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Subject:

Swainson Thrush--HoCo; PG birds; Pheasant

From:

Stan Arnold

Reply-To:

Stan Arnold

Date:

Fri, 29 Apr 2005 11:45:52 -0500

Hi Folks,

A short lunch-time walk along the Middle Patuxent River at the end of Edenbrook Dr. in Howard Co. produced my first SWAINSON'S THRUSH of the season.  Also, after some hooting, a BARRED OWL responded, and shortly thereafter another Barred Owl flew in with a chattering COOPER'S HAWK on its tail.  Soon, the three birds created a cacaphony which lasted for a few minutes.  The only warblers heard were N. PARULA and OVENBIRD.

Yesterday afternoon I visited the Fran Uhler Natural area in PG County.  The drive along Lemons Bridge Rd. to the parking area was strange, as all the trees have been taken down under and along the power lines, making things look pretty bare.  Also, the gate to the sanctuary has been plowed in, opening the area to further four-wheeler and other traffic.  Not good.  Anyway, 2.5 hours of hiking produced a fairly low number of birds.  Most notable were:

Solitary Sandpiper--1
Barred Owl--3:  a pair dueting spontaneously and another bird responding to my calls
Purple Martin--6
N. Parula--9
Pine Warbler--2
Prothonotary Warbler--3 males; 2 of them vying for territory at the same mudhole
Black-and-white Warbler--1 singing
Am. Redstart--1 singing
Ovenbird--2--one heard and one well seen

I talked to Charlie Kucera on the phone last evening, and he had just returned from the Mears Property (PVSP) at the corner of Rolling Rd. and Foxhall Farms Rd. in southwest Baltimore Co.  He had seen a male RING-NECKED PHEASANT, probably the same one I had reported last night.   While talking to some hunters who were doing some dog training, he (and they) also thought they saw a hen pheasant.  This is potentially good news for the atlas.

Stan Arnold
Glen Burnie