On my way back from chasing the murrelet in New Jersey, I tried for the 
Common Teal Walter Ellison reported at Great Oak Pond. Actually, I had 
contemplated just going to Great Oak and foregoing the murrelet considering 
the difficulty people have had finding the murrelet, and the fact that I 
really wanted to see the teal: I need it on my ABA area list. Well, I 
decided to try for them both, if I felt I could leave NJ soon enough. 
Without speeding, I had a race with the clock to get to Great Oak before the 
sun went down. With a few minutes to spare, I made it to the pond with the 
sun just above the horizon. But where was the teal? There were Lesser Scaup, 
Ruddies, Mallards, Buffies, Snow Geese, two Tundra Swans, and then on my 
third pass scanning the lake, I saw a teal. The light was dim enough that I 
had a hard time getting a good enough look at the bird. Alas. It turned to 
reveal the familiar white vertical line. No other teal showed his (or her) 
face.

But there was a consolation prize. (Great Oak usually gives me a consolation 
prize. When I tried for the Barnacle Goose there some time ago I whiffed on 
the goose, but a peregrine came swooping in while I searched). This time, as 
I was leaving the pond, on Rt. 514, I saw a raptor on the electrical lines. 
I slowed and the bird turned its head to reveal two great horns and two big 
eyes looking at me. Turning on to route 213 to come home, I saw another 
raptor on another line, and - yes - another pair of horns in silhouette.

Don Burggraf
Baltimore


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