Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 17:17:12 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Bob Mumford Subject: Violettes Lock to Blockhouse and beyond MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This PM (2:30-4) I took my usual exercise walk, but with binocs along. As I got out of the car, there were two Phoebes feeding newly fledged young and a loudly calling and low Red-eyed Vireo in the first tree. A presage of a great day. A few yards down from the bridge, almost right on the 22 mile marker I heard a chip and so pished. Within three or four minutes, eight warbler species, a lovely male scarlet tanager and two vireos appeared. The warblers: four Yellow Rumps, two B&W's, a Blackpoll, a male Parula at head height, a pair of Prothonotaries, a pair of Yellow Throats, a male Black-throated Blue and a pair of Bay-breasteds. The male BB may be the same bird I saw at virtually this identical place on Saturday morning, but this time I got wonderful looks from fairly close, instead of a look underneath and high. On Saturday I also had a Magnolia male and a Kentucky female at this location. Further downstream I saw both orioles, a singing Rose-breasted Grosbeak, six migrating Kingbirds, two Wood Pewees and the usual local breeders. Overhead was a young Bald Eagle, a Broadwing, TV's and many Chimney Swifts. At Blockhouse there was a pod of at least five Scarlet Tanagers and what I think was a female Summer from a very brief look. Never got the binoculars on her before she disappeared. On the way back saw a gorgeous male Baltimore and an adult male Orchard at the top of the same dead branches, so close they were viewable in one half of the binocular. That was a first. Best day of birding this spring. Will they still be there tomorrow? Bob Mumford Darnestown ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================