Location: Oxbow Lake
Observation date: 7/29/08, 9-10:30 a.m.

Notes:  Jay Sheppard, Dave Brenneman, and Marcy Stutzman observed the Least Bitters at the Oxbow Lake Nature Preserve this morning for about 1 1/2 hours. A possible nest site was observed. The male seemed to be collecting nesting materials and bringing them back to the sight. The female flew into/out of the site also. Both Jay and Marcy each thought they observed at different time a downy chick. There was a large rainstorm a couple days before (Sunday, July 27) which probably raised the level of water in the lake. It might have been the male was adding to an existing nest to provide the chick(s) and unhatched eggs a higher platform out of the water.

Number of species: 14

Trumpeter Swan     1     Trumpeter Swan #960, hatch year 2005
Wood Duck     11
Mallard     7
Least Bittern     3     Adult male reinforcing nest. Female flying in/from nest 
area. One (maybe two) possible downy chick observed. Male possibly feeding chicks.
Great Blue Heron     4
Green Heron     2
Red-shouldered Hawk     1
Belted Kingfisher     2
Red-eyed Vireo     1
Purple Martin     10
Barn Swallow     11
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     2
Red-winged Blackbird     23
Common Grackle     9

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Marcy Stutzman
Russett, MD