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Subject:

Jug Bay area birds

From:

Jeff Shenot

Reply-To:

Maryland Birds & Birding

Date:

Thu, 8 Apr 2004 22:01:44 -0400

Thanks to an email alert I received today from Fred Fallon, I went out this
evening to try finding a RUFF that was observed late in the afternoon on
the previous day (April 7) by Jim Staz.  I think he had computer difficulty
and was unable to post it.  I arrived at 5:30 - somewhat later than I
hoped, but found Jim there with Matt Hafner.  They had not found a ruff,
and mentioned some other birders had been out earlier to look for it but
were also unable to find it.  Although we did not see the ruff, it was a
very enjoyable hour that I spent looking for it with Jim and Matt.  We
watched a very active number of shorebirds feeding, until the tide seemed
too high for them to feed and the birds got quiet. It was my first time in
the field with either of them and I felt like a sponge, trying to learn
what I could while in their company.  A point that was made by Jim was that
he did not recall any posts from me on the Osprey. I admitted I rarely post
unless something unusual turns up, and I'm still learning
what's "unusual".  He replied that he felt more folks should not hesitate
as I do, and also that they should post ordinary sightings as well as
unusual ones.  Therefore, as suggested by Jim, here is what we observed,
between 5:30 and 6:30 PM (birds with asterisk denote first-of-year
sightings for me at Jug Bay, where I keep my annual list):

D-c cormorant (fly-over flock)
Little blue heron (1, white phase) * (my first ever at Jug Bay!)
Snowy egret (1) *
Great blue heron (several fly-overs)
Canada goose (2) (a noteworthy reduction in these residents!)
Wood duck (numerous)
Mallard (several)
Am black duck (pair)
Gr-wing teal (numerous)
Common merganser (several)
T vulture (several)
Osprey (numerous, flying and nesting)
N harrier (1)
Bald eagle (fly-over seen by Jeff, seen while leaving site)
sharp-sh hawk (1) (seen by Jeff while entering site, chasing a passerine)
Grtr yellowlegs (very numerous)
Lssr yellowlegs (numerous)
W's snipe (very numerous, > 50, maybe >100)
Laughing gull (numerous)
Bonaparte's gull (1, seen by Matt before I arrived)
R-billed gull (common)
Herring gull (common)
G-b-backed gull (1 or 2; a Lssr was also observed earlier in the day)
Caspian tern (several pairs, flying and resting) *
Forster's tern (a couple pairs hunting)
Belted kingfisher (1)
Am and fish crow (both were heard)
Tree swallow (several)
N. R-wngd swallow (1 fly-by) *
C. wren (1 heard)
Am. robin (singing)
E. starling (several in vicinity of Mt Calvert manor house)
Towhee (1 singing)
Song sparrow (1 singing)
White-thtd sparrow (several feeding near driveway)
D-e junco (several feeding near driveway)
N. cardinal (several singing)
R-wngd blackbird (several singing and flying around in marsh)
Rusty blackbird (1, perched in large deciduous tree)

I may have forgot a few, but it sure was enjoyable!  Cheers-

Jeff Shenot
Croom

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