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Subject:

Thick-billed Murre Wed. update

From:

Rick Cheicante

Reply-To:

Rick Cheicante

Date:

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:01:41 -0500

Minus the slightless of cold breezes coming off of the ocean, it was a
picture perfect February day at the OC Inlet.  And I wasn't the only person
discussing how I was going to make up a work day.  The following is a
summary of the day while tracking the murre and speaking with others.

The murre was spotted between 6:30  and 7:30 a.m. in the inlet heading out
with the out-going tide.  The bird tracked along the the south jetty about
3/4 of the way across, before turning the corner and disappearing behind the
rocks.

I arrived at about 8:30 a.m.  Spotted bird at approx. 9:30 a.m. over the
South jetty rocks about 30 yds  from the tip.  Two or three other folks were
able to pick it up.  That lasted for about two minutes as the bird was
making its way toward the tip.  That didn't happen.  So we waited.  And waited.

In-coming tide seemed to start around 3:00 p.m.  The murre was re-found at
4:00 p.m. in the "rips" maybe 40/50 yds off the tip of the south jetty.  As
posted earlier, the murre tracked in through the inlet along the north jetty
to within maybe 20 yds.   

Jim and Lin Just and myself followed it around the back, into the bay, where
it just coasted along in the channel until it reached the Rt. 50 bridge.  It
sat there for awhile before crossing under the bridge at 5:00 pm.  We headed
up to 3rd and 4th St. where the murre continued to coast along in the
channel (1/3 of the way over to the "flats", so fairly close).  Its endpoint
was 4th St. where it preened and "wing-flapped" until 6:00 p.m.  Finally, an
out-going boat unintentionally flushed the bird causing it to fly back
toward the bridge, eventually sitting at the base of the bridge, halfway
over to Hooper's.  Then the light ran out.

Rick Cheicante
Harford County
Bel Air, MD