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Re: rare visitor to Bethesda Yard, May 9

From:

Leo Weigant

Reply-To:

Leo Weigant

Date:

Fri, 9 May 2008 18:55:42 -0400

Hmm,
and I, also, had one for my brand new, well, one week old, yard list.
An auspicious beginning.

"Auspicious" derives from the Roman Auspex, or Auspices [pl.]  who  
foretold good
or bad tidings mostly from watching the flight of birds.   They were  
the priests who
tried to warn Caesar one Ides of March (if I remember my Shakespeare  
aright).

Does anyone know the Virginia birder whose license tags read "AUSPEX"?
i always thought that a wonderful pun.
	

Leo Weigant



On May 9, 2008, at 6:43 PM, Bob Ringler wrote:

> Mike,
>    I had the same rare visitor to my yard this morning. A singing  
> White-crowned Sparrow was a new addition for my yard list.
>
> --
> Bob Ringler
> Eldersburg MD
> 
>
> -------------- Original message --------------
> From: Michael Bowen <>
>
>> No it's not a Franklin's Gull or a Wood Sandpiper, but something
>> almost as rare in our West Bethesda small back yard: an adult
>> WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, scrabbling for seed under our (only)
>> squirrel-proof feeder.
>>
>> If past episodes are anything to go by, this bird will be a one-day
>> wonder. Our last back yard sighting was in October 1998.
>>
>> Mike and Joy Bowen
>> Bethesda, Montgomery County
>