On Friday, a neighbor reported a pair of Cooper's Hawks 
nest-building in our Baltimore City neighborhood.   The yard 
they've chosen backs up against Leakin Park.  After reading in 
the last Atlas that Cooper's Hawks are not often found nesting 
in urban corridors, and about their secretiveness, I was surprised 
by their choice of location, which is easily visible from the 
sidewalk.   Knowing it was there, and with minimal directions, 
I spotted the nest easily without binoculars half a block away this 
morning.  There was no activity, and it was raining lightly.   I saw a 
Cooper's in a nearby tree, and it flew across the road and down the 
street a bit, calling, before perching.   Another neighbor states she
saw both working on the nest, and that they ignored her presence.  
I don't think this hawk much cared for mine, however.  It will be 
interesting to see if they are successful there.  (We won't be giving
directions for the usual reasons.) 

On Friday, Paul and went down to the UMBC woodcock spot that 
Stan Arnold has written about.  I saw six birds between 6:35 p.m. 
and 6:50 p.m., and followed one twittering bird through its long 
upward then descending flight.  I stood on the path leading down 
towards the drainage pond, but I was still pretty close to the street. 
This turned out to be a good spot.   Three birds flew across the field 
and in front of me, two angling to go down the path towards the street 
before disappearing off to the right.   Twice I got profile views against 
the light, seeing the long beak jut downwards.  

Elise Kreiss
Baltimore City