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Re: Birds in odd places

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Les Eastman

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Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:05:48 -0400

Sonnie Sussillo wrote:

> Neither of these sitings were in MD, but seemed interesting and odd to 
> me; thought I'd mention them just for fun. This weekend, we took the 
> Amtrak to NYC. Where the train crosses the Susquehanna river, there are 
> old bridge supports just downriver -- you can look down on the tops, 
> which support grass and trees but must be way over 50 feet above the 
> water.  Both going and coming back, I saw black-crowned night herons 
> perched on the supports (1 bird on the way up, 3 on the way home).  Were
>  they hunting? Roosting?  Thought it interesting to see them so high 
> above the water.

Well, this sighting was definitely in Maryland - Havre de Grace to be
specific. I know we are not in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, but we
are still in Maryland. :) Also, the old bridge supports are more like 20
feet above the water. I guess looking down on them makes them look higher.

As for what the herons were doing, they were probably just loafing. I think
they breed on one of the islands off Havre de Grace. They are sometimes 
seen at Conowingo, so they do fly up and down the river.

> And, we were in Silver City, NM the last week of July -- Silver City is 
> in the south-west corner of the state at elevation of 6,000 feet.  There
> were several hummers buzzing the patio of our friend's home and I swear
> that 2 of them were rufus hummers; there's nothing else in Sibleys so
> orange. Yet Sibleys shows them as migrants that summer way up at the
> Canadian border. They were only there 2 days, then didn't show up again.
> Early southerly migrants?  Signs that we're due for an early winter?
> Hmmm.

I don't think the sighting was unusual. I have seen Rufous Hummingbirds at 
Portal, AZ in early August. Wintering Rufous are already showing up in the 
gulf states and even North Carolina.

Les

===========
Les Eastman
mailto:[log in to unmask]
Havre de Grace, MD

The eagle looked down on the river below
And he wrapped his wings round him and he fell like a stone
And the big salmon fought but the talons held true
And he shuddered as the world turned from silver to blue
                               Steve Earle