Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 03:52:04 -0800 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Ole Buck Subject: Re: Chesapeake Bay Birding In-Reply-To: <000001c3e556$0407e400$0202a8c0@TimLeahy> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Tim, I work at Point Lookout and get to see a nice variety of birds each week so I'd say come on down and you're likely to have a good day in the Park. Lately the waterfowl hasn't been as numerous off of the causeway but there are always birds to see. Most probably will be buffleheads, surf and black scoters, gulls and other "regulars" for this time of year. I had a female red-breasted merganser a few days ago. Take the time to drive (and walk around) the Park though, the land birds are very active with this cold weather. I've been seeing the red-tailed hawk north of the causeway a lot, lots of sparrows, cardinals, brown thrashers and assorted song birds alongside the roads in the heavy brush, and of course the occasional sighting of the eagles. I even had a merlin about a week ago, my first for the Park. If it's an overcast day you may even hear the great horned owls that live somewhere near Headquarters. I've never seen them but sometimes hear them in the afternoon on cloudy days. My best find of the past week were the wild turkeys alongside the road. The area between the Park up towards Ridge has been good lately too. I've seen a pair of harriers, a killdeer wandering down the road, red-tailed & red-shouldered hawks, great blue herons, black and turkey vultures and a rough-legged hawk. We always have a good day when we bird the Park and surrounding area. Come spend a couple of hours and be sure to stop in at Rick's Marine for coffee. As a side-note for everyone: some parts of the Park are still closed thanks to Isabel. The campgrounds are shut down and some parking areas are closed. Parking is open at the Beach/Picnin area and there is a walking path along the river side to the Point since the highway is still closed because of damage. The black-back gulls hang out around the Point pretty often. Walking down towards the Fort is a good place for sparrows and other little bush birds. Okay. Long-winded, I know. :) But there's an update for anyone who hasn't made it to the Park in a while. Be sure to dress extra warm if you come down, it's always colder in the Park thanks to the winds off the Bay. Happy birding all! Tim Leahy wrote: Greetings Traveling to MD this coming weekend in hopes of seeing the Kelp Gull. Thank you very much to everyone who responded to my previous RFO. Got another one for you. What is the best place to get an appreciation for the Chesapeake Bay at this time of year, birding wise, which I guess means waterfowl. Besides Sandgates, we are driving from the Baltimore area. One bird of interest is a King Eider. Would Point Lookout be a place not to miss? Thanks In Advance Tim Leahy Appleton, Wisconsin ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= Chris Ordiway Seasonal Naturalist olebuck73@yahoo.com 301-872-5085 Point Lookout State Park 11175 Point Lookout Rd., PO Box 48 Scotland, MD 20687 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================