Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 03:25:57 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Norm Saunders Subject: On the beach... MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable This past weekend, Fran and I finally got everything together (equipment, time, and courage) to get our ORV Permit for the Wrangler and head down the beach on Assateague. What a great way to bird! I'm only sorry it took us so long! The green-headed flies were a bit much and one venture across the dunes to one of the areas along Assateague Bay left us beleaguered by uncountable numbers of mosquitoes (we had no top on the car, just a canvas half-top...we felt like one of those experiments where the guy shoves his unprotected arm into a box full of mosquites...). Nonetheless, if you have a 4-wheeler, you really need to try this out! The highlights of the 5 hours we spent out there were 8 Whimbrel, 6 Red Knot, 15 Sandwich Tern, 6 or so Least Tern, and one Black Tern. The last half-mile or so of the Maryland end of the island are closed for nesting Piping Plovers but even on Saturday, the busiest day of the week, we had a good half of the 17-mile stretch all to ourselves...what a paradise! Interested? You need an annual pass to Assateague Island National Seashore ($20 or $25, can't remember now), the ORV Pass ($70), and some required equipment for your car: tire gauge, shovel, tow strap, jack, and a wide base for the jack. The soft sand at the beginning was very much like driving in deep snow but after we got used to the feel of the car in the sand it became a truly wondrous experience with many opportunities to view flocks of gulls, terns, and shorebirds from very close. Best, Norm =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 Norm Saunders Colesville & West Ocean City, MD marshhawk@att.net=20 =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 =========================================================================