Re: [MDOsprey] Possible Parasitic Jaeger at PLSP
Kyle Rambo (kyle_rambo@yahoo.com)
Sat, 2 Oct 1999 18:28:38 -0700 (PDT)
Greg/Patty et.al.
Speaking of "bullying terns" reminds me of a bird I
saw chasing terns in the Bay this past Thursday. No,
not a jaeger, but a Cooper's Hawk -- something I've
never seen before. It was a great migration weather
front on Thursday. Besides the thousands of monarchs
flying south-southeast (and stopping to feed on the
flowering Marsh Elder), I also observed several
Cooper's Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks flying south
across the mouth of the Patuxent River from Cove Point
to Cedar Point.
Schools of breaking fish (blues and rock) have been
thick at the mouth of the Patuxent this past week, and
birds were just as thick -- thousands of gulls and
terns, as Greg says. One Cooper's Hawk, about 200
yards offshore, turned upriver (northwest) and chased
a small flock of Common Terns for about 50 yards, but
was unsuccessful.
Every time the gulls and terns would settle on the
beach for a rest between feeding frenzies, an adult
Bald Eagle would fly over -- testing the flock for the
slow or stupid, but he never made any serious
attempts.
No jaegers or other unusual birds, but a single Willet
and a single Black-bellied Plover on the beach -- also
flushed every time the eagle flew over.
One solitary Buff-breasted Sandpiper continues to
linger at the PRNAS airfield, but still no American
Golden-plover.
Kyle
Kyle Rambo
24885 Morgan Road
Hollywood, MD 20636
(301) 373-5057
Kyle_Rambo@yahoo.com
--- Greg Miller <hawk-owl@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Howdy All,
>
> This was the third jaeger seen in St Marys this
> fall.
> I was very surprised this morning to see this dark,
> subadult jaeger. No hurricanes. No storms. No big
> winds. There were, however, huge numbers of gulls
> and
> terns in the Bay this morning (prob several thousand
> too far out to ID from land).
>
> I will clarify that a Long-tailed would be wishful
> at
> best. I just can't rule it out with absolute
> certainty. Hence the jaeger sp. designation.
>
> Here are my notes: It was a very dark individual,
> roughly the same size or a little larger than a
> Laughing Gull, showing a minor amount of paleness on
> the lower belly. The white in the primaries was
> present, but indistinct in normal flight, but was
> easily seen when it started bullying terns. The
> wings
> seemed narrow and extremely pointed. It's flight
> was
> not as deep [I thought] as a Pomarine either. It
> also
> lacked the barrel-chested, heavy-bodied appearance
> of
> a Pomarine (that every now then makes your heart
> skip
> a beat and you think "skua" before you pop back to
> reality). No tail feather protusions were evident.
> The bird was only viewed with the aid of binoculars.
>
> The careful eyes of George Jett also observed this
> bird. I was quick to call it Parasitic, but it was
> George's questioning attitude that made me rethink.
> So, for the record, jaeger sp.
>
> PLSP was very slow this morning (except for
> mosquitoes). A late Acadian Flycatcher made an
> appearance at the picnic area. Only one Magnolia
> and
> one Blackpoll. I saw a Merlin over the point at
> 7:15am and a Cooper's Hawk a little later. Several
> Sharpies passed as we birded. A singal Marsh Wren
> was
> present at the pond near the point.
>
> Back to work (aargh),
>
> -Greg Miller
> Hollywood, MD
>
> =====
>
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