Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 11:58:42 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Leo Weigant Subject: Re: Trip Report, Eastern Shore, 2/14/04 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="=__PartA584DC52.0__=" This is a multi-part message in MIME format... --=__PartA584DC52.0__= Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Warren (and Lisa) I have been at birding a little longer than you two, but wanted to send along my gratitude for reminding me of the joy & enthusiasm you conveyed in your report. There may be a few fine points to learn, but you will pick them up in their own good time. Keep watching the Osprey and keep on sharing with us. Leo Weigant >>> wstrobel@KRWASHINGTON.COM 2/19/04 11:08:52 AM >>> My fiancee Lisa and I spent a lovely Valentine's Day hopscotching down the Eastern Shore in search of birds, birds and more birds. Highlights were SURF SCOTER and PURPLE SANDPIPER in O.C. and a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER along the Blackwater NWR drive. Those first two put me across the 200 mark in my U.S. Life List. It was a great moment - I've been interested in birds since childhood and have birded, with increasing seriousness, for the last 15 years, mostly self-taught. I'm also EXTREMELY conservative (ask Lisa) in adding birds to my lists. Anyway, here goes: Cape St. Claire yard (doing the GBBC): 1. Cardinal 2. Dark-eyed junco (2) 3. Robin (3) 4. Brown Creeper (this fellow has been frequenting a tree with a suet feeder on it, although not at the suet) 5. Carolina Chickadee (2) 6. Blue Jay 7. House finch (pair) 8. Starling 9. Mourning Dove The Bay Bridge/Kent Narrows area had: 10. Mallard 11. Bufflehead 12. Great Black-Backed Gull 13. Ring-Billed Gull 14. Canada Goose (like everyone else, we saw thousands total, on the ground and on the fly) 15. Mute Swan 16. Red-Winged Blackbird (2) 17. American Coot (these last two in the restaurant area off Kent Narrows, south of 50) 18. Black Vulture 19. Rock Dove By about 10:55 am., we were at the Wye Island bridge area.... We saw several hundred, if not more, waterfowl in the distance, too far away to I.D. (Reminder: Must buy scope). They were probably the Canvasback others have noted. Other species in and around Wye Island were: 20. Turkey Vulture 21. Tundra Swan (dozens, if not 100, in sight of the Wye Island bridge) 22. Lesser Scaup 23. Mockingbird 24. White-Throated Sparrow 25. Goldfinch 26. Hairy Woodpecker 27. Northern Harrier, scouring a grassy field A quick stop and walk at the Cambridge Fishing Pier brought more Bufflehead, plus 28. Common Goldeneye (1-2) Then we were off to Blackwater NWR... 29. Bald Eagle (6-8 sightings, including two immature feeding on a small grassy island and a beautiful adult in a tree, eyeing the water below, not 35 feet away.) 30. Great Blue Heron (6-8) 31. American Crow (about time...) 32. Red-Headed Woodpecker (a gorgeous adult, sighted with help from more experienced birders along the drive. There may have been 2, or more, about.) 33. Northern Shoveler (5-6) 34. Northern Pintail (12-15, more than I've seen in one spot before) 35. Downy Woodpecker The fast drive to O.C. netted: 36. Snow Goose (roughly 100 around Berlin, Maryland), which flew by and then helpfully turned and wheeled right over our heads to give us a better view. Also more Tundra Swan in what looked like a huge pond caused by construction, to the left of US 50 as you head south. A likely Kestrel.... We arrived at the Ocean City inlet around 5:15 pm as the light was beginning to fade. Other birders had seen the Razorbill, but we were a tad late. Still we had: 37. Surf Scoter (1) 38. Purple Sandpiper (10-15) 39. Ruddy Turnstone (maybe 20, still in winter plumage) 40. Common Loon (1) 41. Red-Throated Loon (1) All in all a great day, with 2 new Lifebirds for me and 5 for my partner. Good birding! Warren P. Strobel wstrobel@krwashington.com Cape St. Claire, MD 2004 Year List - 59 U.S. Life List - 201 World Life List - 293 ======================================================================= 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 ======================================================================= --=__PartA584DC52.0__=-- =========================================================================