(My first post to MD-osprey, finally got on by someone dropping, hi all!)

I saw the fabled white-faced ibis finally this morn amidst 2 glossy ibis. There were also several gulls, mallards, and greater yellow-legs. I hung out for about 15 minutes, and they did not seem to be going anywhere soon. They were feeding, and at one point the glossy and the white-faced got into a skirmish over something good in the grass (the white-faced won). These are the times when I need a scope; still working on winning one from ABA!

You can see the ibises from the road, at the intersection of 346 and 113. This is the 1st light after the exit from 50. Take a left at the light and drive to the apartment complexes. You can walk to the big flooded field for a better look.

As for the eggshells, I found something similar last spring. This is not too early for some of the species that stick around all winter. Actually, this ties into a conservation concern: with the changing temps we've observed, we are seeing areas of warmer temps earlier in season. Warm temps = bugs for nestlings. Some species, especially local wintering ones, have been adapting by shifting their nesting/egg periods earlier to correspond with the peak time, but the poor migratory birds are not always able to make such adjustment. By the time they arrive here, their prime nestling time has been moved up in the schedule, so they need to attempt to "catch up" with the season. As you would guess they're not always successful. Studies continue to be done in this area to understand species-specific responses, and to continually monitor the effects of temp shift. (By the way, I don't mean to imply that the eggshell you particularly found was a result of this
 phenomenon, but it's a point of interest. :)

Grace be with you,

Jessica Gorzo (West Friendship, MD)