DATE: Fri July 21, 2006
From Lisa Garrett<
Subject: possible tricolor heron Cheseapeake Beach(MD)
Driving from the bank yesterday, I passed the small mudflat waterfront near
the Rod & Reel. (NAVY BARGE SITS THERE)
Usually a GBHeron sits there, but I got a good look at a tricolor!
Has anyone else seen him lurking about in the North Beach area?
-----Original Message-----
From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
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Sent: Friday, July 21, 2006 12:01 AM
To:
Subject: MDOSPREY Digest - 19 Jul 2006 to 20 Jul 2006 (#2006-202)
There are 6 messages totalling 208 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Georgetown Reservoir (DC) - possible shorebird spot?
2. Woodpecker musings
3. Little Blue Heron at Schoolhouse Pond
4. Osprey nest on Thompson Creek
5. Canoe atlasing on Tavern Creek (Rock Hall); Least Bittern et al.
6. Juveniles fly the COOP in Darnestown
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 06:17:14 -0700
From: Clive Harris <>
Subject: Georgetown Reservoir (DC) - possible shorebird spot?
Driving in to work today I noticed that one of the cells at Georgetown Res.
has been drawn down, exposing mudflats. Its the far one on the northern
half of the site. I could see several Great Egrets wandering around but
didn't have the chance to look for anything else. If it stays that way it
could be quite attractive to passing shorebirds.
Regards
Clive Harris
Cabin John MD
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 06:43:19 -0700
From: Matthew Grey <>
Subject: Re: Woodpecker musings
I noted this with a Downy at Weinberg Park this past winter. I was scoping
the river for ducks and heard this faint tapping from behind me. It didn't
take long to figure out that it was a male Downy attacking a phragmite stand
as it swayed in the cold wind.
Matt Grey
Pasadena
=?windows-1252?Q?Denise_Ryan?= <> wrote:
I guess I've seen the same in Cattails in the winter. Perhaps a good bug
hangout?
A local Red-Bellied fledgling has started to learn how to eat from
my "Squirrel Buster" feeder this week. The woodpecker looks pretty awkward
hanging from the perch, but it seems to be working for him. Most of his
body is hanging low on the perch, but his head and bill are large enough
that he can get in there and grab a seed or nut at each visit.
Denise Ryan
Cheverly, MD
savetheocean at yahoo.com
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 13:31:54 -0400
From: =?windows-1252?Q?Fred_Shaffer?= <>
Subject: Little Blue Heron at Schoolhouse Pond
I spotted a juvenile Little Blue Heron during my lunchtime walk around=20=
Schoolhouse Pond today. It was standing near a Great Egret and Great Blu=
e=20
Heron. The grayish-green legs, and gray bill blending to a darker tip=20=
were obvious, in addition to the all white juvenile plumage. I've seen=20=
Little Blues fly over the pond before, but this may be the first time I'v=
e=20
seen one foraging on the mudflats here. It was still there when I left=20=
(about 15 minutes ago).
Shorebirds have also starting showing up, taking advantage of the mudflat=
s=20
along the edge of the pond. This morning there were 3 Spotted Sandpipers=
,=20
and yesterday there were several Least Sandpipers. Also of note, on=20
Monday (7/17) I saw my first Laughing Gull flyover of the fall or post=20=
breeding season. I saw another flyover on Wednesday. Both birds were=20=
heading for the landfill.
The Trumpeter Swan continues at the pond as well. In the morning it is=20=
typically at the rear of the pond foraging or swimming on the water. I=20=
saw this massive bird in flight several weeks ago. It ran across the=20=
water before taking off, then flew two very fast loops over the perimeter=
=20
of the pond. With the speed it had worked up, I thought it was going to=20=
leave, but it settled back down on the water again.=20=20
Fred Shaffer
Patuxent MOS
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 18:12:44 -0400
From: Sue Probst <>
Subject: Osprey nest on Thompson Creek
What could be more appropriate for the Maryland OSPREY list then an
interesting Osprey sighting?!
