-----Original Message-----
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Subject: MDOSPREY Digest - 20 Sep 2007 to 21 Sep 2007 (#2007-265)


There are 10 messages totalling 518 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. Carroll Co. Birds 9/20/07 (2)
  2. The "terrorist" birder
  3. Rock Creek Park, Fri. 9/21
  4. Irish Grove Foray
  5. Rock Creek Park- Kensington, MD
  6. Jug Bay bio-blitz (Sep 15-16) results
  7. Turkey Point (Cecil Co) 9/21/07
  8. Common Nighthawks @ Capitol Hill, DC (9/18/07)
  9. Great Oak Pond 21 Sept: Stilt Sandpipers and dowitchers, first Snow Goose

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Date:    Fri, 21 Sep 2007 04:01:51 +0000
From:    Bob Ringler <>
Subject: Carroll Co. Birds 9/20/07

   I spent the morning at Piney Run Park and returned again in the evening. It was a quiet morning except for the rain of acorns.

Canada Goose  70
Black Duck  3
Mallard  120
Green-winged Teal  5
Pied-billed Grebe  4
Great Blue Heron  4
Great Egret  5
Little Blue Heron  1 immature
Green Heron  1
Killdeer  4
Solitary Sandpiper  1
Least Sandpiper  4
Screech Owl  1 heard only
Chimney Swift  5
Kingfisher  4
Phoebe  1
House Wren  1
Wood Thrush  1
Catbird  16
Thrasher  1
Parula  1
Magnolia Warbler  2
Black-throated Green Warbler  1
Redstart  2
Yellowthroat  2
Chipping Sparrow  3

--
Bob Ringler 
Eldersburg MD 


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Date:    Fri, 21 Sep 2007 09:22:11 -0400
From:    Dave Powell <>
Subject: Re: Carroll Co. Birds 9/20/07

I was also in Carroll County on the 20th.

At Piney Run, the Glossy Ibis was still present.

I tried for the Golden Plover at Liberty, but came up empty.

Regards,
Dave Powell

Germantown, Md


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Ringler" <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 12:01 AM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Carroll Co. Birds 9/20/07


>   I spent the morning at Piney Run Park and returned again in the evening. 
> It was a quiet morning except for the rain of acorns.
>
> Canada Goose  70
> Black Duck  3
> Mallard  120
> Green-winged Teal  5
> Pied-billed Grebe  4
> Great Blue Heron  4
> Great Egret  5
> Little Blue Heron  1 immature
> Green Heron  1
> Killdeer  4
> Solitary Sandpiper  1
> Least Sandpiper  4
> Screech Owl  1 heard only
> Chimney Swift  5
> Kingfisher  4
> Phoebe  1
> House Wren  1
> Wood Thrush  1
> Catbird  16
> Thrasher  1
> Parula  1
> Magnolia Warbler  2
> Black-throated Green Warbler  1
> Redstart  2
> Yellowthroat  2
> Chipping Sparrow  3
>
> --
> Bob Ringler
> Eldersburg MD
>  

------------------------------

Date:    Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:33:19 -0400
From:    June Tveekrem <>
Subject: The "terrorist" birder

It all started with the Howard County Bird Club website...
The site contains photos of [almost] every bird ever seen in Howard 
County. Although photos from many locations are used, photos taken in 
Howard County are preferred. And there was no photo of a Rock Pigeon 
taken in Howard County. [There is a lovely photo posted. It just wasn't 
from Howard County.] So I decided to go take a few snapshots.

There is a consistent gathering of Rock Pigeons a couple of miles from 
my house, at the bridge where Route 32 crosses over Cedar Lane. Around 
11:00 am today I grabbed my camera and binoculars, drove down there, 
parked alongside Cedar Lane where there was a wide shoulder, walked back 
to the bridge, and started clicking away.

It so happened the birds were perched under the bridge right then, 
rather than on top of lampposts. There was also a lot of traffic going 
by under the bridge.

I finished my photography and walked back to the car. I had just 
finished putting my equipment away and started the car when the cops 
showed up (two cars, lights flashing). Somebody had called them via cell 
phone. The caller thought that taking photos of the underside of a 
bridge and studying it through binoculars constituted suspicious, 
possibly terrorist, activity. [Duh - I didn't think of that.]

One cop walked up to my car and asked me what I was doing in the area.

