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Subject:

Tropical Kingbird Summary For Today

From:

"Hoffman, Mark"

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Hoffman, Mark

Date:

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 19:48:05 -0500

I will give a summary of today's "Tropical report" (stealing a by-line from The Weather Channel), as I was on-site from the tail end of the am crowd through late-afternoon.  (Playing hooky from the Crisfield CBC, but we'll keep that our little secret.)

Folks were at the location (at the intersection of Reading Ferry Road and [private] Adler's Rest Lane) from 8:30 on.  The kingbird was first seen around 10:00, in the trees along the south side of the yard of the house on the east side of Reading Ferry Road, just north of the intersection with the Adler's Rest that goes off to the west.  The bird was here awhile then flew off high across the main road to the southwest.  I got there at 1100, and about 15 minutes later it was refound in the yard, but only lingered 5  minutes or so.  Most of the am people (Paul Pisano, Gail M. and Barry Cooper, JB Churchill, Bob Ringler, et al.) left shortly thereafter.  Phil and Barbara Davis were the next to arrive after the bird left (and after some records committee shop talk Paul O'Brien who had been there early left also).  I needed better pictures, so the Davis' and I looked for the bird.  We did not refind it until 12:40 when Phil spotted it coming into the same trees along the south side of the yard. The bird then was in the side yard until 3:30 pm when I and the pm folks left (with some good photos, out of the 500 or so I took-hope to past some tonight).  Observers includes Matt Hafner, Stasz (who had seen it yesterday), Matt Hafner, and another long-distance vagrant, Marshall Iliff.  The bird did call several times in the pm, clearly confirming the ID as a Tropical Kingbrd (Jimbo got audio of the call yesterday).

Most of the time the bird was perched in the lower limbs of the largest tree (a maple I think), at the southeast corner of the yard (just over a large flower-type plot surrounded by a wooden frame).  Sometimes it was in the loblolly pine a little farther to the south and east, and sometimes in the smaller decidous trees closer to the road (only then were reasonable pictues possible, a.k.a "big lense envy"). 

The bird was actively feeding and would catch bugs (even an orange sulfur!) in mid-air or frequently on the ground (where it sometimes stayed perched for a minute or so).  For a little while there was an Eastrrn Phoebe in the same tree and once the kingbird had a vigorous skirmish with an Eastern Bluebird over a bug - not sure who won, home field advantage might have gone to the bluebird.  It would also fly very close to the house at times to get bugs.  (An old lower eastern shore CBC trick is to  carefully check house exteriors for insectivorous birds, as the flys that are trying to get in the windows in the cold weather are easy pickings for phoebes and bug eaters).

Yesterday, the bird was also around the same house and on the wires in front of the house.  If I were looking for it tomorrow, I would park on the southwest corner of the intersection (to give the bird a little space) and scan from there.  Jim S spoke to the people living in the house and they know what is going on and are ok with it.  You know we are in trouble when Jimbo is our public relations contact... The road is fairly narrow so everyone should be careful and park on the same side so as to not block traffic.  

Good luck!
Mark Hoffman