Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2004 18:38:36 -0800 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: craig tumer Subject: Nashville and Orange-crowned Warblers continue at National Arboretum Comments: cc: DSSPRL@aol.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Today (1/17/04) Dave Sperling and I birded the National Arboretum between 08:30 and 11:30. After arriving at the Arboretum, we first searched (unsuccessfully) through the numerous robins, waxwings, and starlings in the crabapple grove for something rarer. The purple finches reported by Paul Pisano last weekend were not present. We spotted the orange-crowned warbler feeding low in the evergreen shrubs adjacent to the parking area within seconds of getting out of the car. We got only a very brief and very unsatisfying look at it before it disappeared. Unable to refind the warbler, we birded the rest of the Asian garden and the shoreline of the Anacostia River. While birding along the Anacostia, a large flock of Canada geese flushed from the soccer fields at Kenilworth Park on the opposite side of the river. Among the approximately 500 geese that took to the air, I spotted a smaller goose (approximately 1/2 to 2/3 the size of the Candas) but was unable to get an ID before I lost it as it flew behind the trees lining the river. Elsewhere in the Asian gardens, we saw at least six eastern towhees with two different mixed sparrow flocks and a red-breasted nuthatch with a small group of kinglets and chickadees. After birding the rest of the Asian garden, we returned to the hillside below the parking area in hopes of relocating the orange-crowned warbler. In searching for the orange-crown, we found the Nashville warbler feeding low in a clump of evergreens just downslope of the parking area and the restroom. Within minutes of locating the Nashville, the orange-crown flew into the same clump of shrubs. Both birds fed low in the dense clump of shrubs and were often difficult to see. Our persistence paid off, however, and at times we had both warblers in the same field of view. A nice end to a cold January morning! Craig Tumer Washington, DC --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================