Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 22:50:10 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM> Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding <MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM> From: Arlene Ripley <piwa@EARTHLINK.NET> Subject: Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Big Sit Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed The JBWS Bird Team (I didn't know a team name was required and had to quickly make one up to enter our data) tallied 51 species over a 12 hour period today (10/12). I began the vigil alone at 6:30 AM from the viewing platform overlooking Jug Bay on the Patuxent River. Soon after, I was joined by Jeff Shenot who spent several hours in the circle and a few hours later by Sigrid Stiles who stayed until we left together after sunset. Morning passerine birding was slow to non-existent due to the constant cool, windy conditions at the platform. It was cold enough that we had to bundle up in sweaters and jackets while visitors strolled around the rest of the sanctuary in shorts! This windy condition which lasted from sunrise to just before sunset had an adverse affect on passerines visiting the trees around the platform. Highlights were the EASTERN MEADOWLARK, COMMON MOORHEN, and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. At mid-day we took a short hike, to warm up, down to Otter Point at the south end of the sanctuary where we enjoyed seeing three Red-headed Woodpeckers (up to five have been seen there over the last several weeks). I also saw a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker when I went back to my car for supplies. Unfortunately these and other birds were far from our 17' circle! We called it a day shortly after sunset around 6:50 PM. This was my first experience spending many hours birding in one spot. I didn't intend on staying the whole time but I did and enjoyed it very much. SPECIES SEEN Pied-billed Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Canada Goose Wood Duck American Wigeon Gadwall Green-winged Teal Mallard American Black Duck Northern Pintail Ring-necked Duck Great Blue Heron Great Egret Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Common Moorhen American Coot Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Laughing Gull Rock Dove Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Blue Jay American Crow Fish Crow Cedar Waxwing American Robin White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse American Goldfinch Yellow-rumped Warbler Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle Arlene Ripley NABS Website http://nabluebirdsociety.org web@nabluebirdsociety.org ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================