Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2003 07:26:24 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Saunders, Norman - BLS" Subject: Worcester Fall Rarities Roundup -- Be There ! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain WHAT: 4th Annual Worcester County Search for Fall Rarities WHEN: Strategy Session: Friday evening, November 7, at Norm & Fran's house in West Ocean City The Count: All day, Saturday, November 8 Dinner & Tally: Saturday evening, November 8, at Norm & Fran's Chase Parties: Sunday, November 9 (arrangements made Saturday evening) WHERE: All of Worcester County will be covered HOW: Contact Norm Saunders at marshhawk@att.net to sign up. Do you have an area of the county that you're particularly fond of or knowledgeable about? Let Norm know and he'll pass that information along to our two strategists, Mark Hoffman and Matt Hafner. Why this count? Worcester County is indisputably the birdiest county in Maryland. Early November is the most likely time for wandering Fall vagrants to show up (the county's first record of Ash-throated Flycatcher was located during the 1st Annual Rarities Roundup in 2000). Some of the "most wanted" species for the county include Cave Swallow, Bell's Vireo, MacGillivary's Warbler, Western Tanager, and any western empid. Other good birds that we might expect to locate during the day include Orange-crowned Warbler, LeConte's Sparrow, Western Kingbird, and Eurasian Collared Dove. How about "great birds?" Well, it was during this period of time that Cape May's Brown-chested Martin was seen and so well documented a few years back. Why not one for Maryland, as well? Remember, the more people we get out in the field looking for birds on November 8th, the more likely we are to have some excellent rarities. It's probably no accident that the first year of the count was the best one we have had so far. That year we had a good crowd of Maryland's finest birders along with a passel of "big names" from Cape May, as well. So sign up and head out! Remember, Worcester County needs you! We will have a communications network in place in case some mega-rarity shows up the day of the count, to facilitate a group-tick, so when you sign up, please be sure to give us your cell phone number. Sunday will be reserved for chasing after the good birds discovered the previous day. For many of us, Monday is the Veteran's Day holiday, so plan on staying late on Sunday or on into the next day to chase the good birds located on Saturday! Mark your calendars now and make your motel reservations. For those planning on staying near Ocean City, a clean and relatively inexpensive motel is the Francis Scott Key on Rt. 50, just west of the bridge into Ocean City. Their phone number is 410-213-0088. Those of you planning to attend either the pizza bash on Friday night or the dinner on Saturday evening will be asked to make a small contribution to help defray the cost of the food. Sodas will be provided but if you want beer or wine, bring it along--we have a giant-sized cooler. A covered outdoor area with table and chairs is provided for smokers. We're looking forward to seeing a bunch of you in November and we have a feeling this may be the year for some new State species! Be there! If you have questions, contact either Mark Hoffman (MHoff36100@AOL.COM) or Matt Hafner (MH1920@AOL.COM). Even if you chat with Mark or Matt, be sure to sign up with Norm so that you'll be include on the list to receive the information mail-out prior to the count.. To sign up, drop an e-mail to Norm Saunders (marshhawk@att.net). Be sure to include your cell phone number, if you have one, and your preferences for the area of the county assigned to you. Even if you're a beginner, don't hesitate to sign up for the count. We'll pair you with more experienced birders, and every pair of eyes in the field matters! Best, Mark, Matt, Norm, & Fran ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================