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Subject:

Saturday at Lake Artemesia

From:

Laura Appelbaum

Reply-To:

Laura Appelbaum

Date:

Sun, 18 May 2008 00:42:32 -0400

A friend and I took a mid-afternoon walk along the Luther Goldman Bird 
Trail -- my first trip to Artemesia in about two years and my friend's 
first time there  We arrived sometime around 12:30-1:00 and on our 
leisurely stroll saw BOTH male and females of the Orchard Oriole AND 
both Baltimore Orioles at close range. There were numerous purple 
martins, tree swallows, and a barn swallow or too.  We could hear the 
instant low "poo poo pooooooinng" of a cuckoo,  but weren't able to 
find  them in the thick growth along the edge of the Indian Creek 
trail.  Many Eastern Kingbirds were also in attendence.  Robins, crows, 
and redwinged blackbirds galore.  At one point this strange, strange 
cackling noise came directly over our heads; we looked up to see a green 
heron in flight, soon to perch at the top of a tree and "do that neck 
thing the do" where first its really long and striped and cryptic and 
then they pull it back into their shoulders and it's another bird enirely.

As an aside; I've been home on  medical disabililty for over a month and 
on sunny days have been heading over to the Cedar Creek nondeomenational 
church grownds -- looks like a big old barn with a historic house 
collaspsing next to it, on Spencerville Road in Spencerville, across 
from Peach Orchard road.  Anyway, they have a nature and prayer walk 
there across old fields that were once part of a farm, that go down into 
some small woods with a tiny creek and best of all, a feeling of silence 
and seclusion where the birds are the only thing you hear.  In the last 
week there I got great looks at a Life Bird for me -- the White-Eyed 
Vireo.  I was psyched!  Also over there in profusion are pine and 
prairie warblers, bluebirds, tree swallows,Cardinal, Robins, Chicadee, 
Titmice.  My understanding is that anyone in the community who would 
like to walk their property and either birdwatch, or dayhike  or read 
the posted suggested religious quotes and thoughts it brings to mind in 
such a setting is welcome to go visit, anytime.

Laura Appelbaum
Cloverly, MD