I said "Photographing pigeons".

"Photographing pigeons?!"

Clearly he didn't believe me, and I don't blame him. So I explained that 
a friend of mine is posting photos of all birds in Howard County on his 
website, and he didn't have one of a pigeon because nobody ever 
photographs those. The cop looked at me suspiciously and said,

"Step out of the car. Do you have any identification?"

I retrieved my purse from the trunk and showed him my driver's license.

"May I ask the name of the website?"
"Howard County Bird Club."
"Did you use a digital camera?"
"Yes."
"Can I see the pictures?"

So I showed him a few photos.

"I'll be damned. It really is pigeons!"

He went back and talked to the other cop, the two of them had a good 
laugh, and then they gave my license back and let me go. They said there 
was nothing illegal about what I had done, but did I understand why 
somebody would call it in? I assured them I did. They also said they 
would have to file a report describing the incident.

Wonder if I'll get mentioned in the crime reports in the Howard County 
Times? I can see it now.

To add insult to injury, the photos didn't even turn out any good!

-- 
June Tveekrem
Columbia, Maryland
tweekiebird|AT|southernspreadwing.com

------------------------------

Date:    Fri, 21 Sep 2007 10:57:26 -0400
From:    Wallace Kornack <>
Subject: Rock Creek Park, Fri. 9/21

Birding at Rock Creek Park started out slow but picked up around  
8AM.  Mike Bowen, Jim Lemert and Lou Demouy remained at the Ridge  
while Dan Eberly and I went to the Maintenance Yard.  Their  
persistence at the Ridge resulted in seeing a nice wave of birds as  
follows:

Parula 2
Magnolia Warbler 3
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler 2
Blackpoll Warbler
American Redstart 5
Black-and-white Warbler
Red-eyed Vireo
Scarlet Tanager 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
Wood-Pewee
Phoebe
Red-breasted Nuthatch (heard)

At the Yard, Dan and I were later joined by Jim and Mike. We saw:

Parula 2
Magnolia Warbler 2
American Redstart 3
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Common Yellowthroat 4
Philadelphia Vireo
Acadian Flycatcher
Phoebe 3
Wood-Pewee
Re-eyed Vireo

Have Fun Birding!

Wallace Kornack
Washington DC


------------------------------

Date:    Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:41:46 +0000
From:    
Subject: Irish Grove Foray

Ospreyers,

Dotty Mumford will be heading down to Irish Grove on October 26 to stay for almost a week.  She is hoping that others will join her on some work projects to improve the property and also to partake in some great birding opportunities.  The main project will be to repair the front porch roof, so those with carpentry skills are especially welcomed.  All the trails, including the marsh trails, need maintenance as well, and the house is due for its regular cleaning.  Irish Grove is a wonderful place to bird in the fall, and Chincoteague is not far away.  You can also enjoy fishing, canoeing or kayaking in the creeks.  Please contact Dotty at 410-849-8336 or  if you would like to participate.  If you've not been to Irish Grove before, please visit the MOS web site (www.mdbirds.org) for much more information about this special MOS sanctuary.

Sue Ricciardi
Anne Arundel County

------------------------------

Date:    Fri, 21 Sep 2007 11:14:34 -0700
From:    diane Ford <>
Subject: Rock Creek Park- Kensington, MD

Hi all,

  I birded Rock Creek Park, along Beach Drive. Warblers have been few, or in small flocks with chickadees. They must be in DC!

Highlights:
1 Red-breasted Nuthatch (at Viers Mill Park in Pines)
1 Ches. sided Warbler
1 Parula Warbler
1 Acadian flycatcher
2 Red shouldered Hawks
Bluejays
Cardinals
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbirds (many)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black Vulture
Song Sparrow
American Goldfinch (many)

D. Ford/Bethesda

       
---------------------------------
Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! 
Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.

