I believe that these birds show up in locations that you wouldn't expect 
during migration. A number of years ago I was on my way down to Jim Stasz's 
place in North Beach when I was on Rte. 260 on the east side of Owings where 
it goes under the overpass of Mount Harmony Road and noticed an odd looking 
road kill just after the underpass, but still on the curve. It was early in 
the morning and no one was on the road so I was able to back up and see what 
it was. Sure enough it was a Common Moorhen. To my knowledge, no water 
with-in a mile or so unless there is a private farm pond nearby. Whatever, 
it shouldn't be habitat that would attract Moorhens.

Ed Boyd
Westminster, MD
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jim brighton" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 5:57 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Moorhen roadkill Oxford


> As Harry said in his post it seems strange to find a dead moorhen on 
> Oxford Rd.  But, with the new impoundments that have sprung up from 
> Landaff Rd all the way to Spring Rd it seems to me only a matter of time 
> before Moorhens would try to establish themselves in this area.  The large 
> impoundment along Oxford Rd right before reaching Spring Rd is ideal 
> Moorhen habitat.  Let's just hope that there are more of these birds and 
> that they will start breeding.
>
> Jim Brighton
> Oxford, Md
>