Ron, reminds me of a similar puzzling bobwhite call I heard 2 days ago.  My daughter was riding (horses) in an outdoor ring.  There was a small patch of wood, which is big enough to harbor a small herd of pesky deer but really is small.  There are barns nearby and yes, there are large fields, but they are short grass and little cover for bobwhite, one would think.  

About 10:30 AM I clearly heard bob-white.  Clear, distinct and repeated.  The bird called on and off for at least 15 minutes, until my daughter's horse spooked (due to a pesky deer), took a hard fall and went to the hospital in an ambulance (no significant injuries in the end, just a bad scare and sore).   At that point, of course, I didn't listen anymore.  
 


 I thought the habitat and the time of day pretty odd.  Plus, bobwhite are scarce in AA County these days.  

I don't think there are any birds that sound exactly like bobwhites, especially with the cadence and repetition.  If there are, I'd love to know!

Joanne

joanne howl, dvm
west river, md



 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Johnson <>
To: 
Sent: Fri, Jun 17, 2011 10:14 pm
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Northern Bobwhite song in Derwood


While working in the yard this evening at 6 PM  I heard the song of a
Northern Bobwhite for about 5 minutes. About a half hour later, I went
down the street to where it initially sang, and it called out again
for several minutes from a dense hedgerow of juniper shrubs along the
street. I didn't see the bird but the call was clear and the cadence
distinct for a Northern Bobwhite, like I've heard on the Eastern
shore.

I am very surprised, as I live in a residential neighborhood that is
mostly forested except for lawns and landscaped yards, and the
neighborhood abuts the Mill Creek/Lake Needwood forested watershed-
not typical of the more open habitat of Bobwhite.

I understand from the Sibley Guide that Starlings, Mockingbirds and
other birds can mimic the Bobwhite call, but there weren't starlings,
catbirds, jays or mockingbirds calling in the area during these times.
The measured pacing of the call and the repeats was that of a
Bobwhite, which I've never heard in the neighborhood or county for the
9 years I've lived here. Is it plausible that a Bobwhite was passing
through my neighborhood or was it a mimic?

Ron Johnson
Derwood, MD

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