Thanks for the detailed directions to the dickcissel. I went there today on 
my way
home from the Grasonville area, arriving around 5:15. As soon as I stopped 
the car
I thought I heard it call, but then heard and saw nothing for a good half 
hour. I met the new owner
of the house that is next to the field with all the wildflowers. There's no 
pile of fill anymore,
but there is a narrow road into the small development.

The homeowner asked me what was up--she's seen 4-5 birders, and she's only 
lived
there for a week. When I told her she had an uncommon bird, she seemed 
quite pleased.

After getting my hopes up, but then seeing only goldfinches (not that 
there's anything
wrong with goldfinches), I got in the car to go home, and turned around 
onto Landing Neck Road.
I stopped at the far end of the field just in case--this was about a 
50-mile detour!--and
I heard the dickcissel loud and clear. I couldn't see the darn thing, but I 
must have been close
because it flushed and perched in the top of the one tree that is on the 
west side of
Landing Neck Road at that point. At first he had his back to me, but then 
he turned
so I could see his throat spot, and he sang and posed for me. Thanks for 
the life bird, guys.

Also, while waiting for this bird to materialize, I looked up the new side 
street and saw
four (!) bobwhites walking across in that ultra-cautious way they have. 
Three of the birds
stood erect, but one was bent over in stealth mode. And then, one of them 
displayed, which
I have never see before. It bent horizontal, spread its wings in an arc 
(wingtips toward its head),
and danced in a circle several times! It was one of the neatest bird 
behaviors I've ever seen!
They disappeared into the cornfield, but they called almost the whole time 
I was there.

When we first moved to Maryland, we had bobwhites right on the property. 
Then our street
became filled with houses, and I never hear them call anymore or see them, 
even though there's
a large pasture at the end of the street. It was great to see a small covey 
today, but I wonder how
long it will last, now that the development is in progress in that area. I 
got the impression
that the end house on the street was right where the birds normally 
gathered--they flew past
it a couple of times.

--Pat

Pat Valdata, Elkton, MD | 
"The natural function of the wing is to soar upwards
and carry that which is heavy up to the place where dwells the race of gods.
More than any other thing that pertains to the body
it partakes of the nature of the divine." --Plato