Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 19:51:45 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Robert Ringler Subject: Re: Great Cormorant on Liberty Lake MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thanks go to Bill for correctly identifying this bird and getting it confirmed. I can add a few more details to the observation and the circumstances under which it may most likely be seen. The bird is a first-year Great Cormorant. The illustration in the Geographic guide is exactly as I saw it today, facing me with wings spread. The underparts are white from the chest to the belly. The neck is dusky and there is a small white area at the throat. The bird is slightly, but noticeably, larger than the accompanying Double-crested Cormorants (one adult and four immatures). The site is a small island in Liberty Lake. It is the only island that I know of on the lake. It is illustrated on the Finksburg quadrangle map but I have not seen it elsewhere. It is in Baltimore County about 100 yards from the Carroll County line (DeLorme map 57A5, Carroll Co. ADC map 31D7, Baltimore Co. ADC map 23C3). It is best viewed from the point off the end of Oakland Road on the Carroll County side of the lake. From Route 26 go north on Oakland Mills Road, turn right on Oakland Road and park at the end of the road, opposite the water treatment plant. Walk up the hill alongside the fence to the trail that leads to the point. From here you can scope a large portion of the lake as well as the island. I was there for about two hours this afternoon beginning about 3:10. The cormorants scatter around the lake to feed during the day but come to the island late in the day to roost. I spotted the first Double-crested Cormorant in the water about 3:40. The number had increased to four before the Great Cormorant arrived at about 4:40. By this time the sun is already below the trees and the lake is in deep shadow. The cormorants either swim into the area or fly in. They always swim around awhile before going to roost on snags around the island. Despite the fading light I was able to identify all the birds because they perched facing me. For you county listers, if a bird swims or flies through the area to the left of the island it passes through Carroll County briefly. Frequently the cormorants swim in this area before going to the roost. My total list of birds for the two hours there is: Common Loon 1 Double-crested Cormorant 5 Great Cormorant 1 Canada Goose 2 Baldpate 2 Hooded Merganser 4 Red-breasted Merganser 1 Black Vulture 6 Turkey Vulture 1 Bald Eagle 3 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Peregrine 1 Ring-billed Gull 70 Barred Owl 1 heard Kingfisher 1 Crow 200 Good luck to anyone who tries for this bird. Obviously I recommend late afternoon viewing. And once again thanks to Bill for doing a great job under trying conditions yesterday. By the way, this is the second record of Great Cormorant for Carroll County. The first was a breeding plumage bird flying over the McKeldin Area of Patapsco Valley State Park in a flock of Double-crested Cormorants on April 18, 1993 Bob Ringler ----- Original Message ----- From: Bill Ellis To: Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 5:54 PM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Great Cormorant on Liberty Lake > Last night, in the pouring rain at about 4:15 PM, I checked out 6 cormorants > perched on snags near a mini-island in Liberty Lake. One had solid > white from mid-chest to under tail, with a sharply defined dark > coloration from mid-chest to upper neck. When it turned toward me, I > saw light coloration under the chin. It looked heavier, but not > taller than the others. Unsure > of the ID, I called Bob Ringler, who saw the same bird arrive tonight > at 4:40 to the same spot, joining the Double-crested. He agreed with > my proposed ID. > > The viewing by Bob and me was from the point at the foot of Oakland > Road in > Eldersburg. I only saw it in Baltimore County; Bob saw it at > locations indicating it had traversed Carroll County where the > boundary juts out across the lake. Bob Ringler believes this is just > the second record for GRCO in Carroll County; he will provide more > info. > > I will be happy to report this to eBird. Matt Hafner - incoming. > > Bill Ellis > Apprentice Birder > MOS - Carroll County > > ====================================================================== > = > 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 ======================================================================= =========================================================================