Thank you, thank you, Lydia and Ottavio. After striking out twice before, I
finally caught up with the gallinule at about 4:15PM today. It was in the
area you described, but invisible for the first 45 minutes I was there. Then
it flew into the dry area between the first two new nest boxes to the right of
the island and disappeared again. But in a few minutes it strolled out into
the open and foraged for about another 5 minutes before flying over to the
"spatterdocks" in front of the island, where it once again disappeared - and so
did I. Number 291 for the county! I owe you guys. This one requires
patience. Oh, yes, thanks also to Paul Woodward who found it on May 6.
Paul O'Brien
Rockville, Mont. Co., MD
In a message dated 5/17/04 10:55:55 AM, writes:
> This morning Ottavio Janni and I observed a PURPLE GALLINULE at Hughes
> Hollow. It was in spatterdock (?) in the large impoundment on the left,
> about 4/5 of the way down towards the woods, and maybe 100-150 feet off
> the dike. It seemed very alert, but after an initial flight into that
> area, stayed put for the hour or so we were there (~8:30-9:30).
>
> There were 2 Mute Swans, one flying well.
>
> Lydia Schindler
> Darnestown
> |