Yesterday I made an impromptu stop at the Mears Farm addition to Patapsco
Valley State Park in Catonsville. Unfortunately I had only my El Cheapo glove
compartment bins, because among the flocks of Savannah Sparrows I saw one bird
that looked suspiciously like a Vesper but wouldn't let me get close enough for
an ID. Today I went back with better bins and scope and found fewer sparrows,
but one definite Vesper that perched obligingly about 20 feet over my head.
This is within a week of the date last year (4/16) when there were at least 4
Vespers at this spot. Apparently it's an attractive stopover for migrants.
Hopefully the park service will maintain the habitat as it is.

Both days I saw a male Sapsucker, and a pair of Kestrels has been patrolling
the area. Today a Wilson's Snipe flushed from a boggy spot in the pasture.

Joel Martin
Catonsville, MD

=======================================================================
To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to 
with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey
=======================================================================