Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 10:47:13 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Richard Schubert Subject: Brief Essay MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Please note: This brief essay applies ONLY to Maryland and DC birds. I was at Rock Creek Park yesterday morning and saw eleven warbler species, the olive sided flycatcher, and plenty of other migrants. The Canada's yellow is still as spectacular as the springtime migrant's; the parula's greenish back with those yellows and darker colors- too splendid for mere words. Something rustled in the leaves above-- we all looked. A blue-gray gnatcatcher? "No," someone said, "just a chickadee." Just a chickadee! The migrant warblers and all the rest--brief visitors only, weary travellers who stop at a Howard Johnson's on the Jersey Turnpike, to rest, grab a bite to eat, then leave. Oh, they gobble an insect or two - a small contribution to the local economy - but mostly they contribute nothing but beauty.** The summertime crew? The kingbirds find us acceptable in summer, but not in winter. And the same for prothonotaries, red-eyed vireos, y.b. cuckoos, and the lot of 'em. Our summertime insects - these birds take the best we have, then flee to warmer climes. And how about those wintertime opportunists? The yellow-bellied flycatchers, the white-throated sparrows and juncos? They come in for the winter, take the best we have to offer, then head back up north. We're okay for the tough seasons, but not up to their standards for the good stuff. But our carolina chickadees, titmice, white breasted nuthatches, mockingbirds - these are the folks in the trenches. They're here eating insect larvae during the coldest, rawest, snowiest days of winter; and they stick around for the summer - we're good enough for them when it comes to bringing up their kids. These folks are 24/7, every day of the year. Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying: I love the migrants, still treasure my Connecticut warbler from 2 years ago, my Philadelphia vireo from this spring; and I'm out there counting gadwalls and hermit thrushes for the winter count and loving it. But.... don't forget our locals, the guys who stick it out with us, who think we're just fine, during 'the best of times, the worst of times'-- the carolina wrens singing so magnificently, even when the sun doesn't rise until 7:00 AM; the cardinals flashing their reds even when there's snow in the forecast. Nothing wrong with the opportunists. But "just a chickadee?" C'mon. They deserve better. Richard Schubert Bethesda MD **yes, yes, I know - the warblers and kingbirds eat stuff in the tropics, and that's good for us too---I seek not to diminish them even a micron; I seek only to give our full-timers their due. ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================