Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 01:01:14 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Fred Shaffer Subject: Piping Plover, Black Necked Stilt, & Sharp-tailed Sparrow My brother and I visited several sites on the eastern shore on Friday (June 20th) in an effort to see a few specific beach & marsh birds. Highlights at Assateague State Park were 1 nesting Piping Plover (in one of the protected nest sites), a colony of noisy Least Terns, 2 American Oystercatchers, many Willets, and two flyby Gannets. According to a park ranger, there are additional nesting Plovers, but as that end of the beach is closed, we could only make out the closest site. Elliot Island Road was also productive, with the highlights being one distant Common Moorhen, one close Black Necked Stilt, many, many singing Marsh Wrens & Seaside Sparrows, and a breeding plumage Tricolored Heron. I was also able to find one (and possibly two others) Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow amongst the Seaside Sparrows. Bald Eagles were also numerous, and two very late Greater Yellowlegs were a surprise. We largely avoided the rain (except when driving), and the late afternoon sun and blue sky, mixed with storm clouds of a variety of colors, was spectacular over the marsh. The water was very high, and in some places over the road, and we left before any night birds got started. The total list was: Double Crested Cormorants Northern Gannet Great Egret Snowy Eget Great Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Green Heron Canada Geese Mute Swans Black Ducks Mallard Bald Eagle Red Tailed Hawk Sharp Shinned Hawk Turkey Vulture Black Vulture Common Moorhen Black Necked Stilt Willet Killdeer Piping Plover Greater Yellowlegs American Oystercatcher Great Black Backed Gull Herring Gull Ring Billed Gull (very worn, first summer bird) Laughing Gull Least Tern Forster's Tern Mourning Dove Rock Dove Ruby throated Hummingbird Eastern Kingbird Northern Flicker Blue Jay American Crow Fish Crow Barn Swallow Tree Swallow Northern Rough winged Swallow Marsh Wren American Robin Gray Catbird European Starling Northern Cardinal Common Yellowthroat Song Sparrow House Sparrow Seaside Sparrow Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Eastern Towhee Red Winged Blackbird Common Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle House Finch American Goldfinch Fred Shaffer Patuxent Bird Club Crofton, Anne Arundel ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================