Jane Kostenko and I went down to Pt. Lookout this morning arriving just as the sun was peeking up over the horizon. The wind was pretty horrible but we managed to hear the pig call of a/the Virginia Rail as well as a Sora and several singing Marsh Wrens in the pond. VIRA was a county nemesis bird so it was nice to finally best it. We went down to the lighthouse but the sand spit off the point was covered with some pretty nasty waves. Lots of gannets and cormorants moving around with the Double-crested Cormorants moving in skeins of 25-30 with purpose up the Potomac. We spied an intruder and when we went to investigate, it was just Mikey Lutmerding in a vehicle unknown to us ;)

Having a long list of things to accomplish this weekend, we bade Mikey farewell and headed back home. Shortly after arriving, Mikey texted that he had found a Least Bittern at the pond at the point. D'oh!!! So, we decided to work on our to do list and head back to PLSP in the evening. Probably a good thing as Mikey texted that he had found an injured Bald Eagle on Long Neck Road and we were able to find a rehabber in St. Mary's where he took the bird.


So, we went back to Pt. Lookout in the evening. When we arrived at the point around 6:30, we first walked into the picnic area and to the southern end of the parking lot where Mikey had described hearing the bird. Nada. So we walked down along the eastern edge of the pond until we found a non-poison ivy infested entrance into the phrags and waded in. Almost immediately we heard the Least Bittern doing it's cuckoo/dove-like call. It was incessant. We went back a bit north and I waded in beyond the PI (Jane is severely allergic) and could hear it calling clearly but never got a visual. We went back to the SE corner of the picnic area parking lot and estimate that the bird was only about 25 feet away.

With luck, the LEBI will still be at the pond on Sunday. Be aware that there is a sunrise service in the picnic area and folks will be there starting around 5:30.

 
Tyler Bell

California, Maryland

############################

To unsubscribe from the MDOSPREY list:
write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
or click the following link:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MDOSPREY&A=1