Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 17:48:58 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Mark Hoffman Subject: Re: Rusty Blackbirds-Now Historical WC Records In-Reply-To: <003e01c3f7bc$418bd020$e763a3d1@oemcomputer> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit History Buffs -- I couldn't help but follow-up on Bob's post related to the Feb 1948 MOS and ASDC trips to Ocean City. For the many who ventured down to the coast last weekend, the following might be of interest. I have copies of the complete original trips lists for both groups and the birds observed are listed below by date and location. The trips were also described in the Wood Thrush (3:46) and as Bob noted, Maryland Birdlife (MB 4:14). Chan even religiously kept list of birds seen while driving between primary birding locations. How many of us do that today? Contra Maryland Birdlife, the noted longspur was Worcester's third and Maryland's fifth (see Stewart and Robbins, 1958, which also incorrectly cites this record as January 23, 1948 instead of February 23rd). Some of these earlier records were probably unknown to Chan when he wrote the season report in 1948. Not that birds clubs compete ... but the longspur was seen by the ASDC group and not by MOS, I'm sure a point of bravado even then! This trip is also famous for the still-standing record count of Horned Lark for Worcester County, 400. A big snow fall hit during the weekend and the birds were observed along the roadside between OC and the Pocomoke River. Otherwise, the general numbers the species list and numbers seem fairly puny by today's standards. Another point of note -- is that had not Chan and others kept these lists and submitted them, we would not be able to make such historical comparisons. I would welcome any bird list from Worcester in electronic or paper form, as an addition for the data base, and will forward the same for North American Birds (no need to duplicate posts to MDOsprey). Most birders don't think there routine observations have much significant, but with time and quantity, they may. Mark L Hoffman 7263 Norris Ave. Sykesville, MD wcbirding@adelphia.net Birds observed by MOS and/or ASDC in Worcester County, 02/22-23/1948 02/22/1948 OC White-winged Scoter 10; Black Scoter 2; Red-breasted Merganser 35; Ring-billed Gull 80; Herring Gull 100; Great Black-backed Gull 3; American Crow 5; European Starling 30; Yellow-rumped Warbler (myrtle form) 1;House Sparrow 20. 02/22/1948 OC/BRIDGE Killdeer 1; Sanderling 3; Ring-billed Gull 10; Herring Gull 20; Great Black-backed Gull 6. 02/22/1948 OC/NORTH Horned Grebe 15; Brant 14; American Black Duck 4; Scaup (sp.) 2; White-winged Scoter 12; Long-tailed Duck 1; Bufflehead 8; Red-breasted Merganser 20; Ring-billed Gull 5; Herring Gull 5; Horned Lark 1; Yellow-rumped Warbler (myrtle form) 4; American Tree Sparrow 3. 02/22/1948 OC/SOUTH Bufflehead 1; Red-breasted Merganser 15; Ring-billed Gull 15; Herring Gull 5. 02/22/1948 PSWAMPWILL (Pocomoke Swamp at Willards) Red-bellied Woodpecker 2; Northern Flicker (yellow-shafted form) 2; American Crow 1; Carolina Chickadee 3; Eastern Bluebird 5; Hermit Thrush 1; American Tree Sparrow 1; Field Sparrow 12; Savannah Sparrow 4; Song Sparrow 5; Swamp Sparrow 15; White-throated Sparrow 4; Northern Cardinal 2. 02/22/1948 RT213BEROC (driving on Rt. 213 from Berlin to OC) Turkey Vulture 15; American Crow 1; Eastern Bluebird 3; European Starling 40. 02/22/1948 RTPROC (driving from Pocomoke River to OC) American Kestrel 1; Killdeer 6; Mourning Dove 2; Horned Lark 400; Tufted Titmouse 1; Eastern Bluebird 8; Northern Mockingbird 1; European Starling 200; Eastern Towhee 20; American Tree Sparrow 10; Savannah Sparrow 40; Song Sparrow 12; White-throated Sparrow 20; Northern Cardinal 6; Red-winged Blackbird 15; Eastern Meadowlark 30; American Goldfinch 100. 02/22/1948 WESTOC Northern Pintail 1; Killdeer 3; Northern Flicker (yellow-shafted form) 1; American Crow 5; Horned Lark 1; European Starling 10; Yellow-rumped Warbler (myrtle form) 1; Savannah Sparrow 6; Song Sparrow 1. 02/22/1948 WESTOC/S Dunlin 6; Ring-billed Gull 50; Herring Gull 5; Belted Kingfisher 1; Horned Lark 25; Snow Bunting 2; Eastern Meadowlark 10. 02/22/1948 WOCPOND Northern Pintail 1; Killdeer 1; American Crow 2; Horned Lark 29; European Starling 20; Savannah Sparrow 10. 02/23/1948 OC/INLET White-winged Scoter 2; Red-breasted Merganser 15; Bonaparte's Gull 1; Great Black-backed Gull 1; Horned Lark 9; American Tree Sparrow 2; Savannah Sparrow 2; Lapland Longspur 1. 02/23/1948 OC/NORTH Horned Grebe 1; Turkey Vulture 1; Brant 40; American Black Duck 9; Bufflehead 4; Red-breasted Merganser 12; Northern Harrier 1; American Kestrel 1; Ring-billed Gull 50; Herring Gull 12; Great Black-backed Gull 1; Carolina Chickadee 2; Savannah Sparrow 2; Savannah Sparrow (Ipswich form) 2; Dark-eyed Junco (slate-colored form) 2. 02/23/1948 WESTOC Turkey Vulture 1; Red-breasted Merganser 20; Killdeer 12; Purple Sandpiper 5; Dunlin 13; Northern Flicker (yellow-shafted form) 1; Horned Lark 2; Savannah Sparrow 6; Snow Bunting 2. -----Original Message----- From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM] On Behalf Of Robert Ringler Sent: Friday, February 20, 2004 9:17 AM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Rusty Blackbirds, Halethorpe Pond Stan, .... That was a very interesting issue of Maryland Birdlife. As you know, President's Day weekend is popular for visiting the shore, and it was no different in 1948 as Washington's Birthday fell on the weekend. A field trip summary in that issued began: "On February 21, thirteen expectant birders crossed the Chesapeake Bay on the 8 A.M. ferry to Matapeake. Our leader was Chandler S. Robbins _ _". Another excerpt from the season report was: "Two snow buntings were closely observed by many members of the M.O.S. and the District Audubon Society [now ANS] at Ocean City on Feb. 22-23, and on the 23rd, Irston Barnes and the Audubon Society closely observed a single Lapland longspur, establishing the third Maryland record for this species." ... Bob Ringler ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================