New subsriber and birder, this is the first time I have (gulp) posted to the
list.  I'm down in Southern Maryland (Lexington Park) and have been
fortunate enough to have an experienced birder take me under his wing, and
is helping me learn (like getting me to subscribe to MDOSPREY).   He had
offered to give me a personal tour of the famous local Kelp Gull (Shrimpy),
and a couple of weeks ago we scheduled to meet this morning (1/28) at 0830 .
Never mind the coldest morning of the year down here, I arrived a bit early
at the Seabreeze, eager to start sorting out the gulls looking for Shrimpy.
However, the birds seemed somewhat smarter than humans as there were no
gulls to be seen.  My friend soon arrived and we decided to wait a while and
see what happened.  During the lull he pointed out some greater and double
crested cormorants, mergansers and other regular visitors, but no black
backed gulls of any kind.  We had just about decided to throw in the towel,
when he exclaimed "wait a minute" and sure enough, there was Shrimpy!  What
a gorgeous bird!  He obliged us by hanging around and i got a good tour of
his features.  Eventually a bald eagle flew by and Shrimpy did a low pass on
him so it was a great sight.  The cold gradually sank in and we called it a
day, but what a great introduction!  Right now there are 28 Tundra Swans
behind the house paddling upriver headed toward the Solomons Bridge.  Thank
you all for your helpful accounts and tips..

Bill Moody
Lexington Park