Hi Everyone,
 
As Mike Burchett mentioned, I had the tremendous luck to be packing 1680mm of telephoto lens when John Hubbell shouted his amazing observation. Many thanks to all present for helping me to sight in this exciting bird over such a huge distance--nearly lost to the naked eye. Photos of Maryland's first EURASIAN WHIMBREL and the two LITTLE GULLs are available on my web site at <http://www.billhubick.com/new_set.html>. I've posted the weekend's images in nearly chronological order, so the Harford birds are near the bottom of the page. Hopefully you won't mind doing a little virtual shorebirding along Delaware Bay with virtual me, Jim Brighton, and Mike Parr. What a weekend!

Thanks, and have a great week!
 
Bill
 
Bill Hubick
Elkridge, MD
bill_hubick AT yahoo.com
http://www.billhubick.com

----- Original Message ----
From: Mike Burchett <>
To: 
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 3:33:05 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Harford Birding 5/21 Little Gulls, EUROPEAN WHIMBREL


Jim Brighton, Matt Hafner, John Hubbell, Bill Hubick, Dave Powell, Jim Stasz, and myself met for a day of Harford birding.

Even more miraculous than being able to observe this bird, was the fact that Bill Hubick managed photos of the bird from this long distance.  He had stacked teleconverters on his 600mm lens while trying to photograph the Little Gulls.  He was shooting with a focal length of 1680mm!  When John yelled about the white-rumped Whimbrel, Bill was able to get some photos, with several of them showing the diagnostic feature as the birds were flying away.  Way to go, Bill!


Mike Burchett
Churchville, MD