Hi Leslie and Joe,

I should mention that your MDOsprey report was on my mind when Jim and I approached Morgantown.  I thought I saw something white among the Canada Geese out of the corner of my eye as we drove into town and knew that we'd want to have a look based on your report.  So thank you for making that report!

Jim and I scoped the water and only then drove down the dirt road to check out the geese.  Believe it or not, I joked with Jim on our way down the road: "What if it's a Ross's Goose?"  This was just some delirious talk after too many hours of birding; so imagine our surprise!  We were more than a little excited.

And...  we saw your Rock Pigeons as well.  Always nice to have a Charles Co Rock Pigeon in the bank for the year.  Perhaps this is a minority opinion, but I liked it.  So thank you for that news too!

Have fun,

Ron Gutberlet
Salisbury, MD



________________________________________
From: Maryland Birds & Birding [] On Behalf Of Leslie Starr []
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 11:07 PM
To: 
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Ross's Goose Morgantown, Charles County

We saw the ROSS'S GOOSE early this afternoon, Wednesday March 30.

We probably first saw it on March 19, when we reported what we thought was a Snow Goose in the same location. At that time, we did not notice that the bird was small enough to be a Ross's, though I remember losing it behind Canada Geese. We did not drive down the dirt road for a closer look, but scoped across the field north of Morgantown Road. Visibility was poor, with a lot of heat shimmer, and we were not able to see the bird's bill. In retrospect it was careless to assume it was a Snow Goose, but this seemed much more likely (it wasn't even a county bird).

Viewing conditions today were excellent and we were immediately able to see the bird's smaller size and characteristic bill. At first, the flock was east of the pond, but the birds flew up, affording a good look at the Ross's, and then settled in the pond for awhile, where it looked petite indeed.

Thanks to Ron and Jim for identifying this bird. We are not confident that we saw it on March 19, and as we're no longer confident we saw a Snow Goose either, that record has been deleted. Apologies for an erroneous report.

Leslie Starr & Joe Turner
Baltimore & Port Republic



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