Hi Stan, It's great to see other people birding Lake Elkhorn. Please stop by and find a good bird ANY time. I got a very good look at your bird (the Dickcissel), better than we get at most field sightings. I had been wanting to study a female, so I was specific looking for the defining sexual characteristics. I didn't have to struggle with the ID, since you'd already done that for me. I stopped by there this wednesday (12-15-99) to try for a photo, put in an hour and 15 minutes looking for it with no luck. It could still be there. It seems to stay out of sight a lot. If I eventually get any photos I'll send them along to you. Again, thanks for finding this bird. Good Birding and Merry Christmas, Darius Ecker (eckerd@prodigy.net) Columbia, Maryland ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stan Arnold" <blkrail@gateway.net> To: <mdosprey@ARI.Net> Sent: Friday, December 17, 1999 6:48 PM Subject: Re: [MDOsprey] Canvasbacks & Fox Sparrow at Lake Elkhorn; no Dickcissel > > Hi all, > > I took another walk around Lake Elkhorn (south Columbia) this afternoon, and > came up with a pair of Canvasbacks, near the platform at the back of the > lake amid a dozen or so Ring-necks. A nice Fox Sparrow was in the thickets > along the north edge of the lake all the way back near the bridge. Also had > a Sharp-shinned Hawk flying overhead. No Dickcissel today. > > Concerning the Dickcissel, when I first found it, I did not note any black > at all on the throat or upper breast. I only remember there being much more > yellow on the throat than the white depicted in the NGS guide. To my > recollection, the bird I saw had no characteristics of even an immature > male. However, I have little experience with this bird other than adult > males in breeding plumage, so my eyes may have missed some important > details. > > Stan Arnold > Glen Burnie, MD