Bill, 

Thanks for posting the photos of the Elliott Island Snowy Owl.  Fran
Saunders was asking if this could be the same bird as the one we saw on
Hart-Miller on Saturday, but no - in addition to the sighting time
overlap, the birds are very different in appearance.  The Hart-Miller
owl was much more lightly barred than the Elliott Island one. 

There was also a Snowy Owl reported in the Lower Kent Christmas count on
Sunday.  Danny Poet saw the bird and I'll leave it to him to provide the
details.

Marcia

Marcia Watson-Whitmyre 
Cecil Bird Club

 


-----Original Message-----
From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Bill Hubick
Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2005 7:19 PM
To: 
Subject: Snowy Owl Photos


Hi Everyone,
 
Hans Holbrook, Jim Brighton, my girlfriend Becky, and I couldn't resist
a pre-dawn departure to try for the SNOWY OWL that Les found yesterday
on Elliott Island Road. We were delighted to find the bird just after
dawn about half a mile north of where Les found it, still perched on a
telephone pole. The beautiful bird was almost completely uninterested in
us, lazily gazing down occasionally while we gawked and snapped photos.
We watched and took photos, drove down to the landing, then returned to
watch more and take more photos. Stunning!
<http://billhubick.com/new_set.html>. 
 
Completely eclipsed by the owl, but definitely noteworthy: We decided to
visit the location that Stan Arnold recently posted as a reliable old
spot for ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. At the end of the road in classic habitat
was a nice dark-phased bird. It flushed as we approached and landed at
the edge of the nearby woods.
 
Hope you all had a great weekend!
 
THANKS, LES!!
 
Bill
 
Bill Hubick
Elkridge, MD

<http://www.billhubick.com>