I had the opportunity to stay at the Kent Manor Inn yesterday. (It was a
work-related staff retreat-not too shabby, huh?) Late in the afternoon, my
co-workers and I were lounging on the dock on Thompson Creek, and I spotted
an adult Osprey flying low and slow over the Kent Manor property. But, it
was not fishing-it was flying into a tree with lots of dead branches,
snapping off twigs or small branches, and flying back to a nesting platform
on the opposite side of the creek! Then I watched as it took turns with its
mate, pulling off branches (some with leaves) or scooping up dry grass
clumps from the lawn, and flying back to the nest. The nest wasn't very
"deep"-but it did have at least one large juvenile in the nest! So, the pair
weren't building a nest, but clearly adding to an existing one while the
kid(s) was still at home. According to Stokes' Guide to Bird Behavior, vol.
III, the female engages in this activity through the nestling phase. I
thought it was pretty neat, because I have never had the chance to watch
Ospreys "build" a nest.
Other birds seen: Fish Crow, Eastern Kingbirds (feeding a fledgling),
Northern Mockingbirds (and fledglings), Carolina Wren, Northern Cardinals,
Green Herons, and Great Blue Heron. Thought I might have heard Northern
Bobwhite, too.
BTW, the Kent Manor Inn is a nice place to stay. It's on the Maryland
Historic Registry (the original wing of the house was built in 1820). Rooms
are quite comfortable and have their own baths. Dining is either inside, or
out on an enclosed porch. (Their crab cakes were very yummy!)
Sue Probst
Columbia, Howard County
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 20:39:53 -0400
From: Walter Ellison <>
Subject: Canoe atlasing on Tavern Creek (Rock Hall); Least Bittern et al.
Hi All,
Nancy, Ian and I took our recently acquired used canoe out on an atlas
paddle up Tavern Creek in the Swan Point-SE and -CE blocks. We put in at
Spring Cove Landing and we were out om the water for the next five
hours. Our best bird was a male LEAST BITTERN that flew down the creek
and into the reeds (Phragmites) and Spartina just south of the Swan
Creek Road crossing (where the creek opens up). We also had about a
dozen Marsh Wrens along the creek from Deep Landing opposite Gratitude
almost up to Swan Creek Road finding one dummy nest along the way. Two
CATTLE EGRETS flew by at one point and we had nine Green Herons. We had
nine Least Sandpipers, all adults, a single and a flock of eight. There
were quite a few Forster's Tern around including some juveniles, just
one Least Tern, and the four regular gulls adorned the piers of
Gratitude. We tried to tape or squeak-up rails at several spots along
the way but we had no takers. The marshes are dominated by reeds, so the
rail population is probably as small as it seems. Although the breeding
season is beginnig to slow, there are lots of birds with young and not a
few birds with nests out there.
Good Birding & Atlasing,
Walter Ellison
MD/DC Breeding Bird Atlas Coordinator
23460 Clarissa Rd
Chestertown, MD 21620
phone: 410-778-9568
e-mail: rossgull(AT)baybroadband.net
"Nothing is as easy as you would like it to be, and nothing is as hard
as you might fear"
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:55:36 +0000
From: Don Simonson <>
Subject: Juveniles fly the COOP in Darnestown
We have TWO baby hawks! I heard an unusual hissing bird call this morning
in the trees behind the barn, it persisted, and then I spotted one baby hawk
perched, and then the other. They flapped among the trees, in our yard and
the neighbors', and perched. Although they were opening their mouths wide
begging piteously for food they looked very well fed! I heard an adult
calling far off. I had seen a big female adult yesterday in the yard. These
are just-fledged Cooper's Hawks. Like most hawks and owls (and humans!),
they leave the nest as soon as they can fly, but are not yet able to feed
themselves. For several days they screech for food and the parents must
bring it to them. Cooper's Hawks diet consists almost entirely of small
birds (and the occasional chipmunk or squirrel); normally the bluebirds,
cardinals, etc vanish and freeze the instant a Cooper's appears anywhere
nearby. This morning however, the small birds were going about their
business in full view of the hawks. I ha
ve never seen this before. Obviously they knew these were very young hawks
and posed no threat. I made some sketches and then had to leave for work.
Don Simonson, Darnestown, MD Montgomery County
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End of MDOSPREY Digest - 19 Jul 2006 to 20 Jul 2006 (#2006-202)
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