Wayne Bell of Talbot County discovered a singing  male Dickcissel in
Talbot County Sunday evening (June 12th), as described in the message below.
Specifics of the location are also provided in his message.
	This morning at 11:40 I visited the site and was treated to the
strong calling of the male even before I stopped my truck.  In about 5
minutes, the male was joined by a female - and the female was carrying nest
building material in her bill.  She eventually dropped the nest material, so
did not show me the exact site of the nest - if such site has been chosen.
	Both birds were only about 25 yards from the road, and were in a
small field that will provide splendid nesting habitat - as long as the
owners refrain from mowing it down.

Les Roslund

Talbot County
Easton MD 21601


-----Original Message-----
From: Wayne Bell [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2005 1:13 AM
To: Les Roslund
Subject: DICKCISSEL IN TALBOT


While biking this evening (Sunday,12 June) I heard and then observed a 
singing male DICKCISSEL on Landing Neck Road at just north of Trappe in 
Talbot County.  This is my first record of this species in Talbot.  Based 
on recent reports from Danny Poet and Walter Ellison, Dickcissels appear to 
be well distributed around the upper Eastern Shore this year.

The bird is on private land but close to the road.  It is in a waste area 
essentially between two small sprawl developments.  There should be  no 
problem viewing it if you exercise common courtesy.  To reach the spot, 
drive south from Easton on U.S. 50 toward Trappe.  After crossing 
Peachblossom Creek, turn LEFT at the next light onto Landing Neck 
Road.  Drive 3.4 miles, or 1.8 miles from the Landing Neck Road 
intersection with Manadier Road.  The site is a weedy area on the left side 
of the road.  There is a "temporary" spot where one or more trucks have 
matted down the weeds in order to dump some fill dirt further in.  The bird 
was singing in the tall weeds (pokeberry and the like) to the left and 20 
feet beyond the pile of fill.  If it is there, you need only walk in a few 
feet on the matted down weeds to see it well with binoculars.

Good luck!  --  wayne bell