material, so local breeders and migrants are overlapping. No Kinglets today, not Hermit Thrushes so they may be almost gone for the year. Gail Mackiernan and Barry Cooper Silver Spring, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================