[MDOsprey] Black Scoters on the Potomac above Great Falls
David (dstrother@pop.dn.net)
Sat, 13 Nov 1999 11:59:48 -0500
At about 10:15 this morning a small group of us walked the shore path
upriver from the viewing platform at Great Falls Tavern. From the point
where the path turns right along a deeply-cut creek to head back up to
the towpath, we took one last look to see if there was anything on the
river other than a gazillion CanAms.
Putting the scope on a small pair on the water (when not below it) about
3/4 of the way across, we were rewarded with the sight of a pair of
Black Scoters (melanitta nigra).
We found that the illustrations in ABC's "All the Birds" are far truer
to what we were seeing than either those in Peterson or those in the new
NationalGeo guides. The latter don't show the upturned tail of the
female, and overemphasize the "bump" on the beak of the male. It's
interesting that the photo of the male in the Thayer CD-ROM
On our way back to the parking lot, we spotted a Barred Owl, a very late
Meadowhawk dragonfly, and some good butterflies.
David Strother
Bethesda, Maryland
dstrother@pop.dn.net