Hey everyone, Frances & I checked out the GREAT HORNED OWLs
this evening, between 6 & 8 pm, on the Paint Branch Stream
Valley Park trail in College Park, MD (PG County). We found
2 adults and 1 juvenile (well, 1 definite adult and 1
definite juvenile; the 3rd was harder to judge: it arrived
later as the light was rapidly fading). We also had a
BARRED OWL calling (from across the golf course). Some
fuzzy pics of the GHOWs are posted here:
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~dcr/xfer/PBSVP/
(fuzzy 'coz I didn't lug in all my equipment, and it was
getting dark...). The late-arriving owl is at the bottom
left of the last image -- adult or juvenile? We didn't see
it arrive. It seems to show more white below.
While we were watching the owl, I heard an EASTERN
WOOD-PEWEE song. This is 4 days early according to the
Yellow Book. The PEEaweee call was repeated several times
in a row, then a pause for several minutes, then more
repeats. I did not hear the peeyoooo part of the song.
There were no other vocalizations at the time that might
suggest mockingbird. There were, however, several starlings
about. The closest one was *not* the source of the song,
but I can't say for sure about the others. Would a starling
repeat the call that often? It was a great imitation if so.
Otherwise, maybe an early pewee??
Also, we had a flyover GREEN HERON, first for the year.
(There may have been a second: the first flew over NE to SW,
the second ~20 mins later SW to NE, so maybe it was the same
individual.)
The full report is below. We also had an amazing array of
mammals at dusk: Eastern Cottontail, Beaver, White-tailed
Deer (adult + juvenile), and a bat. Oh, and squirrels of
course.
Good birding!
D
Report Details
Location name: Paint Branch Stream Valley Park
Observation date: 4/13/06
Duration: 1 hour(s) 45 minute(s)
# of people in birding party: 2
Are you reporting all the species you identified? Yes
Total # of species: 28
Observation type: Stationary Count
Start time: 6:05 PM
Distance covered: N/A
Area covered: N/A
Weather had a negative effect on my ability to collect
birding information: No
Checklist diary notes:
Evening birdwatching with Frances to locate the Great Horned
Owls (found 2 adults and 1 juvenile). Also heard a Barred
Owl. The flyover Green Heron was my first for the year. The
12 Mallard ducklings are still all accounted for. Heard an
Eastern Wood-Pewee call distinctly several times, but this
would be 4 days earlier than the Yellow Book early date. May
have heard Red-shouldered Hawk. May have glimpsed Swamp
Sparrow. Lots of cool mammals too: Eastern Cottontail,
Beaver, White-tailed Deer (adult and juvenile), and a bat.
Species Details
Species Name Number Reported
Canada Goose 15
Wood Duck 1
Mallard 16
Green Heron 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Killdeer 1
Mourning Dove 4
Great Horned Owl 3
Barred Owl 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 3
crow sp. 2
Carolina Chickadee 3
Carolina Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 7
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 5
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 8
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Common Grackle 6
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
American Goldfinch 1
--
Derek C. Richardson, College Park, PG County, MD
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~dcr/Archives/Photos/birds.html |