Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 11:33:52 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Lynn & Hal Subject: Rough-legs and Short-ears on E. Shore; Rusty Blackbirds MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On Feb 21, we found 3 Rough-legged Hawks, all too distant to accurately = assess plumage, along Elliott Island Rd in Dorchester County in early = afternoon. In late afternoon at Deal Island WMA, we saw 2 additional = Rough-legs, and 2 Short-eared Owls ventured forth just before dusk. = Approximately 10-12 Northern harriers were observed going to roost, = somewhat communally (in the same general region of the marsh, east of = the impoundment) at Deal Island. Even though there seems to be a big push of Rough-legs in the = Mid-Atlantic region this year, the numbers on the lower shore marshes = didn't seem elevated & perhaps were even lower than in some recent = years. We were debating whether, among the devastating effects of = Hurricane Isabel, the rodent population in the lower marshes was = severely depleted, not having had time to build numbers back up again = after the several-day inundation last fall. Also of interest, a birder reported to us that he had about 40 Rusty = Blackbirds show up in his forested yard on Kent Island shortly after the = harsh winter conditions arrived (presumably around late January or early = February, but we didn't get a date from him). Hal Wierenga & Lynn Davidson Arnold MD =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 =========================================================================