Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 13:29:35 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Walter Ellison Subject: 22 Nov: Eastern Neck NWR waterfowl watch and beyond MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi All, Eastern Neck NWR had its annual Waterfowl Watch on last Saturday. This = event, normally held on the fourth Saturday of November, is an = opportunity for the public to view swans, geese and ducks at the Refuge = including in some areas normally off limits to the public. Kent Bird Club President Peter Mann, refuge volunteers Terry Willis and = Howard McIntyre and I helped provide expertise to aid Refuge Manager = Martin Kaehny with the outing. We located 16 waterfowl species dominated = by thousands Lesser Scaup and Ruddy Ducks and hundreds of Bufflehead. = Other waterfowl included 200 Tundra Swans; a Snow Goose with Canadas - = Snow Geese are uncommon at Eastern Neck; 70 Black Ducks; 80 pintail; ca. = 5 Canasback playing hide-n'-seek in hordes of scaup; a single = Long-tailed Duck; and a Red-breasted Merganser. We also saw 10 Common = Loons; a Red-throated Loon; 2 coots; a Dunlin; two migrating adult = Red-shouldered Hawks; a couple of late Osprey; and a Palm Warbler.=20 After the Waterfowl Watch Peter and I decided to walk the Duck Inn Trail = to look for a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER that was seen caching acorns there = on 25 October. We found not one but two immature woodpeckers building a = granary of willow oak acorns in a stub. The birds were so focused on = their task we got great looks at them through the telescope placing = acorns in the small holes they dug to house them. We also had a Brown = Creeper, 2 Winter Wrens, 3 Fox Sparrows, 4 Northern Harriers, 8 = migrating Red-tailed Hawks (many very dark suggesting they may have come = from eastern Canada), and 3 Horned Grebes on this walk. We also found 5 = Pine Siskins and goldfinches feeding on sweet gum balls along the edge = of the woods just north of the Refuge HQ/Gift Shop on the Butterfly = Bayview Trail. Good Birding, Walter Ellison 23460 Clarissa Road Chestertown, MD 21620 phone: 410-778-9568 e-mail: rossgull@crosslink.net "A person who is looking for something doesn't travel very fast" - E. B. = White (in "Stuart Little") =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =========================================================================