Bill,

I think we acutally saw 43 Laughing Gulls on Riley Roberts Rd. in Somerset 
County.

Jim


>From: Bill Hubick <>
>Reply-To: Bill Hubick <>
>To: 
>Subject: [MDOSPREY] Gull-billed Tern at Horsehead; other Shore highlights
>Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2006 12:22:13 -0700
>
>Hi Everyone,
>
>After investing 14 1/2 hours crossing the Bay Bridge on Saturday (8/5), I 
>was rewarded with some exciting finds on Kent Island in Queen Anne's Co. 
>The definite highlight was a GULL-BILLED TERN at the main pond at Horsehead 
>Wetlands. It was hawking insects beside the pond for several minutes, its 
>distinctive bill, stocky shape, and large size locking in my original 
>hunch. Hawking insects seems to be a good first clue for identifying this 
>species. I've seen them hawking bugs like this in the desert in Texas and 
>in a wet field in Georgia this year. I took some terribly distant photos 
>(400mm), and will post them if they show more than a white dot. This was a 
>long-awaited state bird for me.
>
>Horsehead Wetlands (8/5)
>
>GB Heron--5
>Great Egret--3
>Snowy Egret--15
>Little Blue Heron--2 imm.
>Tricolored Heron--1
>Green Heron--1
>Glossy Ibis--1
>Killdeer--5
>Greater Yellowlegs--3
>Lesser Yellowlegs--2
>Peep sp.--20
>* GULL-BILLED TERN--1
>
>Pond on north side of Rte. 18, just east of exit 41 (8/5)
>
>Black-crowned Night-Heron--1 adult, 4 imm.
>
>****** A brief and worthwhile update from the Evil Empire to the south 
>**********
>
>Fort Story, Virginia   (8/6 with Hans Holbrook and Jim Brighton)
>
>Brown Booby--Found on 8/5 by Matt and Kim Hafner. 6th VA record. See VA 
>listserve for details. This was an ABA bird for me and Hans, and one heck 
>of a state bird for Jim. Other VA highlights included Sandwich Tern, White 
>Ibis, Black Tern, 100s of Brown Pelicans, and Giant Swallowtails. Kudos to 
>Matt and Kim!
>
>*****************************************************************************************
>
>We spent the rest of the afternoon working our way back, looking at bugs 
>and hoping for interesting post-breeding dispersal waders in southern 
>Maryland. We spent time at Rumbly Point Road and Riley Roberts Road in 
>Somerset Co.
>
>Rumbly Point Road (8/6 with Hans Holbrook and Jim Brighton)
>
>Northern Harrier--1
>Lesser Yellowlegs--3
>Royal Tern--3
>Common Tern--1
>Forster's Tern--1
>Marsh Wren--3
>Seaside Sparrow--5
>Boat-tailed Grackle--1
>Eastern Meadowlark--3
>
>Riley Roberts Road (8/6 with Hans Holbrook and Jim Brighton)
>
>GB Heron--10
>Great Egret--15
>Snowy Egret--20
>Little Blue Heron--1 imm.
>Tricolored Heron--2
>Green Heron--8
>Black-crowned Night-heron--8 imm.
>Night-heron sp.--5 imm.
>Glossy Ibis--10
>Northern Harrier--2
>Clapper Rail--4, including my first nice photos of the species!
>Killdeer--5
>Greater Yellowlegs--5
>Lesser Yellowlegs--2
>Willet--5
>Least Sandpiper - X
>Laughing Gull--40
>Herring Gull--10
>Royal Tern--3
>Forster's Tern--1
>Marsh Wren--3; one making repeated trips to a nest
>Seaside Sparrow--3
>Song Sparrow--2
>Boat-tailed Grackle--5
>
>I'll probably post photos to my web site tomorrow. In the meantime, feel 
>free to check out some California photos from a couple weeks ago:
>
><http://www.billhubick.com/new_set.html>
>
>Have a great week!
>
>Bill
>
>Bill Hubick
>Elkridge, Maryland
>bill_hubick AT yahoo.com
>http://www.billhubick.com/