Another strange bird:

March 3, about 11am, this bird flew into a small patch of woods by the 
Ammendale Road construction area (PG County) across from the Seventh-Day 
Adventist church in Beltsville. It was about the size of a crow and flew 
steadily much like a crow, but with shallower wing beats than the 
typical crow. The back was tan, about the color of some pigeons, with a 
white tail and some white on the wing tips. Wings were rounded and 
rather short. Tail was long and narrow. Underparts were whitish, or at 
least light colored. I had it in view for only a few seconds before it 
disappeared into the trees. From my rear-quarter view I did not see the 
head very well.

The overall size and shape were similar to Coopers Hawk, but there was 
no flap-flap-flap sail, and the color was wrong. Leucistic Coopers? No idea.



MICHAEL SPEICHER wrote:
> Seen yesterday, 3/4/07 @1430 in FRED CO at Bennies
> Hill Rd's intersection with the Catoctin Creek
> bottomlands fields - the fields nearest to MD 17 just
> after crossing the creek east/southbound.  My bird
> looked nothing like the photo of the recently sighted
> Pied Crow that was seen/photographed in AA county. 
> You tell me what it is/was, please...!!!:
>
> Underside was dark/black.  Upper was a uniform light
> brown or buff color from the back thru the tail tip. 
> I first noticed it when it was in flight being
> harassed by a crow.  It flew to a perch in a tree at
> the east side of the field where the other crow
> stopped its attack.  It perched there for several
> minutes (five or more) undisturbed until a crow
> perched nearby harassed it again.  It flew to another
> tree where other crows were present and apparently
> unconcerned.  When the entire flock took wing, this
> bird flew with the flock.  Size was similar, if not
> identical to a crow.  It was never closer to me than
> 1/4 mile (a guess), so i never got a definitive look
> at it thru my 8x bins.  No pics either, obviously.  I
> imagine this crow flock ranges pretty widely over the
> area around Middletown; after they exited, i failed to
> encounter them again as i drove north for several
> miles.
>
> Crossing over Catoctin Creek before encountering the
> "crow" i observed 3 male and one female C Mergs in the
> creek...
>
> Jim Speicher
> jugornought—at—yahoo-dot-com
> Bethesda @work :(
> Broad Run_S. FRED Co @home :)
>
>
>
>  
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