Dan: Just a "wild" guess, but any way it could have been a Wild Turkey?
They have been reported in AA County... Habitat and flight sound right, but
was the bird that large?
On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:42:52 -0400, Dan haas <>
wrote:
>Habitat: Think Louisiana Waterthrush or Prothonotary Warbler habitat.
> A stream running through a valley into the Annapolis Reservoir at
>Waterworks Park. Tall trees on either side of the valley.
>
>I was enjoying a Palm Warbler flitting about in the understory. A
>very odd species (for Waterworks Park) flushed from behind me from
>what appeared to be the tree tops (not the forest floor). It was
>large (red shouldered hawk size, but perhaps a bit smaller).
>Initially, I thought it was a chicken / grouse / bobwhite looking
>bird. Plump, pear-shaped and not to quick to accelerate into the sky.
>
>The bird had a rufous coloration (perhaps more brown than red, but
>textured, not smooth) in the wings. It had a white or lighter hue in
>the rump, with a stout, short end (not so much a tail). Best I can
>describe it's flight... well, it flew as if it was being pushed from
>behind. This plump mystery bird flew over my head and (slowly gaining)
>over the 1st water impoundment, eventually vanishing (in descent) over
>the tree line. I went to look for it, but had no luck.
>
>Finally, when the bird flushed, it made no noticeable sounds.
>Certainly, I heard the wings flapping, but no calls were sounded...
>nor did it make anything close to a pheasant.
>
>I'm open to any and all thoughts. Closest I could imagine was a
>plumper, more tree-top savvy Northern Bobwhite.
>
>Many thanks,
>
>Dan Haas
>West Annapolis, MD
> |