Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 18:33:01 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Walter Ellison Subject: Kent Co Birding Week in Review: snipe, ducks, etc. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi All, Now that spring has arrived the increased pulse of life and work has = delayed the timeliness of my bird reports I fear. Here are a few = highlights of local Kent County birding from Saturday (20 March) to = today (24 March). On last Saturday Nancy and I visited the John Hanson Rd Ponds after a = meeting in town in the morning. There were lots of Lesser Scaup (150) = and Ring-necked Ducks (50), a pair of REDHEAD, and our first local Tree = Swallow at the ponds. In the afternoon along Fish Hatchery Rd with Bill = Urspruch and Faith Wilson we located a single PINE SISKIN in a flock of = goldfinches, and had a flock of 30 American Pipits. On windy Sunday (the 21st) we found eight waterfowl species on Great Oak = Pond including 2 Gadwall, plus 4 dainty, elegant Bonaparte's Gulls. At = Eastern Neck NWR there were 38 more Bonaparte's Gulls, our first 5 = FORSTER'S TERNS of the year, only 7 dwindling Tundra Swans, and two = resplendent alternate plumage Common Loons with glittering black and = white necklaces and white-spangled backs. We wrapped up at Chesapeake = Farms where there were an impressive 210 Northern Shovelers. We had 7 Fox Sparrows on our Monday morning walk at Chesapeake Landing = (near Worton Landing off Buck Neck Rd). On this morning's walk we had 3 = Red-shouldered Hawks - two second-year birds were displaying and = inspecting a squirrel nest in a tree crotch in our back yard as if = looking for a nest site, it would be very unusual for two youngsters to = try to nest. We also saw migrating a Northern Harrier and Cooper's Hawk, = had drumming sapsuckers (first ever drumming by migrants/winterers for = us), singing thrashers (ah Spring!), and 9 Purple Finches attending our = feeders, munching on red maple flowers and singing. This evening down at = the community landing on Mill Creek there were three Common Mergansers, = a Pied-billed Grebe (my first here), and an amazing 73 WILSON'S SNIPE on = the tidal flats - or as I affectionately call them "ghost dowitchers" = from their ability to hide-in-plain-sight. The peepers are jingling = outside. Winter is loosening its grip after all. 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 =========================================================================