------------------------------

Date:    Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:15:15 -0400
From:    Jeff Shenot <>
Subject: Jug Bay bio-blitz (Sep 15-16) results

Sorry for late post, I was away at a conference this week.  We had a grea=
t=20
weekend at the the Jug Bay Wetland Sanctuary's first-ever bio-blitz.  It =
was=20
from noon Sat to noon Sun, and we found about 100 bird species.  I am not=
=20
sure on total #, because I did not have data yet from one group on Sunday=
=20
morning.  Here is the partial list, 94 species:

Double-crested Cormorant
Least Bittern 2
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret 6
Green Heron 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Glossy Ibis 2
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose 135
Mute Swan 2
Wood Duck
American Black Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk *
Cooper's Hawk *
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sora 5+
Killdeer 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Forster's Tern
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Common Nighthawk 1*
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch 4 on 9-15, 5 on 9-16 (all different)
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Marsh Wren
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler 1
Northern Parula 3
Yellow Warbler 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 2
Cape May Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 *
Black-throated Green Warbler 3
Pine Warbler 2
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
American Redstart 1
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 7
Wilson's Warbler 1
Summer Tanager 1
Scarlet Tanager 2
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch

* seen by others participants

Cheers-
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD


------------------------------

Date:    Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:22:47 -0400
From:    Steve Collins <>
Subject: Turkey Point (Cecil Co) 9/21/07

I took the day off work and birded Turkey Point for the first time - 
what a cool spot.  So much better than spending the morning in a cube.  
I loved watching the birds round the point at the lighthouse - 
especially the large Blue Jay flocks that would make an instant U-turn 
as soon as they could see the water past the trees.  Out of the dozens 
of warblers that rounded the point between 8 and 9am, most of them 
appeared to be Magnolia, American Redstart and Black-throated Green.  I 
know there were others - though I'm not very good at this yet ; )  The 
most surprising bird of the morning was a female Purple Finch - my 
earliest.  When I left the accipters were just starting to stream 
through, so I'm sure the hawkcounters will have a good day.

:Birds of note:
3 Sharp-shinned Hawk
25+ Cooper's Hawk
1 Eastern Screech-Owl
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
4 Eastern Wood-Pewee
2 Empid sp.
2 White-eyed Vireo
2 Red-eyed Vireo
8 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 House Wren
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Veery
2 Wood Thrush
6 Cedar Waxwing
1 Nashville Warbler
6 Northern Parula
5 Magnolia Warbler
5 Black-throated Blue Warbler
6 Black-throated Green Warbler
3 Blackpoll Warbler
6 Black-and-white Warbler
4 American Redstart
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Canada Warbler
2 Scarlet Tanager
3 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
6 Bobolink
1 Purple Finch

I birded Swan Harbor Farm on the way home, but the only birds of note 
were a small flock of Bobolinks.  The pond/wetland was dry except for 
one small birdless puddle.

Cheers,
Steve Collins
Towson, MD

------------------------------

Date:    Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:56:56 -0500
From:    Beth Kantrowitz <>
Subject: Re: Common Nighthawks @ Capitol Hill, DC (9/18/07)

I was at RFK Stadium on Tuesday night (sadly, to see my Mets lose) and there
were oodles of nighthawks overhead as soon as it got dark.  Up to six or seven
at any given time and maybe lots more swooping in and out of the stadium light.
 Could clearly see their white patches and standard goatsucker coloration.



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Date:    Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:20:43 -0400
From:    Walter Ellison <>
Subject: Great Oak Pond 21 Sept: Stilt Sandpipers and dowitchers, first Snow Goose

Hi All,

A visit to Great Oak Pond this evening produced seven shorebird and at 
least seven waterfowl species. The Tundra Swan is no longer there, but 
the Canvasback continues, also present were a single adult SNOW GOOSE 
(the first of thousands), Blue-winged teal and Northern Shovelers. 
Shorebirds included 12 STILT SANDPIPERS, 13 Pectoral Sandpipers, 2 
Semiplamated Plovers, 16 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 30 Lesser Yellowlegs, 
1 Killdeer, and 3 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS. Migration has been slow in 
our yard at Chesapeake Landing although there were at least 6 
Red-breasted Nuthatches there today, and we still have at least one 
hummingbird. We also had 17 butterfly species in our yard over the last 
two days including a very late-flying summer azure, a tattered great 
spangled fritillary, our first variegated fritillary of the summer (too 
dry for them?), and a buckeye (rare at our butterfly-bushes).

Good birding,

Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin

23460 Clarissa Rd
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-778-9568

rossgull (at) baybroadband.net

Observing Nature is like unwrapping a big pile of presents every time 
you take a walk.

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End of MDOSPREY Digest - 20 Sep 2007 to 21 Sep 2007 (#2007-265)
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