Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 08:43:47 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Lovelace, Glen" Subject: Inland Forster's Tern at Oak Grove 5/25 Comments: To: DE-Birds MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Hello All, The highlight of Sunday morning's birding at Oak Grove was a pair of flyby Forster's Terns. The observation was from the back of my farm (in Caroline Co.). I was sitting in the car and updating my list when I heard a 'Kyarr.' I jumped up, saw the bird coming toward me but still at some distance. So I hurriedly got out the scope and got to the bird before it got past me. Sure enough, two Forster's Terns. And atlas ticks to boot! So now my question (mainly for MD atlasers): Does anyone else have F Tern sightings on atlas blocks without water (this sighting being approx. 5 miles east of the Marshyhope and 7 miles north of the Nanticoke)? I once saw a Forster's Tern dive bombing a Ring-Billed Gull sitting in the parking lot of the nature center at Canaan Valley State Park in WV which was a seemingly strange locale. How common are Forster's or any tern away from water? Beyond that, I found a Hairy Woodpecker nest hole (found by the incessant calling of the young), a female Orchard Oriole building her nest and 2 male Baltimore Orioles chasing each other (they do not nest locally to my knowledge). 10 Least Sands, 2 Semi Sands and 3 Semi Plover continue in the field at the sharp bend in Kinder Rd. On 5/26, the Cooper's Hawk made another raid on the Starlings around the farm buildings. The first such raid I observed was on 5/18. Maybe this one will spend the summer. I need all the help I can get to put a dent in the Starling population. Good Birding, Glen Lovelace III Seaford, DE ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================