Dear Ospreyers,
A quick walk through Patterson Park this morning showed that most of yesterday's migrants had moved on but some interesting newcomers have called in. I flushed up not one but four woodcock in fairly rapid succession around the allotment garden plots. They had difficulty finding other cover to land in and kept getting flushed from the lawns before finding their way back to the gardens. After the one I saw last spring, and the one seen by Middleton Evans here also, it seems they may well be regular migrants at the park.
If you're wondering what this very urban park could possibly offer woodcock try looking at an aerial photo of downtown Baltimore (1 mile east of the inner harbour) - the park is surrounded by the highest density urban environment for a couple of miles in all directions, so it standsout as a green oasis to any bird overhead needing a pitstop.
Also seen:
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1 imm chasing squirrels with little success
Northern Flicker 4
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
GC Kinglets not ounted
Chipping Sparrow not counted
Junco not counted
Dave
David Curson
Director of Bird Conservation
Audubon MD-DC
Tel: (410) 558 2473
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