Norm: Most of these birds would be quite difficult in St. Mary's for the whole winter, much less a day or two around Thanksgiving. Your best bet for some of these would require a trip to OC inlet, Indian River Inlet or Cape Henlopen. Anyhow, here goes: Red-necked Grebe is not regular in the winter. Last year, I don't remember any sightings from any of the active SMC birders, while the winter before, they were at several locations near Pt. Lookout. Try driving down Airedele Rd. just south of the junction of Rts. 5 and 235 in Ridge. We had one Saturday near the boat ramp at Conowingo. King Eider - Patty Craig and Anne Bishop found a pair on last year's Xmas count. They stayed near the fishing pier at Pt. Lookout for several weeks. Maybe they'll be back? Oldsquaw is a gimme. If you don't see one, something is seriously wrong :) They should be on the Patuxent, Potomac or on the Bay from just about anywhere. We had one on Saturday near the transformer on our way to missing the Pacific Loon again :( Harlequin Duck is a tough bird. They only show up ever other year or so. Last year, Patty Craig had 3 at Pt. Lookout near the confluence of the Potomac and the Bay. You might want to get in touch with Doug Lister and/or Kyle Rambo and see if they have turned up any on their weekly (Wed) waterfowl survey. Iceland Gull - Last winter, there was one in a field at Solomons that stayed for several weeks. They haven't harvested their soybeans yet so no gulls yet. There are no SMC records yet. This particular bird flew to the east pylon on the bridge before turning back to Solomons. Another 100 feet and it would have been there :( Glaucous Gull - Jane and I found one that stuck around for about 30 minutes on Rt. 4 south of the intersection with Rt. 235. There is a field just past the transfer station where the gulls tend to congregate after feasting at the dump in the morning. Check that out for any odd gulls, you never know what you might turn up. Patty Craig had one on base for about the same duration. Her description was of a mature bird, ours was a first winter. There are no records for Glaucous Gull for St. Mary's but I think people hadn't been looking hard enough. Eurasian Wigeon - Try looking in the pond at the end of Long Neck Rd. south of Scotland. There has been one there for the last 2 winters though it tends to show up late in the winter. Barred Owl and Great Horned Owls - go out at night along some of the side roads and listen. Should be fairly easy. There was a GHO nesting on top of a light post at the marina at Pt. Lookout last winter. That was an easy one since you could see the head sticking up over the bundle of sticks that was an abandoned (for the winter) Osprey nest. Maybe it will be back. Winter Wren may be found just about anywhere. Not predictable. Fox Sparrow can often be found around Ft. Lincoln at Pt. Lookout. Walk across the road from the fishing pier and when you get to the fort, hang a right and work the trails back there. Could be anywhere, tho. The rest, good luck! If you find ANY of them, including everything else from your wish list (except Oldsquaw), give someone a call. Or, if you want some up to date tips, try calling Patty Craig. She birds almost every day (lucky her!) and might have some better info than what I can offer. Common Eider Northern Goshawk Little Gull - would be a 1st county record Black-headed Gull - would be a 1st county record Thayer's Gull - would be a 1st county record Black-legged Kittiwake - would be a 1st county record Barn Owl Snowy Owl Long-eared Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Sedge Wren Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow Lapland Longspur Yellow-headed Blackbird Red Crossbill - would be a 1st county record (I think) Common Redpoll Evening Grosbeak -- Good Birding! ...and all this science, Tyler Bell I don't understand, It's mailto:bell@say.acnatsci.org just my job five days a week. California, MD Elton John (Rocket Man) http://www.acnatsci.org/erd/berc/