Slaty-backed Gull at Conowingo today

Geoff Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Tue, 09 Feb 1999 21:54:29 -0500


Hello all,


   Went to Conowingo at 1:30pm before return to work at 3pm. First I 
stopped by at Harve De Grace to see the possible Slaty-backed Gull, 
after arrive there at 1:00pm, found the bird at 1:10pm going upriver on 
Cecil side, seen from the boardwalk. The reason I know this bird was at 
Harve De Grace, because I check the other e-mail from someone who saw 
the bird and it is only seen in early morning and in the evening at the 
dam, and between 10am-3pm somewhere upriver or downriver.
   I couldn't count the Ring-billed Gulls, because I was still sick 
(headache & sore throat) from a rough trip to Bridge-Tunnel on Sat. I 
left at 2:30pm today to go to work at Fallston Veterinary Clinic, Inc. 
(3pm-7pm), a hospital for dogs, cats, and birds. 
   Rick Blom and his gang was at the dam today before I came at 1:30pm. 
  
Other birds seen:

Common Loon - 1  upriver
Great Blue Heron - 95 prs. at nests on Cecil side, counted 113 nests,   
                 but few are empty.
Black-crowned Night Heron - a pr. at nest at rookery, & a imm. at island
Tundra Swan - 2  seen in flight toward north
Canada Geese - 2 at south end of island
Common Merganser - 53   above dam
Bufflehead - 5 
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL - 4  (1 ad., 1 1st winter, & 2 3rd winter)
ICELAND GULL - 2  (1 ad. & 1 3rd winter at the wall and behind)
THAYER'S GULL - 1  (1st winter)   flying around behind wall
CALIFORNIA GULL - 1  (2nd winter - swimming behind the wall)
GLAUCOUS GULL - none today
Ring-billed Gull - hard to count with a headache, estimate. at 
                   19,000-20,000
Herring Gull - 1,006
Great Black-backed Gull - 384
Bald Eagle - 5  (2 ad., 1 1st winter & 2 2nd winter)
Turkey Vulture - 13
Black Vulture - 58 all perched on several trees above the Visitor Center
Rock Dove - 143
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
N. Cardinal - 6
Blue Jay - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3
"Slate-colored" Junco - 10


         Kevin Graff
         Baltimore, MD
         ggraff@erols.com