Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 14:25:38 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Gary A Griffith Subject: Re: Jaeger sp. in Cecil! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit For what it's worth I had an immature Parasitic Jaeger along the C&D Canal right at Chesapeake City about 10: 30 the morning Isabel. The bird circled a few times under the bridge and the views were good. It then headed west toward the Elk River at break-neck speed and flew out of view. I didn't post because it disappeared do quickly and seemed to be heading out of the area. Gary A. Griffith 55 Sarah Dr Elkton, MD 21921 USA grif5039@crosslink.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Starling" To: Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2003 3:00 PM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Jaeger sp. in Cecil! > Greetings, > > I joined the Cecil Bird Club yesterday morning for a field trip to > Turkey Point for a warbler walk and a stop by the hawk watch. > terrestrial birds were few however a few nice things turned up here > and there. Most notable was a dozen or so Rose-breasted Grosbeaks > including a stunning male still in alternate plumage! Other birds > were Canada Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Redstart, Red-eyed, White-eyed, > and Blue-headed (solitary) Vireos. Also female Blue Grosbeak that was > seen feeding a young bird! The Hawk Watch was > rather slow but seemed to be picking up as I left around 1PM. Birds > flying by were: Broad-winged, Sharpie, Cooper's, Kestrel, Osprey, Bald > Eagle. > > At the lighthouse Myself and Tom (Raub -i think?) set up for a > mini-sea watch looking for hurricane displaced birds. We were unable > to see much other then 12 Laughing Gulls, dozens of Caspian Terns, 9 > Forster's Terns, and a few Cormorants (D-c). There were two rather > dark gull-like birds at a > distance that threw us for a second. They didn't seem to fit the > "GISS" of a gull. certain behavioral patterns did not quite fit. For > instance, the birds general flying technique was more deliberate and > sustained then that of a gull also the bird flew steady across the > water maintaining a height less then (approximately) 6 feet off the > water. The second bird was similar > in appearance and lit on the water while it was floating it was > "bobbing" up and down consistently. I have never seen a Gull do that > before. It's head and neck also seemed larger then a gulls. Both birds > were dark all over. being VERY far away we were not able to ID either > bird. > > After I left the Elk Neck State Park I arrived at my wife's Aunt's > house to > help prepare for a wedding that was to be had on the property later > that afternoon. While I was cleaning debris off the beach I caught a > great view of a Large powerful Gull-like bird flying fast to the > south. The bird covered 1000 yards in less then a minute. It was > moving South had obviously > had nothing else on its mind. I am certain the bird was not a Gull or > a Raptor. It was 500 yards or more from me and I was able to view it > for 90 seconds with 9X binos. It appeared to me to be a juvenile > Parasitic Jaeger. > My only problem with that ID is that the bird seemed to be much larger then > a Jaeger... however size was very difficult to judge since nothing > else was > around to compare it to. The bird was seen in the North East River > from the > shore of Cara Cove. Its wings beats were powerful and steady at a > medium speed. The bird was mainly brown with some beige patterning on > the underside. It's wings were long and wide especially at the base > closer to the body. I wish I had had my scope with me at the time. > > Good Birding, > Chris Starling > North East, MD > > PS; as I wrote this I got up and went outside for a moment here at > APG. the > previously reported Cowbird/Starling Flock was outside. Suddenly a > Merlin appeared from nowhere and sent the large (500+ birds) flock > into a massive scramble. It was quite a spectacle. The Merlin tried > unsuccessfully to catch a meal. the Merlin was a large juev. > > ====================================================================== > = > To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey > ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================