Thanks to the sharp-eyed reading of Bob Ringler, I now realize I was in 
error when I mentioned a flock of 20 or so American Tree Sparrows. He 
suggested that I might have been seeing Chipping Sparrows, because of flock 
of Tree Sparrows that large would be remarkable indeed.

I checked Sibley last night, and found that he was right. I had imagined 
that the yellow lower mandible was a mark for the Tree Sparrow but now I see 
that immature Chipping Sparrows have a light-colored ("pinkinsh") bill as 
well. I regret to say that I jumped to a misidentification. The good news is 
that I learned more about sparrows in the process. Sorry for the error.

Don Burggraf
Baltimore






>From: Don Burggraf <>
>Reply-To: Don Burggraf <>
>To: 
>Subject: [MDOSPREY] Persistent Pelicans
>Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 23:38:27 +0000
>
>Hi all
>
>The Pelicans were still at Blackwater Monday. For that matter, the 
>Harlequin was still at the Cambridge boat ramp. It was a fun day with a 
>couple of surprises
>
>Common Loon (I saw *and heard* the loon on Elliot Islant Road)
>American White Pelican (a new state bird for me!)
>Great Cormorant (At the Cambridge boat ramp)
>Great Blue Heron
>Tundra Swan
>Mute Swan (mercifully, only two)
>Snow Goose (both forms)
>Canada Goose
>American Black Duck
>Mallard
>Northern Pintail
>Northern Shoveler
>American Wigeon
>Ring-necked Duck
>Lesser Scaup (there may have been some Greaters there but I just can't be 
>sure)
>Harlequin Duck
>Long-tailed Duck
>Black Scoter
>Surf Scoter
>Bufflehead
>Common Merganser
>Ruddy duck
>Black Vulture
>Turkey Vulture
>Bald Eagle (enough so that I was saying, "Ho-hum, another Bald." But I 
>think I got some nice pictures)
>Northern Harrier
>Sharp-shinned Hawk
>Red-tailed Hawk
>American Kestral
>Killdeer
>Ring-billed Gull
>Herring Gull
>Great Black-backed Gull
>Rock Pigeon
>Mourning Dove
>Belted Kingfisher
>Red-bellied Woodpecker
>Northern Flicker
>Blue Jay
>American Crow
>Carolina Chickadee
>Red-breasted Nuthatch
>Brown-headed Nuthatch (I think this is the first time in my life when I saw 
>two species of nuthatch and one of them wasn't white-breasted!)
>Carolina Wren
>Marsh Wren
>Golden-crowned Knglet
>Eastern Bluebird
>Gray Catbird (!) - (Elliot Island Road)
>Northern Mockingbird
>European Starling
>Yellow-rumped Warbler
>Northern cardinal
>American Tree Sparrow (a flock of more than 20 at the pay station of 
>Wildlife Drive)
>Field Sparrow
>Song Sparrow
>Swamp Sparrow
>White-troated Sparrow
>Dark-eyed Junco
>Red-winged blackbird
>Common Grackle
>American Goldfinch
>
>61 species
>
>Don Burggraf
>Baltimore
>