MD Osprey:

On Thursday, 6/22, after a quick spur of the moment decision the evening 
before, Jay Sheppard, Paul O'Brien and I decided to chase the Southern 
Lapwing that Mark Hoffman found on 6/17.

In the afternoon, we checked all suitable upland habitats between West 
Ocean City and South Point, without success. Places we checked included the 
race track, the golf course, South Point, and the Assateague causeway.

In the evening, for a couple hours, we went out at high tide (the best 
viewing time) on a boat owned by a local friend of Jay's. The boat draws 
only six inches. We checked all of the the short-grass/spartina salt 
marshes around Turville Creek and the mouth of Herring Creek, in the area 
where Mark originally found the bird. We played an audio lure of a 
cayennensis subspecies bird from Trinidad. We believe we covered the 
available habitat pretty well but did not see or hear a response.

Even though our chase was not successful, the nature of its habitat can 
make this bird elusive. We encourage people to keep looking.

Paul O'Brien has put forth some intriguing reasons why this may be a wild 
bird and not an escapee:

1. As Mark Hoffman's earlier message discusses (with opinions from Al 
Jaramillo), the bird appears to be of the cayennensis subspecies/group--the 
one that is expanding in range and is closest to the US.

2. The cayennensis subspecies/group is probably not as likely to be a 
captive bird, as would birds some of the more numerous South American 
subspecies populations.

3. A Southern Lapwing was recently found in Florida. It was first sighted 
on 5/22 at St. Marks NWR (25 south of Tallahassee) and was last seen there 
on June 11.

4. On June 13, Hurricane Alberto crossed exactly over the St. Marks NWR 
area and then continued up the east coast. Check out this map ...

         http://flhurricane.com/googlemap.php?2006s1

4. Mark Hoffman's bird was found on 6/17, less than a week later.

5. The Florida bird was also of the subspecies/group cayennensis.


So, keep looking for this bird, both north and south of Ocean City. Check 
grasslands, plowed fields, and marshes.

Phil


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Phil Davis      Davidsonville, Maryland     USA
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