Folks
Bob Ringler is correct. I was at the Trout Run WWTP in the Oakland area when I photographed the Black Tern on Saturday, May 28, not the Oakland WWTP. I have incorrectly called this location the Oakland plant for decades. Now I know. It is the one where one goes to find Upland Sandpipers, Willow Flycatcher, Cliff Swallow, and Bobolink. All were found on Saturday as well.
I do know where I was when I photographed a Mississippi Kite today. While atlasing Port Tobacco CE, I stopped at McDonnough High School on Marshall Corner Road. As I was getting out of the car I noticed a raptor over head. My first thought was "Oh, Red Tail. No the tail is too long. Red-shouldered Hawk, but the bird did not have the conspicuous "crescents" in the primaries, no banding in the tail, and a light head, the tail was proportionally long and triangular. I quickly realized I was not familiar with this species in Charles County. I reached back into the car, got the camera, and started shooting. I did stop long enough to set the camera to manual focus, but never checked the ISO. I should have. It was set at 100. Yesterday I was photographing the Western Kingbird at Ft. McHenry in Baltimore with flash, and had not reset the ISO. I was pretty sure of what I had taken pictures at the site but viewing the images in Photoshop on the PC, it is clearly a Mississippi Kite.
This may be the third or fourth MIKI record for Charles Co., and a highly sought after county bird by me.
Regards
George Jett
Waldorf, MD 20603 |