Conowingo Dam on Sunday, May 24
Les Eastman (les_eastman@netfox.net)
Wed, 27 May 1998 13:42:08 -0400
Well, better late than never.
On Sunday, I led a Harford Bird Club field trip to Conowingo Dam. The
highlight for me was a singing Gray-checked Thrush. I had never heard
one before but when I heard the downward song, I knew it wasn't a
Veery. I didn't actually see the bird since it was too far up the
hillside to expect a glimpse. When I got home, I checked the song to
confirm that it was a Gray-cheeked Thrush. Unfortunately for the field
trip participants, I heard the bird before the trip began while doing
some quick scouting. When we returned to the spot later, it was gone or
not calling.
The trip was billed as an Oriole and Eagle Watch and we saw plenty of
each. We saw 4 or 5 Bald Eagles, including two flights almost directly
over our heads at tree-top level. Both Baltimore Orioles and Orchard
Orioles were numerous as were Warbling Vireos. Other highlights were a
female Baltimore Oriole building a nest, a Yellow-throated Vireo on the
nest, and an Eastern Kingbird on the nest. We also found the nesting
hole of a pair of Prothonotary Warblers and a suspected nesting hole for
a pair of Great Crested Flycatchers. There were about 200
Double-crested Cormorants on the rocks and about 150 Great Blue Herons
visible in one scan of the river (there is a rookery across the river).
Black-crowned Night-Herons are nesting on the island there. We didn't
actually see the nests because they are well concealed in the cedar
trees but we did see several birds flying around and perched in trees
down the wildflower trail. We had 52 species for the morning, not
counting the Gray-cheeked Thrush.
Les
===========
Les Eastman
les_eastman@netfox.net
Havre de Grace, MD
Visit the Harford Bird Club Web Page at http://birdclub.harfordhasit.com