Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 21:25:36 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Walter Ellison Subject: Black Brant at Ocean City MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi All, Peter Mann invited me to make a trip down to Worcester County today in = search of eiders and other coastal birds. It was a day of unexpected = turns and happenings starting with somehow completely overlooking the = fact that we stayed on US-13 South rather than exiting to US-50 East = west of Salisbury until we hit Pocomoke City. I guess we were talking = too much and we don't know the Lower Shore landmarks as well as we = might. We decided to do a little birding in southwestern Worcester = County and then return to Ocean City via US-113. We had a pleasant time = birding a few back roads that were new to us without finding anything = too surprising among the birds. At Ocean City we found the inlet fogged in with no eiders in sight (or = hidden in the fog across the way). The inlet did have 18 Common Loons; = 30 Surf Scoters; a single male Black Scoter - who joined a Greater Scaup = in nibbling the tide-exposed blue mussels along the retaining wall; 2 = Great Coromorants; at least 17 Purple Sandpipers; and 12 Ruddy = Turnstones. We then went to 4th St. The flats were also obscured by fog = so we contented ourselves with carefully scanning a flock of Brant = grazing in the playing field next to Chicago Avenue (and between 3rd and = 4th Sts). We were surprised and very pleased to find a single adult = BLACK BRANT among 104 of the usual "Pale-bellied" Brant.=20 The key features of the Black Brant were its dark underparts, = contrasting very little with its neck and chest. The blackish extended = back to between the bird's legs and was relieved by contrasting broad = white barring along the flanks. The back was very dark chocolate brown, = appearing much more uniform and dark than in neighboring birds. The = white at the side of the neck below the chin was broad (wider than in = neighboring Brant), and met across the front of the throat.=20 We crossed to West Ocean City and viewed the Skimmer I. area from = Hooper's Restaurant. The best bird there was a single adult ICELAND GULL = on the flats to the north. We also had 18 oystercatchers, and three = Dunlin from Hooper's. At West Ocean City Pd there were 350 Canvasback, a = hen Redhead, 3 Ring-necked Ducks, 3 coot, 12 shovelers, 2 Gadwall, 14 = Hooded Mergansers, and a lone Ruddy Duck. One hen shoveler amazed us by = repeatedly diving. She was apparently feeding, and it was interesting to = note that she opened her wings like a scoter on each dive. By 4:00 PM it = finally started to rain, so we departed for Kent County. 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 =========================================================================