Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2004 15:40:46 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "George M. Jett" Subject: Charles County Landfill Closed to Birders Comments: To: SMAS Comments: cc: Miliff@aol.com, BlkVulture@aol.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Folks I took a visit to the Charles County Landfill this morning and was = denied access. I have birded here for years and asked why. The nice = lady at the window advised that the county had insurance concerns. I = got the name of the landfill manager and telephone number. I will check = to see if access can be arranged like at Brown Station Road in P.G. = County. I will advise what I learn.=20 I also checked the Mattawoman Environmental Area and found 14 Common = Mergansers, 5 Great Blue Heron, two Song Sparrow, one Tufted Titmouse, = one Carolina Chickadee, and two Northern Flicker. That was it. At = Myrtle Grove I had eight Hooded Mergansers and two Mallards. I also had = a Song Sparrow singing sort of like a thrasher. Really confused me at = first. I saw the bird singing. A mockingbird was singing on territory, = a dozen White-throated Sparrow, and another six Song Sparrow were = present for my short visit. No Wood Ducks or Phoebes were found yet. =20 Yesterday morning I had two Mallards (one male, one female) fly over the = house. As Jim Stasz taught me when I was a little boy, I quacked to = them. The two circled back. I called again and the male called back, = "Is that you Jim". I responded in the negative, and the bird continued = to fly south. =20 One immature Bald Eagle and one adult male Sharp-shinned Hawk were the = raptors around the house today. One Ruby-crowned Kinglet and one female = Yellow-bellied Sapsucker are still here. Also, three Rusty Blackbird = males remain. =20 Sadly. George =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 =========================================================================