My sister, who had never seen a Bald Eagle up close, tends to time 
her visits when eagles
are busy nesting or seemingly on vacation. I finally persuaded her to 
come down (from
central NJ) in the winter, and she finally did. Today, the eagles at 
Conowingo Dam,
bless their hearts, put on a great show for us. One big immature was perched in
front of the first parking spots by the launch ramp, and an adult who had been
in another tree glided down to catch a fish not five minutes after Brenda asked
whether I'd ever seen an eagle catch a fish. Another adult did the same, and
we had good views through the scope at the half-dozen or so eagles in
various plumages that were on two of the towers. Then, my highlight of the day
came when I saw a grayish bird flying very unlike a gull, and then it turned
and I could see it was a Peregrine Falcon. It landed on top of the 
nearest tower
and when we looked, we saw that it had landed next to another Peregrine, so
we had the pair in view for the rest of our time there! All this was 
between 10-11 a.m.

Then we went over to the Perryville Community Park, where another 
adult BE perched
in plain sight. I was able to show Brenda the eagle's nest on Mill 
Creek, and though
there were few birds in the water--a handful of mallards, geese, 
scaup, grebes--we
also saw on land a nice, cooperative Brown Creeper who hung upside 
down right over our heads
and a small flock of Golden-crowned Kinglets.

Gull enthusiasts, there must have been over a thousand gulls at 
Conowingo--more there
than I've seen in years. I am not good at picking out rarities, but 
people who are
good at that should consider stopping by. The gulls were spread out 
along the river as far as
I could see, but hundreds if not more were concentrated at the base 
of the dam and the rocks
for easy viewing from the platform.

--Pat

Pat Valdata, Elkton, MD | 
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
--Douglas Adams