Marshall, Wow, that sounds great! I remember you telling me of this spot yesterday, and I would REALLY like to check it out. Unfortunately for me, I work the next 3 days, do the Jug Bay CBC Sunday, and head for Mass for a week on Monday. So my options are basically to get there at first light in the next 3 days, then rush off to work. And if the LASP is still there, it would be a lifer... ;-) So, could you please let me know both the directions, and your specific requests for local etiquette? And if you're free about 7AM in the next 3 days... Thanks, Charlie --- Miliff@aol.com wrote: > MDOsprey, > > Today I took a quick break from computer work > and headed out into the fog for > a little birding. One of my favorite local > "patches" has especially good > habitat this year. It has always been > interesting actually: on the Annapolis > CBC I have had thrashers and catbirds > regularly, House Wren once, the first > sector records for American Tree Sparrow > (several times), and once, a > Dickcissel! I got my life Lincoln's Sparrow > there once in the spring > (singing!) and once in the fall I got a quick > look at a possible Henslow's. > I have long thought it a perfect place for a > Northern Shrike...hence my > recent trips. > > Last Wednesday (Dec 8) I took a similar work > break and found a very nice > bluebird/junco/goldfinch/Field Sparrow flock, > which has always been one of my > favorite types of associations. I figure > almost any rarity is possible in > such groups, with Clay-colored Sparrow, > redpoll, and Say's Phoebe at the fore > of my mind. Instead, on that trip, I found a > nice, pale Baltimore Oriole. > It was feeding on the ground with the bluebirds > and occasionally lighting up > in the trees. Though the belly was white and > the back gray, the face was > totally plain with no supercilium. It is these > types of birds that are > routinely mistaken for Bullock's Oriole. I > took a couple pictures just for > the record and made a mental note to return to > check the rest of the fields > and to make sure my stakeout for the Annapolis > CBC stayed in place. > > Today was my first chance to go back and I was > surprised not to find the > bluebird flock (or the oriole). all the other > birds seemed to be in place > though, and the area was as active and birdy as > before, if not moreso. The > place was full of Songs, White-throats, juncos, > and cardinals, and had a few > Field Sparrows, towhees, and goldfinches as > well. A thrasher was the best I > could pull out for a while, until a gorgeous > LARK SPARROW teed up next to me. > It then startled and flew up to some high > trees, where it flipped back and > forth a few times. Once it settled in in one > of the trees, I made a quick > dash for my camera but could not refind the > bird when I returned. > > I am reluctant to post the specifics since the > location is somewhat > sensitive. However, if anyone is interested in > looking for the bird please > feel free to call me (410-269-1589) or email me > <miliff@aol.com> for > specifics. I will gladly give directions as > long as they come with an > explanation of my concerns. The place exudes > the aroma of rare birds, and > I'm sure I haven't seen them all yet. I'll > gladly join anyone looking for > the sparrow or helping to beat the place up to > see what else emerges. > > Best, > > Marshall Iliff > miliff@aol.com > > ============ > Marshall J. Iliff > Annapolis, MD > miliff@aol.com > ============= > ===== **************************************** Charlie Muise, Naturalist Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Maryland, USA "The English country gentleman galloping after a fox - the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable" (Oscar Wilde) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com