Date:         Sun, 4 May 2003 05:19:57 -0400
Reply-To:     Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Sender:       Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
From:         Norm Saunders <marshhawk@ATT.NET>
Subject:      A Worcester Saturday
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This is starting to sound a bit like a refrain, but Saturday, 3 May, dawned
cloudy, chilly, and a bit rainy.  The weather improved slowly over the day,
ending up in late afternoon with sunny skies, moderate winds from the
north, and much warmer temps.

Notable were the Chuck-will=92s-widow, which we hear singing every evening
just after dark, on an off throughout the night thanks to our baby/bird
monitor system, and right up until first light.  We had our first Blue
Grosbeak of the season, along with a pass-through White-eyed Vireo and the
first Gray Catbird since last Fall.  A lone Royal Tern was fishing out in
Sinepuxent Bay, along with both Forster=92s and Common Terns.

On the breeding front, the starlings seem to be winning out in their
efforts to take the nest hole so patiently whittled out by a pair of
Northern Flickers.  Chickadees appear to have laid claim to one of our
bluebird boxes while a frantic male House Sparrow is madly stuffing the
other box with twigs.  His efforts may well pay off since he seems to have
a female watching his every move.

The Great Blue Herons have virtually disappeared=97I would love to know wher=
e
their nearby nesting colonies are (if any).  Could Cattle Egrets be nesting
on Skimmer Island or are they just using that as a roost?  Anyway, here are
all our sightings for Saturday:

Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 3
Little Blue Heron 1
Cattle Egret 3
Green Heron 1
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Canada Goose 6
Mallard 5
Osprey 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Clapper Rail 3
Willet 4
Laughing Gull 12
Herring Gull 25
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Royal Tern 1
Common Tern 3
Forster's Tern 5
Mourning Dove 18
Chuck-will's-widow 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
White-eyed Vireo 1
American Crow 2
Fish Crow 15
Purple Martin 3
Tree Swallow 25
Barn Swallow 5
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 2
Brown-headed Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 2
House Wren 2
American Robin 8
Gray Catbird 1
European Starling 15
Eastern Towhee 1
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 3
Blue Grosbeak 1
Red-winged Blackbird 12
Common Grackle 25
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 6

Best,
Norm & Fran Saunders
Colesville & West Ocean City
marshhawk@att.net

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