Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 09:33:50 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Chris Starling Subject: Kent County pelagices! AUSW! Greetings, Yesterday I left North East, MD in my boat destined for Kent Island (2 Hours ride in my 21' Center Console) at 5:30 AM. While the fishing wasn't too bad the birding was even better! I tallied 19 species including 8 species of gull/tern. However the best (remarkable) bird that I saw yesterday was a lone AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER gliding above the chop between Howell Point and Worten Point in Kent County waters. I had just passed Howell Point (south side of the mouth of the Sassafras River) when I spied a small black bird gliding a good ways up in front of me. It was slightly larger then a Forster's Tern and was gliding in a very soft upside down crescent shape. At first I thought, "man that looks like a murre or something" -I was thinking alcid sp. It did not take long for me to catch up to and pass by the bird. It was very clean and white on the underside with only a hint of dark edging under its rigid wings. It glided steadily along the bay never reaching greater then 5-6 feet above the waters surface and often staying even with the gunnels of my boat (2 feet). The bird also seemed to be rather curious of me and my boat coming in rather close to me and following the boat for at least 10 minutes or so. many times I ran up ahead of the bird and stopped watching it in my bino's as it passed closely by. The bird very rarely flapped its wings seemingly using the southerly breeze to maintain its lift. The bird had a very dark, almost black, mantle that faded at the eyes. The eyes were very noticeable as they were surrounded by a gray/white plumage that turned all white at the bill and under the eyes. I could also see the that the bill was not black, being grayish in color. the "vent" on the top of the bill was also quite noticeable in the well lit dawn. Eventually the bird turned westward and flew towards Poole's Island (Harford County). I was excited by the displays that I had witnessed and after a 6 hour (productive) fishing venture I returned home to consult numerous field guides including Sibley's, Peterson's, National Geographic, and Audubon's. After doing this and speaking with Hans Holbrook about the situation I concluded that the bird was undoubtedly an Audubon's Shearwater and NOT a Manx's due to its wing/body size relationship, its lighter undersides, its rounder wingtips, and its whiter face. If any one would like to discuss this further please reach my off line at christopher.starling@va.med.gov . Good Birding, Chris Starling North East, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================