Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 21:26:32 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Walter Ellison Subject: More Caroline Co. Dickcissels MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Everybody, Sorry for the belated post. I have been doing atlas field work in the = Goldsboro quadrangle over the last week. The wet weather has recharged = the area's swampy woods and then some. I only had one pair of = Prothonotary Warblers last year, this year they are present in small = numbers in all of my blocks (the CW, CE, and SW blocks), plus Marydel - = CW.=20 On Sunday I was working in Goldsboro - SW (which has Bridgetown, MD in = its NW corner). Nancy, Ian and I were surveying along East Cherry Lane = just after crossing Forge Branch near the t-intersection with Cedar Lane = (ADC Caroline Atlas Map 4 E-13, DeLorme Atlas Map 51 B-4) . On the south = side of the road there is a big fallow hayfield. We had just reached a = hedgerow on the left (we were headed east) and Nancy stopped to get a = better look at a male Blue Grosbeak (already confirmed as it happened). = At that moment I heard "tic-tic-ziss-ziss-ziss!" and said "There's a = Dickcissel!". The bird was singing in the tallest tree at the end of the = row a nice male with just a small black spot on its breast. The bird = then did a song flight into the field where there were two more singing = males. It seems Dickcissels have arrived a little late this year, = perhaps due to the May and June rains. I checked the Birds of North = America account today - it lists the median spring arrival of Dickcissel = in Kansas (similar latitude to MD) as the third week of June - so = they're not *too* late. Folks with good grassland habitat, particularly = hay or alfalfa, should be alert for Dickcissel. I note that the = Dickcissels reported by Dave Perry on El Downes Rd in Goldsboro - CW are = present for their second consecutive year, site fidelity is considered = unusual in Maryland Dickcissels.=20 Other grassland and savannah birds along E. Cherry Lane included Vesper = Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, bobwhite, Field Sparrow, Killdeer, Horned = Lark and Yellow-breasted Chat. On Day Rd to the north we had some nice = woodland birds including six warbler species featuring Kentucky, = Worm-eating, and Prothonotary. Good Atlasing & Birding,=20 Walter Ellison MD-DC Atlas Coordinator - MOS 23460 Clarissa Road Chestertown, MD 21620 phone: 410-778-9568 e-mail: rossgull@crosslink.net "A person who is looking for something doesn't travel very fast" - E. B. = White (in "Stuart Little") =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =========================================================================